Engines roar, mountains echo — Speed Classic back after 60 years

The slopes of Table Mountain thundered and roared to life last weekend as hill climb racing made a spectacular return to the Mother City after more than sixty years. Supercars and classic beauties skilfully navigated the twists and turns of the inaugural Speed Classic Cape Town on Saturday and Sunday October 25 and 26, held along one of the world’s most scenic roadways.

The action began with Classic Car Saturday, a celebration of motorsport’s finest machines in which nearly 70 pre-2001 cars took to the track on a closed-off Philip Kgosana Drive, reaching speeds of up to 220km/h. Charles Arton, driving a 1979 March 79B won the inaugural Classic Car Saturday event, beating all comers in the final shootout, with a winning time of 40.143 seconds, to claim the King of the Mountain title. 

“Beyond expectations is the simple answer,” says Arton. “I’m one of those lucky guys that has raced all around the world, and I’ve done Simola 15 times. I can say without a doubt this is the greatest hill climb event in the world.”

On Sunday, attention shifted to all-out speed as modern supercars and modified racers took to the track for the King of the Mountain showdown. In a day that saw cars clock top speeds of nearly 240km/h, Franco Scribante came out on top in his 2018 Nissan GTR R35 - a R20m purpose-built hillclimb monster. Scribante set a time of 35.260 seconds, 0.599 seconds ahead of Reghard Roets in second place, in a 2014 Nissan GTR R35. The podium was completed by Dawie Joubert, who set a time of 37.407 in his Lotus Exige.

The invitation-only hillclimb drew an impressive crowd of nearly 15,000 spectators, with close to 200,000 fans tuning in via livestream to watch the action unfold on the 1.8km track over the weekend. 

The event also attracted a small international contingent, with drivers from Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands taking part. The standout of these is former F1 driver and 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Jan Lammers. Lammers, who drove a 1971 Porsche 911T 2.7L on Classic Car Saturday, said, “Speed Classic Cape Town was a very pleasant surprise for me, great atmosphere, fun racing, and also serious competition at the top. I hope it’s here to stay.”

Organisers have confirmed the event will return to Cape Town’s 2026 events calendar. Founder and event director Garth Mackintosh says, “It’s exceptionally rare to see a collection of cars valued at over R700m in one place, never mind the thrill of watching them race along one of the world’s most iconic drives. Fans had the time of their lives, and we plan to give them an even bigger and better experience next year.”