Beloved Classic Cars

Konni Hoferichter: 1989 Citroën 2CV Dolly

Tiny engine. Huge ambition. Konni’s green-and-white Citroën 2CV Dolly has travelled from Durban to Port Nolloth and from Beit Bridge to Cape Agulhas; remarkable distances for a car that resembles a picnic basket on wheels. The little French classic remains unrestored, proudly unconventional and very much alive. The original design brief for the 2CV was that it should be able to carry eggs across a ploughed field without breaking them.

The Mercedes Left at a Shebeen

Pete Kean: 1962 Mercedes-Benz

Pete’s Mercedes comes with the sort of backstory nobody would dare invent.

“I got the car after a long story of it being left at a shebeen in the middle of nowhere,” he says. Imported from Germany to Cape Town decades ago, the old Mercedes was eventually restored and now enjoys a far gentler existence as a beloved Sunday drive machine.

Old English White

Cedric Wilmans: 1950 MG TD

This car was bought at auction with little more than enthusiasm and a childhood memory of owning a Dinky Toy version. Fortunately, restoration expert Mike Berry stepped in. Then, already 80 years old, Mike helped bring the little British sports car back to life, piece by piece. Today, the MG sits gleaming in classic Old English White, complete with chrome details and wire-spoked wheels that seem to belong in another century entirely.

“It’s a car that tells you things,” says Cedric. “About a time when driving was an act of intention.”

The Midlands Morgan

Mike & Viv Ford: 1995 Morgan Plus 8

Part vintage sports car, part British eccentricity, Mike and Viv Ford’s handmade Morgan Plus 8 still causes a stir wherever it appears. Built in Malvern, England, the car combines old-school styling with a surprisingly fierce 3.9-litre engine. Imported to South Africa by a British diplomat, it immediately developed a reputation after The Sowetan borrowed it for a road test and apparently enjoyed it so much they temporarily “seized” it for the weekend. Not bad for a car that still looks as though it belongs outside a countryside pub in 1958.

A Land Rover with a Flamingo

Josh Crickmay - Circa. 2000 Land Rover Defender 

Wildlife filmmaker Josh’s classic Land Rover TD5 wears horns on the front and a plastic flamingo on the bumper; the latter apparently used to judge river depth during crossings. Part expedition vehicle, part travelling punch line, it has become a recognisable companion on wilderness documentary shoots across southern Africa.

Pieter the Morris Minor

Stu Beach:1959 Morris Minor 1000

Stu inherited this car from Pieter van Tonder shortly before Pieter passed away. The pair had shared a love of mechanics and old cars, and Stu promised to keep the little Morris as original as possible.

Now affectionately called “Pieter”, the car carried Stu and his wife from their wedding ceremony in Hilton to the reception in Balgowan. On Sundays, it now transports dogs, picnic supplies and considerable nostalgia around the Midlands.