Perfect weather greeted the thousands of classic car owners — and the many thousands of spectators — who made the pilgrimage to Zwartkops Raceway near Pretoria for the 43rd rendition of the Cars in the Park on August 3 2025.
“Every year we hold our breath and bite our nails before the event, and this year things were even more tense regarding the weather,” said Frik Kraamwinkel, chief organiser of the event hosted by the Pretoria Old Motor Club.
“This year the weather forecast was for a maximum of 14º for the Sunday, and by Pretoria standards that is close to freezing! Staging an event such as this is expensive, and we were concerned not only for the classic car owners and spectators, but also for the 160 stall holders, for a good payday at our event.”
Fortunately, temperatures rose to spring or even summer temperatures to enable everyone to enjoy the biggest car show in the country, and take in the splendour of more than 2,500 classic and special-interest cars and motorcycles. This year a number of dealerships displayed their vehicles, including Triumph Motorcycles, the newly reintroduced MG brand and cars from multi-franchise outfits such as CFO Mobility and Midmark Motors.
Colin Lazarus, owner of a multi-franchise dealership in Centurion, was once again prominent with his selection of new and special cars, such as two Ford GTs, a Ford GT40 and a 1957 Ford Thunderbird.
Around the track there was a feast of cars. Most notable were the dozens of Datsun 1200 and Nissan 1400 pick-ups that were built in SA in the 1970s and 1980s.
At the other end of the scale were the special invites section. Stand-out cars were the 1937 Cord 812, owned by Sakkie van der Walt, the 1940 Lincoln V12 and a 1939 Chevrolet Business Coupe in pristine paintwork. Tom Linley’s Velocette trio of motorcycles, ranging from the mid-1920s to the mid-1930s, were eye-catchers.
Another interesting special invite was the DKW F7, a cute little sports car from the late 1930s with fabric body work that made it extremely light, and a twin-cylinder two-stroke motor owned by Corne Fourie. There were the usual oddballs, such as late 1930s Dodge sedan mounted on a Mitsubishi bakkie chassis and a Mad Max replica based on a trashed Sierra body, with a realistic submachine gun on the bonnet.
The 4x4 club — one of more than 100 clubs represented at Cars in the Park this year — had a display of mainly new, perfectly turned-out vehicles. Many of them were fitted with the most desirable off-road gear such as roof racks. A huge contingent of this display was made up of Suzuki Jimnys.
All in all, it was yet another wonderful rendition of Cars in the Park.
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