Two exciting tours for Vintage, Veteran and classic cars will be held in conjunction with the 2025 George Old Car Show to be held for the first time as a one-day-only event on Saturday, February 8, 2025.
The first of these is the “Vettoer”, to be held before the show, and this one-day tour will once again finish on the Friday afternoon at the site of the Old Car Show. The Vettoer has been a prelude to the show for many years, and this will be the 19th running of the event, show-casing veteran vehicles.
This year’s Vettoer is sponsored by JP Spares in George, and organiser Philip Kuschke reports that the entry list already includes a 1902 Peugeot and a pair of vintage Rolls-Royce cars, as well as Model-T Fords and at least five vintage motorcycles. The Vettoer participants will overnight on Thursday, February 6 at the Gourikwa Coastal Nature Reserve, located between Mossel Bay and Still Bay. The old cars will then travel to a lunch stop at Jakkalsvlei Winery and on to the George Old Car Show to arrive at the grounds on Friday afternoon and enjoy a braai at “die BENZ” to celebrate the running of one of South Africa’s premier classic car shows.
The second tour will start on Sunday, February 9, at the “die BENZ”, George, the clubhouse of the Southern Cape Old Car Club. Known as the George Old Car Show – GOCS eSCape Tour and Rally, this will be an ambitious four-day event, open to all cars registered for the show, the competitive rally open to cars that were built before 1975.
The idea for this tour came about as the Southern Cape Old Car Club, organisers of the George show, were aware that many show entrants would be keen to extend their stay in the beautiful Garden Route region, now that the 2025 show has been proclaimed a one-day-only event. There was also a precedent for this tour, as previously the Mercedes-Benz Club had organised a tour straight after the show, starting at midday on the Sunday.
The GOCS eSCape Tour and Rally will start at Die Benz in Central George on Sunday morning and the rally will be run to regulations as laid down by the South African Vintage and Veteran Association (SAVVA) and Motorsport South Africa (MSA). Competitors will be required to nominate the average speeds for their cars over the timed sections of the rally, ranging from 65 to 95 km/h, according to the age of their vehicles. Veteran cars are those built before 1918, vintage cars are built up until 1930, and the classic cars eligible for the rally are to have been built before 31st of December, 1975.
The Tour which runs alongside the rally each day is non-competitive, for those owners simply wishing to enjoy their cars in the company of other enthusiasts, in compelling scenery over interesting roads. The GOCS eScape route will head for the Gourikwa Nature Reserve on Sunday, and on Monday the cars travel over the Garcia Pass near Riversdale to Barrydale and then on to Montagu. On Tuesday the route explores the Breede River Valley, while on Wednesday the cars will return to George via Route 62.
Entries for the 2025 George Old Car Show have been pouring in and by the first week in December close to 500 cars had already been registered with the Southern Cape Old Car Club. This year there will be a special focus on cars of British origin, head-lined by two of the most famous of British marques, Bentley and Rolls-Royce.
Access to the show for spectators will open at 9 am on Saturday, February 8, 2025, and as this year’s event will comprise just one day, the show will run on until 6 pm. Apart from the large British car contingent expected, there will be machinery on display from all major car-producing countries, notably Germany, Italy, France, Sweden and the U.S.A. A large contingent of vintage and classic motorcycles will also be a feature this year, and as is traditional at this event, there will be displays of old tractors, trucks and stationary engines from an earlier era.
As well as veteran, vintage and classic cars, there will be exhibits of more modern machinery, notably the likes of supercars from the esteemed stables of Ferrari and Porsche. Some club displays will also include more modern cars, notably the Mercedes-Benz Club, whose members will display magnificent newer models in the SL and SLR ranges. The Mercedes-Benz Club will also celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the W108 series, the predecessor of the modern S-Class. Many dealerships in the George area will also support the show with displays of modern car ranges.
The George Old Car Show is fortunate to enjoy 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 once again be major supporters of the Show.
The show’s media partners are George Herald and Algoa FM. 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.
As in past events, the 2025 George Old Car Show will be held at the Eden Technical High School grounds in central George, with gates opening to the public at 9 am. 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.
Up to 1 000 cars are expected for the 2025 event in February. Owners of veteran, vintage and classic vehicles wishing to display their vehicles are requested to pre-enter by visiting www.scocc.co.za and clicking on the Vehicle Registration button.
