Mustang V8 flexes its metal
A Street Beast of the four-wheel kind made its presence felt at a supercar shopping festival yesterday, writes Mervyn Naidoo
PULSES raced and purse strings were loosened during the the IBV Supercars and In 2 Assets, Art and Shopping Festival at the Gateway Theatre of Shopping yesterday.
The main attraction was the auction of more than 40 supercars that drew the attention of the “Big Boys” and fetched millions of rands.
Some of the “beauties” that came under auctioneer Steve Davis’s gavel included a few high-end Audis, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Aston Martins.
But the car that drew the most gasps from bidders and the throngs of shoppers who assembled at various vantage points around the IBV’S headquarters at the mall was the introduction of “Lot 13” – a stunning black 1973 V8 Mustang with “Street Beast” emblazoned on its windscreen.
Stainless steel exhaust pipes fitted to its sides, adjustable suspension and a big “blower” that sat above the bonnet were some of its eye-catching features. But when the driver revved the engine, it responded with a powerful roar, and the audience let out shouts of excitement.
The R460 000 it fetched might have seemed like a bargain compared with the Rolls-royce Wraith that sold for R5.5 million.
IBV business manager Sudhir Singh. who gave the Sunday Tribune a close-up of the cars to be auctioned, confirmed the sale was not for “penny-pinchers”.
‘This is for the big boys who want to splash out on expensive toys,” said Singh.
Mechanical engineer Dash Singh, a supercar addict, said the event confirmed the face of Durban’s car scene had changed with Porsche Durban doing a roaring trade and Ferrari also setting up its stall.
Organiser of the event and chief executive of IBV Ashok Sewnarain, who sat on the sidelines in a Rolls-royce Phantom that was not for sale, sipping champagne, said he was very happy with the response.
“The event was an initiative of our IBV Supercar Club and it worked well.”
Sewnarain said the cars that caught his fancy were the vintages and exotics.
“We got them through our car club and business network. It took us less than two months to put this event together.
“The cars belong to rich and famous people but it’s our policy not to disclose their identities.