Silent auction at Cars in the Park

This tiny 740 cc Austin was King of Hesketh Hill Climb many a time

THE annual Cars in the Park, held at Ashburton at month end on Sunday May 27, will feature a slew of legendary racing vehicles.

This list includes Grenville Manton’s 1958 GSM Dart will be one of the thousands of historic, legendary or just plain loved cars at the Cars in the Park on Sunday, May 27.

The little Dart first came to prominence at Roy Hesketh Circuit when Tony Claassen won the Class B Production Cars race, in 1968 and ’69, winning the Hesketh Hill climb in 1970 and in 1973 coming runner up in the Natal Sports car Championship, after winning its class at every meeting that year.

One of the show’s organisers, Carl Habermann, said the cars on show will not be limited to the old, but there will be something for everyone.

Another legend is Trevor Lewis, Austin Racing Car (left and below).

Lewis told us how in the 1950s, Barry Harrison raced the tiny 740 cc Austin in the road races around Alexandra Park in Pietermaritzburg and the Snell Parade in Durban. 

The power to weight ratio meant the little Austin had a top speed 193 km/h, depending on wheel size, making it blisteringly fast, and the driver was never really in control. 

The 740cc Austin racer restored.

Once, on to Duzi bend (now the road behind Maritzburg College), the brakes failed. In those days the toilets were screened off with hessian, and as the Austin flashed past, it hooked ripped away the hessian, leaving a very shocked person sitting there. 

The Austin ended upside down in the Duzi, but Harrison was pulled out relatively unscathed.

Apart from the clubs who bring their chosen brands, there will also be steam vehicles, tractors, bikes, trikes and industrial machines, plus music and over 100 stalls selling food, drink and merchandise.

“This year something very different will be a Silent Auction,” said Habermann. 

“Silent auctions are a very popular way to sell special cars at shows like this in the U.S. The cars are parked with their details and the reserve price displayed, and bidders slip an offer onto a sealed box, which will be opened at the show’s close,” Habermann explained.

This year’s entry fee is R50 per adult and R30 for children under five. Children between five and 10 years get a R40 playground voucher.

The show raises funds for several charities in Pietermaritzburg and the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.