1 ALFA ROMEO STELVIO

A lot of the talk at the local launch of this trailblazing SUV was about the promise of the hot QV version, some time in the future. Well, quite frankly, the regular Stelvio is pretty damn hot itself. As a performance SUV it needn’t stand back to the established competitors; it certainly lives up to its Alfa pedigree.

Our launch route took us over several of the Cape’s mountain passes, in a nod to the legendary 75-hairpin Italian pass from which the Stelvio draws its name. Multiple roadworks with stop-go interruptions somewhat spoilt the whole exercise, but luckily I was man alone in my car and able to hustle where needed. That helped me appreciate the way this car corners fast, flat and securely. A real eye-opener though was when I turned on to gravel. The Stelvio feels absolutely at home and the ride, even on really bad surfaces, is just on the firm side of comfortable. Plus, it’s surefooted thanks to Alfa’s Q4 all-wheeldrive. Extensive use of lightweight materials, including carbon fibre, means that powerto-mass ratio is exceptional, too. The 2,0-litre turbo-petrol develops 206 kw and 400 N.m and is mated with an 8-speed auto.

Back in the day, Alfa created an SUV for the military that was a whole lot more functional and quite likely a whole lot less exciting. In the Stelvio, they’ve created a real driver’s machine.

Price: from R810 000.

Best advice to give to someone who wants to start doing car restoration as a hobby: Don’t.

Classic car enthusiast Paul Koski of Johannesburg is blunt: “It’s a long, unrewarding process. It takes an incredible amount of hours. You can never recover the hours you put in, unless the car is extremely rare.” Few are more intimately acquainted with the principle of the cost-benefit analysis than chartered accountants and Koski is one of that breed.

Yet at the same time, Koski is one of the happy breed of people who spend their spare hours up to their elbows in grease for the sheer pleasure of being able to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of technology from a bygone era. He owns several classics. He has probably spent more time than he should have on restorations, instead of on receipts, residuals and returns on investments.

His most recent effort: “Friends and I built up a 1925 Model T from a base car and other bits and pieces we found. We chose to give it a ‘paddy wagon’ (prisoners’ transport) van body, suitably sign written.”

Great to look at. And no doubt great to drive. Because Koski doesn’t carry out his labour of love to create museum pieces; he wants to drive them. Even if that drive is simply trundling down to Parkhurst for coffee on a weekend morning.

Naturally, machinery from a previous age is not always familiar to those of us on the brink of autonomous cars. “Driving a Model T Ford is an acquired art,” he says. “It is not easy. But when you learn the idiosyncrasies of the planetary gear transmission system, driving one of these cars becomes most rewarding and gives one a sense of great pleasure.”

He says he is in the fortunate position – he calls it a privilege – of caring for two other Model T Fords (1915 and 1919 models) that had been stored in a warehouse for about 15 years before he got them back on the road. “This situation has enabled me to become fairly proficient in driving these cars with their complicated transmission system.”

He believes the special appeal of the Model T Ford comes from mastering the driving technique. For those unfamiliar with the set-up, the accelerator on the Model T is a lever on the steering column, not on the floor. “The three pedals on the floor do everything differently when compared with the modern car. The brake pedal is on the right, the centre pedal

High-pitched squeal from under the bonnet.

The serpentine belt, which drives every important engine part, is slipping.

Wheel squeak that goes away when you brake.

The wear bars on your wornout brake pads are making themselves heard.

Yes. New brake pads are an easy fix, but you will need a few tools. Most crucial: jack stands. Don’t trust your roadside jack to support the car when it’s up for longer than a tyre change.