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Two exciting tours for vintage, veteran and classic cars will be held in conjunction with the 2025 George Old Car Show, which will for the first time this year take place as a one-day-only event on Saturday, February 8, 2025.
The first of these is the Vettoer, to be held a day before the show, and this one-day-only tour will once again finish on the Friday afternoon at the site of the Old Car Show. The Vettoer has been a prelude to the show for many years, and this will be the 19th running of the event, show-casing veteran vehicles.
This year’s Vettoer is sponsored by JP Spares in George, and organiser Philip Kuschke reports that the entry list already includes a 1902 Peugeot and a pair of vintage Rolls-Royce cars, as well as Model-T Fords and at least five vintage motorcycles.
The Vettoer participants will stay overnight on Thursday, February 6 at the Gourikwa Coastal Nature Reserve, located between Mossel Bay and Still Bay. The old cars will then travel to a lunch stop at Jakkalsvlei Winery and on to the George Old Car Show to arrive at the grounds on Friday afternoon and enjoy a braai at “die BENZ” to celebrate the running of one of South Africa’s premier classic car shows.
The second tour will start on Sunday, February 9, at the “die BENZ”, George, the clubhouse of the Southern Cape Old Car Club. Known as the George Old Car Show – GOCS eSCape Tour and Rally, this will be an ambitious four-day event, open to all cars registered for the show, the competitive rally open to cars that were built before 1975.
The idea for this tour came about as the Southern Cape Old Car Club, organisers of the George show, were aware that many show entrants would be keen to extend their stay in the beautiful Garden Route region.
GOCS eSCape Tour and Rallywill; T&Cs
The GOCS eSCape Tour and Rallywill start at Die Benz in Central George on Sunday morning and the rally will be run to regulations as laid down by the South African Vintage and Veteran Association (SAVVA) and Motorsport South Africa (MSA).
Competitors will be required to nominate the average speeds for their cars over the timed sections of the rally, ranging from 65 to 95 km/h, according to the age of their vehicles.
Veteran cars are those built before 1918, vintage cars are built up until 1930, and the classic cars eligible for the rally are to have been built before December 13, 1975.
The tour which runs alongside the rally each day is non-competitive, for those owners simply wishing to enjoy their cars in the company of other enthusiasts, in compelling scenery over interesting roads.
The GOCS eScape route will head for the Gourikwa Nature Reserve on Sunday, and on Monday the cars travel over the Garcia Pass near Riversdale to Barrydale and then on to Montagu. On Tuesday the route explores the Breede River Valley, while on Wednesday the cars will return to George via Route 62.
Entries for the 2025 George Old Car Show have been pouring in and by the first week in December close to 500 cars had already been registered with the Southern Cape Old Car Club.
This year there will be a special focus on cars of British origin, head-lined by two of the most famous of British marques, Bentley and Rolls-Royce.
Access to the show for spectators will open at 9 am on Saturday, February 8, 2025, and as this year’s event will comprise just one day, the show will run on until 6 pm.
In addition to the large British car contingent expected, there will be machinery on display from all major car-producing countries, notably Germany, Italy, France, Sweden and the USA.
A large contingent of vintage and classic motorcycles will also be a feature this year, and as is traditional at this event, there will be displays of old tractors, trucks and stationary engines from an earlier era.
As well as veteran, vintage and classic cars, there will be exhibits of more modern machinery, notably the likes of supercars from the esteemed stables of Ferrari and Porsche.
Some club displays will also include more modern cars, notably the Mercedes-Benz Club, whose members will display magnificent newer models in the SL and SLR ranges.
The Mercedes-Benz Club will also celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the W108 series, the predecessor of the modern S-Class. Many dealerships in the George area will also support the show with displays of modern car ranges.
2025 George Old Car Show: entries open
So far, it’s estimated that up to 1 000 cars will register for the 2025 edition. Owners of veteran, vintage and classic vehicles wishing to display their vehicles are requested to pre-enter by visiting www.scocc.co.za and clicking on the Vehicle Registration button.
