One of the largest gatherings of classic Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars ever assembled in South Africa will headline the 28th George Old Car Show on February 8, 2025. More than 20 examples of “the best car in the world” will be on display to the public from 9 am at the Eden Technical High School grounds in central George.
Over 1 000 cars and motorcycles have entered for the show, which this year will be a one-day-only event, taking place on the second Saturday in February. As huge crowds are expected, visitors are encouraged to book online via iTickets or to pay using bank cards at the gate, to speed up entry to the grounds.
The British Rolls and Bentley aristocrats of the motoring world on view will range in age from the early 1920s through to the modern era, as both Rolls-Royce and Bentley are today still current names in the world of automobilia, after over a century in existence. The oldest Bentley on show, a 1922 3-Litre Tourer, is one of the oldest surviving Bentleys in the world.
For many enthusiasts, the 1930 Bentley 4,5-litre Le Mans, owned by Cape Town’s Harry Tayler, will be the most exciting car on the show, as it has the same appearance and specification of the car that won the 1928 Le Mans 24 Hour and helped create the Bentley sporting heritage that exists to this day. The car on show has recently undergone a full nut-and-bolt restoration by Vintage Bentley Limited in West Sussex, England, and will be shown here for the first time.
Bentleys scored a string of Le Mans victories in the 1920s, and one of the famous Bentley drivers was Woolf Barnato, son of the Randlord mining magnate Barney Barnato, who made his fortune in South Africa in diamond and gold mining in the late 19th century. In the early 1930s Bentley fell under the control of Roll-Royce.
The Rolls-Royce cars entered for the George Old Car Show will form a magnificent spectacle on Field D at the Eden Tech grounds. Notable examples will be a trio of 20/25 models from the early 1930s, including an open tourer entered by Bob Bouwmeesters from Pretoria, and a striking red 1932 Landaulette example, offering an exposed rear passenger section, owned by Brian Bruce of Knysna.
The Rolls-and-Bentley display will showcase the special theme honouring British cars for the 2025 event, and there will be an array of ultra-rare and evocative cars representing British heritage. One of these is the recently-restored Aston Martin DB2 Mk III, a 1958 model, owned by Knysna classic car enthusiast Mark Barendse. The DB2 is said to be one of just a handful known to exist in South Africa.
The DB2 was built during the high point of Aston Martin’s fame, as a special version driven by Carroll Shelby (of Cobra fame) won the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hour, along with Britain’s Roy Salvadori. The Aston in George on February 8 will be kept company by many other British exotics, notably a large contingent of Jaguar E-Types and Morgans, and popular sports cars including MGs, Triumphs and at least one Lotus Elan.
There will also be a large number of original first-series Minis on display, the car introduced in 1959 that launched the Mini concept, plenty of Morris Minors, and Ford Cortinas and Anglias that made British-designed Fords such a household name in South Africa in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. An interesting large sedan from the mid-1960s is the Austin Westminster luxury saloon from the BMC stable, which uses essentially the same 3,-0-litre straight-six engine as used in the Austin Healey 3000 sports car.
This year, for the first time, the George Old Car Show will be a one-day event, whereas in the previous 27 renditions the show was held over the Saturday and Sunday. Waldo Scribante, chairman of the organising club, the Southern Cape Old Car Club, explained that as the show has evolved attracting more and more classics that drive long distances to the show, the tendency was for the “out-of-towners” to leave early on Sunday morning for home. Thus spectators who elected to attend the show on the Sunday were presented with many large gaps on the Eden Tech fields that should have been populated by classic cars.
“For this reason we are extending the opening time for the one-day event on Saturday, February 8, from 9 am to 6 pm. And we will be running a classic car tour commencing on the Sunday to cater for those enthusiasts who want to extend their time in the Southern Cape, driving our wonderful roads in this region.”
Scribante has been gratified to note that entries for the event had already surpassed the 1 000 mark with a few weeks to run. And the category for classic and vintage motorcycles had more than doubled this year. As in the past, the motorcycles will be located on the B field across from the main arena field. Notable bike entries include vintage pre-1936 examples such Ariel, Velocette, Royal Enfield, Panther and Rudge.
An interesting English bike is the 1960 BSA Golden Flash, which was considered the “rocker’s choice” in the early 1960s. Bikes from the Japanese revolution that started the modern superbike era include a Honda CB 250 Dream from 1963, a magnificent, manic Kawasaki 500 Mach III two-stroke, a water-cooled Yamaha RD350, an exotic Ducati 900 SS, and a perfectly-restored Suzuki Katana 1100 from 1982. The owner of the Katana, Stuart Harvey, said he had to source parts from all over the world to complete the restoration, which included a full engine rebuild.
The George Old Car Show is noted for its eccentric displays, and in the motorcycle section these will include a selection of nine Trikes arriving from various parts of South Africa, and some 20 Vespa scooters, most of which reside in George, and entered under the Eden Vespa Club banner.
The George show is also famous for its display of vintage tractors, and this year there will be a full turn-out of classic tractors. An addition to the line-up this year is the recently-discovered “barn-find“ of Ernest Langenhoven. Just two weeks prior to the show he collected a 1957 David Brown tractor to begin a lengthy restoration process.
The David Brown name will resonate amongst exotic car collectors, as the Initials “DB” that appear in the nomenclature of many Aston Martin sports cars, refer to the period when David Brown, the tractor manufacturer, bought the Aston Martin company in the late 1940s. Even today, many modern Aston Martin sports cars still pay homage to the David Brown name.
Naturally, apart from the focus on British cars this year, there will be example of classic, vintage and veteran machines from all the major car-producing countries on display. First amongst these will be Germany, headed up by the impressive Mercedes-Benz club display on Field D. The Mercedes-Benz stand will feature cars dating right back to the magnificent 1913 8/20 PS roadster owned by Waldo Scribante, as well as his 1938 W142 320. Andre Fourie’s 1958 300SL will again be much admired, and noted as one of the stand-out cars in an impressive Mercedes-Benz Club display numbering over 60 cars.
The Mercedes-Benz Club is also honouring the 60th Anniversary of the W108 series, the forerunner of the modern S-Class.
Germany will also be represented by Porsche, specifically with early 356 model sports cars, and 911 and 912 examples. And as is traditional at the George Show, an impressive entry of Borgwards numbering some 15 cars, will be on show, as well as a multitude of VW Beetles, Kombis, Karmann Ghias and even a few Pumas (Brazilian GT bodywork with VW Beetle engine and chassis). Two stroke DKWs will also be out in spluttering, exhaust-popping force.
Italy will be spreading passion with an impressive Ferrari display, featuring an immaculate Ferrari 512 TR from the early 1990s. Alfa Romeos and Fiats will obviously not be in short supply either.
The Vintage and Veteran brigade for pre-1930 cars will be arriving at the show via their traditional Vet Toer, which ends at the showgrounds on Friday afternoon, and here there will be a number of cars boasting ages of over a century. The oldest car will be Alison van Jaarsveld’s 1902 Peugeot. A number of Ford Model Ts and Model As will celebrate the era when these old Fords began being assembled in South Africa in 1923, effectively spawning the South African motor manufacturing industry here.
The George Old Car Show 2025 involves a huge undertaking by the Southern Cape Old Car Club, and would not be possible without a number of organisations and sponsors that the organisers would like to recognise.
The George Old Car Show values the sponsorship of a number of organisations and businesses in the area, and these include the George Municipality, George Tourism, MUA Insurance, Standard Bank, JP Spares, Shield Chemicals, George Tyre Mart, the Volkswagen Auto Pavilion and Midas. SAB and Coca-Cola will be major supporters of the Show.
Numerous charities, and volunteer beneficiary organisations will once again support the show, and these include Rotary, Round Table, Lions and the Vryburgers. Organisations benefiting from the show include CANSA and SPCA, the Eden Technical High School and Carpe Diem School in George.
The show’s media partners are George Herald and Algoa FM.
The 2025 George Old Car Show will be held on February 8, 2025, at the Eden Technical High School grounds in central George, with gates opening to the public at 9 am, and the show closing at 6 pm. Waldo Scribante, chairman of the organising club, the Southern Cape Old Car Club, has stressed that pre-booking of tickets will once again be encouraged through iTickets, at a price of R125 for adults, R100 for pensioners, and children accompanied by adults admitted free of charge.
