Rustenburg, North West - The Ferrari F40 was always going to be something special.
Created under the direct oversight of Il Commendatore himself, the F40 project was intended to be the ultimate supercar, Enzo Ferrari’s personal celebration of 40 decades as a builder of the world’s sexiest sports and racing cars. Ferrari was convinced he would live forever; he had no way of knowing that the F40 would be his last creation - which makes it all the more iconic.
And he would have been very proud of this 1989 example; beautifully cared for and immaculately prepared for the occasion by its owner, former off-road motorcycle racer and co-founder of Tiger Wheels, Keith Rivers, it was the judges' unanimous choice as the overall winner of Concours South Africa 2017, held at Sun City at the weekend.
Hertz Special
Second overall, and winner of Class 3 B/1, was an un-restored and immaculately preserved 1968 Shelby Mustang GT350H, owned by Ravi Chetty of Dainfern. It’s also quite rare, being one of a limited number produced as rental cars (no, we’re not kidding) for the Hertz group.
Next to ‘Sex on Wheels’ and ‘Rolling Thunder’, Tim Abbott’s irish green 1970 Porsche 911S ‘short-wheelbase’ model looked remarkably understated - but Abbott knows his Porsches and the little 911 was perfect in every detail, which is what won it third overall and first in Class 3 B/2.
Organiser Paul Kennard said the second Concours South Africa was a big step forward; not only were the entries up, but the overall standard had risen significantly. The cars on display ranged from a 1913 Buick to a 1989 Porsche 928 S4 and included two recently completed restorations, a 1971 Ferrari Dino 246 GTB owned by Vic and Gerhard Campher, and Peter Bailey’s 1970 Lamborghini Miura S.
'Well up to international standards'
The judging panel, headed by Wayne Harley, curator of the Franschhoek Motor Museum, included the CEO of Coys of Kensington, Chris Routledge, and Octane Magazine Editor Robert Coucher. Routledge remarked that the overall presentation was well up to international standards, and that a number of the cars on show at Sun City could compete internationally.
“One thing I would like to see next year,” he said, “would be a class for South African home-grown specials, such as the Ford Sierra XR8, the Alfa Romeo GTV three-litre and the Capri Perana, cars that were only available in South Africa and nowhere else.”
Results - Overall:
1 Ferrari F40, 1989 - Keith Rivers
2 Shelby Mustang GT350H, 1968 - Ravi Chetty
3 Porsche 911 S, 1970 - Tim Abbot
Class Winners:
Class 1B:
SS Jaguar 2½-litre sedan, 1939 - Roger Martin and Fiona Hampson-Searle
Class 2A:
Volvo PV 445 Wagon, 1958 - Vic and Gerhard Campher
Class 2B:
Austin Healey BN6, 1958 - Ben Gerber
Class 3A/1:
Mazda R100 Coupe, 1970 - Peanuts Fouche
Class 3A/2:
Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III, 1964 - Gustav Raubenheimer
Class 3B/1:
Shelby Mustang GT350H, 1968 - Ravi Chetty
Class 3B/2:
Porsche 911 S, 1970 - Tim Abbot
Class 4A/2:
Daimler Double Six, 1989 - Steve Koterba
Class 4 A/1:
Ferrari F40, 1989 - Keith Rivers
Class 5 Show and Shine:
MG Twin Cam, 1958 - Neville Conchar
Class 5 Resto Mod:
1994 AC Cobra replica - Willem Stieler.