CONQUERING THE CONCOURS

A beautifully prepared 1989 Ferrari F40 is the overall winner of Concours South Africa 2017, held at Sun City from 4 to 6 August 2017. The iconic Ferrari, which celebrated 40 years of Ferrari motoring manufacture when it was announced in the late 1980s, was also the final project overseen by the great Enzo Ferrari, before his death in 1988. This immaculate example, one of just a handful residing in South Africa, is owned by Keith Rivers, famous in South Africa as one of the founder members of the Tiger Wheels organisation, and also for his exploits in motocross and motorcycle endurance events. Second place overall went to the unrestored yet immaculately-preserved 1968 Shelby Mustang GT350H, owned by Dainfern’s Ravi Chetty. This car was one of the last special Hertz rent-a-car Mustangs produced by Ford and Shelby in 1968, and was imported here from the United States some years ago. A somewhat surprising third place went to the immaculate 1970 Porsche 911 S “short-wheelbase” model, owned by Porsche expert Tim Abbot of Johannesburg. Looking remarkably understated alongside many more flamboyant and exotic entries, the little Irish Green Porsche was indeed deemed remarkable enough to walk away with a podium finish in South Africa’s most prestigious concourse event.