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Highlight of the past few weeks was the official unveiling of FMM’s freshly-restored Peugeot Hillclimb Special, as described in the last newsletter. Appropriately, this unique piece of South African motoring history reappeared on Heritage Day as part of the museum’s public holiday celebrations. Invited guests, including members of the small but enthusiastic Club Peugeot Afrique du Sud, heard FMM Curator Wayne Harley give a short history of the car before L’Ormarins managing director Gary Baumgarten and Stephen Mesecke of restorers SG Classic Cars pulled the wraps of the gleaming blue car to warm applause. The finished vehicle – complete with racing roundel no. 39 in deference to the car’s original chassis build year – looks magnificent. MM
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In mid-September FMM was once again been honoured with a visit by one of South Africa’s racing legends when Bobby Scott and his wife Glenda stopped in at the museum for a cup of tea and to kick a few tyres. Bobby started his racing career on 125 cm3 motorcycles and later moved to cars, racing hot rods and Formula Fords, in which he won the championship in 1975. After racing in the UK for a few years he returned to SA and raced in Formula Atlantic for Sportsman’s Lager in a March 77B-Ford BDA and during his visit I asked him to sign the nose fairing of the car he campaigned from 1977 to ’79. He also campaigned an Alfa Romeo 2000 with Arnold Chatz in the 1977 and 1978 Wynns 1000. Bobby now runs Scott Motorcycles and Accessories with his family in Montana, Pretoria. WH
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FMM hosted a number of club and business gatherings during the past two months, including SEFAC Johannesburg and Cape Town branches, MG Car Club, Aston Martin Car Club, Porsche Driving Events and a Volkswagen conference. NM
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FMM is proud to announce that it has won the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice 2013 award.TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site and visitors can browse over one million reviews by fellow travellers of hotels, restaurants, attractions, etc. FMM won the award in the category TOP MUSEUMS IN AFRICA and SOUTH AFRICA. KR
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The Alfa Romeo brand’s legendary symbol, the Quadrifoglio Verde (green four-leaf clover) has adorned some of the brand’s sportiest models through the decades and this year celebrated its 90th anniversary. The symbol has been used not only on Alfa Romeo racing cars but also to certain special production versions. The origin of the symbol has been lost in legend, however strong links to the flag that distinguished the aeroplanes of the 10th Caproni Bomber Squadron in the Great War are evident. Today the Quadrifoglio is part of the Italian Air Force’s coat of arms and at the same time remains a symbol of Alfa Romeo.
The first Alfa Romeo car to be adorned with the Quadrifoglio Verde (QV) was Ugo Sivocci’s RL with which he won the 14th edition of the Targa Florio in 1923. This victory was the first of ten achieved in this prestigious competition. Since then, all Alfa Romeo racing cars have carried this emblem.
High-performance production models built from the 1960s that have carried the QV symbol on the body but without an appearance in the official name, include the Giulia TI Super, Giulia Sprint GT Veloce, 1750 GT Veloce and Alfasud Sprint. From the 1980s onward, models that have included Quadrifoglio Verde as part of their official name include the Alfasud ti QV, the Sprint Quadrifoglio Verde, various versions of the 33 QV, the 75 QV, the Spider 2.0 QV, the 164 QV and the 145 QV The QV cont9inues today on MiTo and Giulietta models.
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Cape Town’s Fish Hoek is one of South Africa’s oldest settlements, European settlers having arrived there is 1652. Consequently, the town has a long and interesting heritage and boasts four provincial heritage sites, but also has a very early association with motor trade in the Cape. In a new book entitled Footloose in Fish Hoek (an historical self-guide walking guide), the town’s involvement in the Cape’s motor trade makes for interesting reading. Thorp Delta at 41 Main Road has links with the first cars to reach our shores while further along the road at No. 60 is a triangular building that was Fish Hoek’s first garage and dates from the 1920s. At No. 62 is Booby Locke Motors, which was formerly Prospect Motors and bought by golfing legend Locke in 1956.
The book – with map – costs R20 and is available from numerous outlets in the town. The walkabout is well worth it. MM
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EXHAUST BLIPS
DATES TO DIARISE:
October 5: National Super Series, Killarney (www.wpmc.co.za)
October 6: VW Enthusiasts Group Air-cooled Motor Show, POMC terrain,Silverton, Pretoria (kusch@mailzone.co.za)
October 16-19: GRMC Technical Tour to Port Elizabeth (peterp@epweb.co.za)
October 16-27: Johannesburg International Motor Show, NASREC (www.jhbmotorshow.co.za)
October 19: Festival races, Killarney (www.wpmc.co.za)
October 19: Historic racing, Kyalami (www.historicracing.co.za)
November 2: Super Series, Kyalami (www.motorsport.co.za)
November 3: Cape Classic Car Show, Jan Burger Stadium, Parow (foucheng@iafrica.com)
November 3: House of Classic & Sports Cars Auction at Cape Classic Car Show (www.hocasc.co.za)
November 3-6: CVMC Fairest Cape Tour, Goudini Spa (fairestcapetour@gmail.com)
(Clubs are invited to send details of upcoming events to
mike4m@telkomsa.net for inclusion in Exhaust Blips.)
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WHERE, WHAT TIMES
AND HOW MUCH
The Franschhoek Motor Museum is situated on the L’Ormarins Estate along the R45 in the Franschhoek Valley in the Western Cape. The opening hours are:
Monday to Friday 10h00 to 17h00 (last admittance 16h00),
Saturday and Sunday 10h00 to 16h00 (last admittance 15h00),
and the museum is open on most public holidays.
Admission prices are R60 adults, R50 pensioners, R30 children. An on-site delicatessen offers refreshments and tasting of L’Ormarins estate wines is also available. MM
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