Private collection: glitz and glam

We visited the Ramsammy family from Joburg, whose varied collection includes a Hollywood star

“M y rst car memory is going for a drive in my dad’s GMC Syclone. I vividly remember the speed and how it scared me!” This laid the foundation for Kyle Ramsammy’s avid interest in cars. The Ramsammy family’s collection is housed in a single row of garages, with each car perfectly reverse parked. The collection spans several decades, but our focus is on the line-up of 1960s and ‘70s muscle cars.

The cars shine from every angle. Considering their beautiful condition, it is a surprise hearing they are used regularly and each has a story behind it. The car the family has owned the longest is a 1968 Volkswagen Kombi 01

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“I built my custom 1942 ‘jail bar’ Ford F1 truck with the help of my old racing team, Scribante Racing.” The blend of classic and modern touches is apparent on the exterior of the truck as well as inside the beautifully crafted cabin.

The Ramsammys’ 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback, or “Eleanor”, is not a replica. It’s one of the cars used in the movie Gone in 60 Seconds. The Ramsammys have owned this special car for the past six years. The only change they’ve made is to remove the 7,0-litre (427 ci) V8 engine – the one used in the movie – to preserve it, and replaced it with a 5,0-litre V8 Mustang engine.

Probably the rarest car in the collection is a long, substantial-looking 1962 Dodge Polara 500 Coupé. “We re06 01 02 & 03

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