Eclectic mix of muscle for Hillclimb

KNYSNA NEWS - The competition for this year's Road and Supercar King of the Hill title will be among a wide variety of entries, ranging from mild to wild in terms of performance, and with a long list of Simola Hillclimb regulars and previous winners.

The category comprises five classes this year, starting off with A1 for four-cylinder front or rear-wheel drive cars.

It's a case of old versus new, with Jacques Bower having competed in all 10 Simola events to date in his 1977 Ford Escort. He will be joined by Willie Stander in his iconic 1990 Opel Kadett 16v SuperBoss, a car made famous in Group N racing by the legendary Mike Briggs. Stander has owned his much-loved SuperBoss for 20 years, and will be participating in his sixth Hillclimb this year.

Representing the modern era are Jared Yeo in a 2017 Porsche 718 Cayman S and Arnold du Plessis in a Mini John Cooper Works Edition.

There's a single entry in A3 for force-fed six-cylinder rear-wheel drive cars, featuring Piet Potgieter once again in the rapid 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio (QV) - a Top 10 Shootout contender in 2019 - and he will no doubt be challenging some of the other powerful cars for fastest times.

Next up is A5 for naturally aspirated six-cylinder machines, with an eclectic ensemble of entries. It includes JP van der Walt in a 2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Feroz Ebrahim's 2008 BMW Z4M Coupé, Francois van Tonder in his 1996 Audi Quattro 2.8E and Francois Cowley in a 1989 BMW 3-Series.

Class A6 for naturally aspirated eight-cylinder cars and above will see Gordon Nicholson competing at the Simola Hillclimb for the sixth time, driving a 2017 Audi R8 V10 Plus. His challenge will come from Martin Wiid in a V8-powered E92 BMW M3.

Feroz Ebrahim takes the first corner of the Hillclimb in his 2008 BMW Z4 Coupe. Photo: Rob Till

V8 muscle

The power stakes are raised significantly for class A7, which will see a mighty quartet of V8s vying for glory. Peter Lindenberg has a long racing pedigree in South Africa, and has been a fervent supporter of the Simola Hillclimb for many years. His steed for 2021 will be the very exclusive 2016 Terlingua.

Only 50 of these were produced in 2015-16, with just five allocated to South Africa. Boasting around 800hp (almost 600kW) and an extensive range of Shelby and Ford Performance upgrades, it will be a formidable beast to tame on the 1,9km Simola Hill.

"I was the first person to really put SUVs to the test at the Simola Hillclimb's King of the Hill, and it has been such a privilege to steal the show in the most unusual Hillclimb cars," Lindenberg says.

"I had a good few years in the Range Rovers and then entered in our supercharged, V8 Ford Ranger bakkie. These are cars that I would never have expected to have 'raced up a hill', but we did some great times and really gave the crowd a good show."

Piet Potgieter in action inside his 2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio.
Photo: Rob Till

Lindenberg will have a Shelby Mustang wingman in the form of Charles Needham who will be competing for the second year in a row in his supercharged 2017 Shelby Super Snake.

They will have to fend off an assault from the 2017 Mercedes-AMG GT R of Johan Pretorius, and another very quick car of the same year - a McLaren 720s, driven by Garth Mackintosh. "I did a time of 46,7 seconds in the Ferrari 458 in 2018, so I'm hoping to go under 45 seconds in the McLaren," Mackintosh says.

The 2021 Simola Hillclimb takes place from 3 to 5 September, starting with Classic Car Friday and followed by King of the Hill on the Saturday and Sunday. Due to Covid-19 regulations, no spectators are allowed, but the entire event will be live-streamed.

Charles Needham roars up the hill in his 2017 Shelby Mustang. Photo: Rob Till