South Africa has considerable history with the automobile, but it wasn’t until 2016 that it was the site for a concours d’elegance. Now in its third year, Concours South Africa will add a major collector car auction to its list of attractions August 10-11 at the Steyn City golf complex in Johannesburg.
Coys will offer more than 100 collector cars and motorcycles up for bidding at its sale, which it says will be the largest of its kind ever on the African continent. Coys noted in its news release that many of the cars on the docket are coming from private collections based in southern Africa.
Among those are several cars from the Plit Portfolio, the collection of Wayne Plit, who told the Capetown-based WomenOnWheels website that his collection has grown to more than 250 vehicles, more than he and his five-person staff can maintain and exercise.
“Coys has a long association with Africa going back decades and have been genetically associated with all of the great events over the last two decades, all of which we have supported to the hilt,” Coys managing director Chris Routledge was quoted in the news release.
“I have worked in Africa now for many, many years developing close associations with historic South African car culture; it is in my bones and in my veins. I am so excited that we are doing this and that the time is now.”
“I have been working on this event closely with the organizers of Concours SA and from what was initially a commercial event of modest aspirations we have now created an event for the African classic car market of global relevance,” added Nick Wells, Coys lead auctioneer.
Among the vehicles on the docket are a 1969 Ferrari 365GT 2+2 (one of only 52 with right-hand drive), a 1966 Ford cortina Mk 1 race car, a 1981 Porsche 924 Carrera GT, an all-original 1971 Porsche 911T, a 1950 Jaguar XK 120 that is said to be the oldest of its kind in the country, a 1954 Triumph TR2, a two-owner and still all-original 1968 Ford Shelby GT500, a 1955 Austin Healey 100 BN1 and a 1973 Renault Alpine 1600S.
The GT500 and XK120 are coming out of the Plit Portfolio, according to womenonwheels.co.za.
The 2017 concours included the induction into the South African Hall of Fame of famed racing drivers Sarel van der Merwe and Ian Scheckter. This year, they will be joined by another South African native, Formula One car designer Rory Byrne, who did Benetton and Ferrari racing cars driven by Michael Schumacher.
The concours weekend runs August 10-12. For more information, visit the event website.
