Achtung Baby! The George Old Car Show is here!
GEORGE - This weekend’s George Old Car Show has adapted a special German theme for the 27th running of the event which takes place on 10 and 11 February at Eden Technical College in George.
The show runs from 08:00 to 18:00 on Saturday and from 08:00 to 14:00 on Sunday. Reduced prices are available for the second show day on Sunday 11 February, and this has been designated as a Family Day, with special entertainment striking a Germanic chord, laid on by the International Oompah Band.
The German link
The local link between Germany and the motorcar dates back right to the first motorcar seen in South Africa in early 1897, when a Benz Velo, manufactured by Carl Benz in Mannheim, was demonstrated at the Berea Park sports field in Pretoria. People were charged an entrance fee for their first glimpse of this motorized “horseless carriage” and one of the invited dignitaries was none other than President Paul Kruger.
When Oom Paul was offered a ride in the car he declined and his quirky refusal has to go down as the first motorised joke ever cracked in South Africa: “No thank you,” said the gruff Boer President: “Just now a dog might bark, and this thing might run away with me in it!”
There are some seriously significant cars lining up at the show, representing a timeline from the dawn of motoring in South Africa to the present day. And fittingly, many of these motoring pioneers are of German origin.
The oldest original car on show will be a 1901 Benz Ideal, entered by Cape Town’s Crankhandle Club, and this is indeed the oldest known motorcar in the country.
Another very early Benz is the 1913 Tourer owned by Waldo Scribante, chairperson of
the show’s organising club, the Southern Cape Old Car Club.
Cars from all over
Of course, the German component of this old-car extravaganza is only part of the story and marques originating from the UK, the USA, Australia, Italy, France, Japan, Sweden, Canada, and Brazil will also be on show.
Plenty of food and drink will be on offer, and there will be stalls selling various items including a wide range of model cars, for which the George Old Car Show is famous. Another famous component of the show is that visitors will be kept entertained all day by the drive-by on the main field, as numerous club members show off their cars in action.
Tickets
The organisers stress that it is advisable to book through iTickets while also reassuring showgoers that a number of new ticket sales points have been established at the venue. Discounted online ticket prices for Saturday are R100 for adults, R80 for pensioners, R50 for high school learners, while children under 12 are free. Sunday ticket prices are R80 for adults, R50 for pensioners, and R50 for high school learners.
Ticket prices at the gate for Saturday are R120 for adults, R100 for pensioners, R70 for high school learners, while children under 12 are free. Sunday ticket prices are R100 for adults, R70 for pensioners, and R70 for high school learners.