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MOTORING NEWS - "Are there any Ferraris?" a young boy wheeling his bicycle to the entrance of the Knysna Motor Show hesitatingly asked an official. "There's six or seven of them," the official beamed before an aside to his friend, "I think I just sold this young man a ticket."
Knysna woke up to a misty morning but by 09:00, when the gates opened at the Knysna High School sport field, the haziness had been burned away by a bright sun. Not that anything could dampen the enthusiasm of the throng making its way to the entrance to gasp, smile, grimace and drool over the more than 400 vintage and veteran cars moulded into masterpieces by McLaren, Lamborghini, Maserati, Aston Martin, Bentley, Mercedes- Benz, Jaguar, Porsche and many more.
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By 10:00 the field was rapidly filling up as people awaited the first highlights of the day: the motorcycle tour and engine start-up and a little later, the presentation of the floating trophies for Best Old Car, Best Classic and Overall Winners.
But in the interim, there was much to see including a host of South African built super cars as well as some first-sees in South Africa such as a display of electric propulsion vehicles. But the 2019 show also featured special displays celebrating Bentley's centenary, 110 years of Morgan and the Mini's 60th birthday. All this plus an impressive array of motorcycles.
By 10:00 the field was rapidly filling up as people awaited the first highlights of the day.
To an appropriately nostalgic soundtrack of Elvis, Eric Burdon and the Bee Gees, courtesy of Algoa FM, attendees marvelled at the sleek, wide-winged USA classics of yore with their broad, bawdy backseats on which many baby boomers were conceived. Visitors also enjoyed leaning into the jaunty Victorian courtliness of the brightly coloured collectables.
But one of the main objectives of the entire exercise was to raise funds for local charities with profits of over half-a-million rand having been donated over the past seven years to Hospice, animal welfare, Famsa and E-Pap, a feeding scheme for underprivileged children.
One of the endearing things about the Knysna Motor Show is the fine balance between the good old country-style feel and the international flavour injected by the array of global vehicles and the international food court (complete with Windhoek on tap) which is open all day long. Altogether one of the best days out available on the Garden Route for car and beer lovers alike.
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