Six time former Concours champion Diccon Wilcock prepares his 1951 MG TD, which he has entered for this year’s CBA Africa Concours d’Elegance scheduled for this Sunday at the Nairobi Racecourse. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Entrants from Africa, Europe and even South America have signed up to participate in the event that traces its origins to the French aristocracy where pedigree horses, not vintage cars, were taken through their paces.
The 44th Concours d’Elegance is here, the gathering of elegance.
This CBA Africa-sponsored event (organised by the Alfa Romeo Owners Club) is the classiest event on the Kenya Motor Sports Federation calendar and this Sunday, an estimated 10,000 people will converge at the Nairobi Racecourse grounds for a fun-filled day.
The centre-piece of the event will be the judging of 70 classic and vintage cars and about 40 motorcycles under regulations approved by the KMSF. In addition, there will be 28 motor trade stands and buying and selling of classic cars.
Judging is based on cleanliness and the condition of the motor vehicles with age being an added bonus, naturally.
Entrants from Africa, Europe and even South America have signed up to participate in the event that traces its origins to the French aristocracy where pedigree horses, not vintage cars, were taken through their paces. We highlight some of the participants of this event.
1972 ALFA ROMEO MONTREAL Duncan Mutahi
This is a family that loves cars. Duncan’s father – a businessman - bought this beauty in the 70s when virtually nobody owned one locally.
Right now, it’s the only one of its type in the country - as far as they know. It’s a five-speed manual with a 2593cc, V8 engine. Over time, they have maintained the car by painting it, cleaning it, and fixing wear and tear using parts mostly imported from Italy.
The price if it were to be sold today? “It’s priceless,” Duncan says. “This is not about money.”
1948 MG Diccon Wilcock
In Wilcock’s garage in Karen are two motor vehicles, both with their bonnets open; The 1948 MG TD (his) and a 1948 MG TC that is entered by Brian Barton. Wilcock is a six-time former champion. An accountant by profession, he is a lover of classic cars and restores and repairs them during his spare time. He has spent numerous hours restoring the vehicles; painting, cleaning and shipping in new parts. The competition is stiff, he says.
He adds: “I have great admiration for the judges of this event. They pick out the slightest mistakes on your car, including a tiny rust bubble of the paint work that is largely unnoticed to the naked eye.”
Although the standards are high, he bemoans a lack of originality. “The only major difference would be that in our event, originality is not taken into consideration in the assessment of the cars and motorcycles, which is a big deal in Europe and America.”
1928 FORD TUDOR Phoenix Aviation
Phoenix Aviation, based at Nairobi’s Wilson airport, is the defending champion with this Ford classic. Apart from the Ford Tudor, they won the second slot with their 1951 Jaguar Mark V.
The 1928 Ford Tudor is touted as the second biggest success for the Ford Motor Company. Two years after its release, about two million models had been sold. The model at Phoenix’s hangar has been painstakingly rebuilt by technicians who have been working on the cars during their spare time from fixing planes.
Mohammed Parvez, an engineer at the company, says the car, which they have had for seven years now, was purchased in very bad condition but over the years, the team has worked on it tirelessly to bring it back to shape. Parts have been sourced from America, and a few locally improvised one.
This Ford Tudor has won the event four times before and is looking at clinching it again this year. What would it cost at current rates? “About Sh10-Sh20million,” Mohammed says.
1934 ALVIS FIREFLY Simon Fisher
When Simon bought the Alvis Firefly, it was in shambles. Over time, he has restored it and entered it in the Concours for the past 20 years, winning him the class, meritorious and elegant prizes.
His Alvis is among 871 built by the Alvis Car and Engineering Company in Coventry, England between 1932 and 1934. There are only 90 of these vehicles in the world currently.
“I acquired the Alvis Firefly in 1974 and shipped it from England to Kenya in 1981. It carries an original drop-head coupe body built by Cross and Ellis of Coventry,” he says.
“My family and I have driven this 80-year-old machine from Nairobi to Kampala twice and to Mombasa once. It can handle 100kph and can cruise comfortably at 85kph.”
BIKES
1925 DKW Sati Jabbal
Jabbal will be defending the bike title in this year’s event (he has won it three times). A bike enthusiast known simply as “Sati” in the biking circles, he won the overall motorcycle trophy in 1976 with a Honda, in 1995, he walked away with the top prize for his 1947 Triumph Tiger.
In 1998 and 1999, he received the overall best bike awards for the 1954 Matchless and for the DKW.
He bought the DKW a few years back and has been restoring it for the past four years; changing the suspension, tweaking the engine and fabricating new parts to replace worn out bits and pieces. This 250cc German bike was the first of the two-stroke motor bikes.
1938 JAMES ML Anil Lakhani
Another old classic with a military pedigree. Anil bought the bike off a farmer, from a man who got it handed down to him by his grandfather.
It took him two years to restore it with parts imported from Buckingham, UK. It’s a relic that he works on tirelessly and passionately, not even for competition, but as a hobby.
OTHER BIKES
There is the Honda 750 of Keith Bakker and nine massive motorcycles of the Cruzin Kings. The Uganda Bikers Association will be riding their 12 trail and enduro motorcycles from Kampala to Nairobi to participate in the event.
The 1926 Douglas of Johannesburg-based Piet Maas, who is also a member of the Vintage Motor Cycle club of South Africa, will also be competing.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
