This week’s WesBank Motoring Experience at Kyalami promises to be one of the biggest and most varied motoring extravaganzas ever held at this hallowed motor racing venue. Not only will many of the latest production cars be there to view and, in some cases, drive, but there will be hundreds of speciality cars, ranging from supercars to rare classics, to view and enjoy seeing in action.
“This will not be a static car show as was the situation in the past, but a unique experience filled with activations; this will be a ‘living’ show,” explained Konstantin von Vieregge, the CEO of the organisers, SA Shows Messe Frankfurt.
“We have a joint venture agreement with the team that injects the spice into the extremely popular, annual Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival in England and they are doing the same for our event. It promises to be an unforgettable experience not only for the petrolheads but also for the whole family spending an enjoyable and very different day out at Kyalami.”
This is South Africa’s only motor show backed by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA in 2017. More than 20 car brands – including most of the major nameplates – will be represented at the Motoring Experience, with many of the manufacturers and distributors involved having hired space in the pits. This provides access to driving or being driven on the circuit, which in some cases will include adrenaline-fuelled hot laps around the track in high-performance cars.
Motor vehicles – especially SUVs – are very much part of a lifestyle for many motorists these days, whether for roughing it on adventures off the beaten track or transporting mountain bikes and the show organisers have taken these requirements into their planning for the 2017 WesBank Motoring Experience.
The lifestyle highlight will be the Puma Energy 4×4 Village where visitors will be able to choose from two track options to test drive vehicles, which will include the new Nissan Navara and latest, 3-litre Volkswagen Amarok. Land Rover will be providing an opportunity test with the towing capability of its vehicles towing boats and trailers. This off-road area, located on the western side of the circuit, will have its own, dedicated food court and regular shuttle services to and from the venue and centre circuit.
In addition, this year the WesBank SA Motoring Experience is co-located with the Johannesburg Boat and Water Show, which has 200 specialist exhibitors, adding to the benefits of making this a day out for the family.
Motoring enthusiasts will be very well catered for with 140 classic cars exhibited in a special club area, in addition to displays of supercars and Elite Classics – 10 displays that each have an interesting tale to tell.
Keeping up the spirit of non-stop activity there will be several on-track activations involving motoring legends and very special cars or groups of cars. For instance, there will be celebrations for 50 years of AMG with Mercedes-Benz, 70 years of Ferrari, 50 years of Perana, 50 years of the Mazda rotary engine, as well as tributes to important sponsors such as Gunston and Sabat and a celebration of 55 years of endurance racing at the Kyalami circuit.
Visitors will also have the opportunity to interact with motorsport legends such as Sarel van der Merwe, Ian Scheckter, Willie Hepburn, Ben Morgenrood, Graham Duxbury, Arnold Chatz, Basil Green, Geoff Mortimer, Paolo Cavalieri, Mick O’Sullivan, Larry Wilford, Grant McCleery and Franco Scribante.
Our digital media partner, AutoTrader, brings motor fans the once in a lifetime opportunity to win a gut-flipping lap around the track with an international Monster Energy driver competing in the Gymkhana GRiD, to be held this November at Carnival City. To enter, visitors must simply snap a pic alongside a signature Ken Block vehicle cut-out which will be hosted on the AutoTrader stand at SA Motoring Experience. Prospective sliders will need to post their photos online and tag @AutoTraderSA and #WinAHotLap to enter. The competition runs for the full three show days. Visit www.autotrader.co.za for more info.
A visit to the WesBank Motoring Experience over the coming weekend, 1-3 September, is very necessary if you want to build big on your motoring memory bank!
The 2017 Wesbank SA Motoring Experience brings you the best motoring content in partnership with 947, CAR Magazine, AutoTrader and KykNET.
Opening and closing times: Friday – 10:00 – 19:00; Saturday – 09:00 – 20:00; Sunday – 09:00 – 8:00.
Entry prices: R150 for adults; R75 for children between 18 and 12; R10 for children under 12.
Shuttle bus: A dedicated shuttle bus service will operate to and from Kyalami and the Gautrain station in Midrand.
This week’s motoring experience at Kyalami https://t.co/rjbuZTmMPt #ArriveAlive pic.twitter.com/MCv0I6rkwG
— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) August 29, 2017