Feast of high-performance cars at Jaguar Simola Hillclimb

HOT HATCHBACKS TO THE SPORTS CAR AND SUPERCAR ELITE No aerodynamic modifications allowed and only street-legal tyres are permitted.

Fans of high-performance road cars and exclusive supercars will have plenty to look forward to when the King of the Hill action commences at the 2017 Jaguar Simola Hillclimb during the first weekend in May.

Building on the Supercar Shootout introduced last year, the all-new Class A groups all standard road cars and supercars into one category, with a total of nine individual classes comprising a total of 30 entries encompassing everything from hot hatchbacks to the sports car and supercar elite. No aerodynamic modifications or aids are allowed and only street-legal tyres are permitted.

The fastest qualifying times determine the class finals, and the top 10 competitors throughout the qualifying sessions progress through to the final one-lap shootout that decides who will be crowned King of the Hill for Road Cars and Supercars in 2017.

Jaki Scheckter dominated the Supercar category last year in a Nissan GT-R in an impressive time of 43.591 sec, which was less than one second off the times of some serious race-tuned competitors. He is sure to be a leading contender once again in the latest specification 2017 Nissan GT-R.

However, he will face a strong challenge overall and in Class A4 from the likes of Hillclimb debutant and former production car racer Reghard Roets, who is scheduled to compete in a 2014 Nissan GT-R entered by the experienced NXGen team of performance specialists.

The Nissans won’t have it all their own way, though, as Jaguar is fielding two strong contenders. Multiple American GT and touring car champion Randy Pobst brings a wealth of international racing experience to the Jaguar camp. He will be exploiting the full potential of the roaring allwheel drive F-Type SVR Coupe, an unmodified, showroom-standard car powered by a supercharged 5.0-litre V8 with 423kW and 700Nm on tap.

He will be joined by SA land speed record holder Dawie Olivier, who will drive the stunning new F-Type SVR Convertible – Jaguar’s fastest-ever drop-top – which makes its South African debut at the 2017 Jaguar Simola Hillclimb.

Along with Pobst and Olivier in the Jaguar F-Type SVRs, Ian Schmidt will be competing in his F-Type S, with the British challenge bolstered by the Bentley Continental Speed V12 entered by Clive Geldenhuys. American tuning specialists Shelby and Roush will be wrestling for bragging rights in Class A8 too. Ross Lazarus will be charging up the 1.9 km course in a supercharged Roush Ford Mustang, going headto-head with Paige Lindenberg in a rival Shelby Super Snake version of the same car. Peter Lindenberg puts an unconventional spin on the Hillclimb with a supercharged V8 Ford Ranger pick-up. Colin Cary brings some Italian flair to the party in a 6.0-litre V12 Lamborghini Aventador in Class A7.

A handful of lucky visitors to the 2017 Jaguar Simola Hillclimb will win an experience of a lifetime, with an exhilarating ride in a Jaguar up the 1.9 km Hillclimb course. All tickets purchased via iTickets.co.za will qualify for the daily draws, with the winners contacted by cellphone and invited to the pit lane for this exclusive adrenaline-charged ride, seated alongside one of Jaguar’s advanced drivers. Be sure to secure your day, weekend and pit access tickets online at iTickets, and stand a chance of winning a Golden Ticket to a ride of a lifetime!

For more information on the event visit #JaguarSHC