Shongweni Motorshow: A showcase of KZN Car Culture
- Dylan Naidoo
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By: Dylan Naidoo
The car culture in South Africa is truly something else. Really, it was a varied mix of South African built vehicles and imported cars from a variety of other countries. It's not hard to see why either, as our country is quite well-known for our exclusive vehicles, such as the exclusive “Gusheshe” BMW 325i. But the Shongweni Motorshow was truly something different and took me by surprise.
I took my friends out for this outing, as let's be honest, a group of guys driving up to Shongweni to see a bunch of cars is pretty much a recipe for a vibe, and it truly was. We were all taken back by some of the great cars that we saw. Sales’ reps were everywhere, the smell of fresh food stirred in the air, families brought their kids, it was a day to remember essentially. And whilst I really did enjoy seeing many of the cool new cars on offer, I would have loved to see some old beauties as well.
"The cars looked absolutely lovely, and the atmosphere was vibrant and welcoming. There were plenty of new vehicles on display, and it was great to meet so many friendly people," said Linden, my close friend.
Classic cars were not the only thing at the show, oh no, for this show had a lot of new cars on display for people to just, well, sit inside and give a try! There were even a lot of cars that we had already tested on MotorSense already, which I thought was quite funny. Bakkies, passenger vehicles and even giant commercial vehicles peppered the grounds of the show, from luxurious BMW’s to waves of Cherys, there were truly cars there for everyone to play with. Our man Linden had his way with talking to the sales reps for the new cars, which I will argue is quite the quality to have.
Tuned BMW M2 The Electric MG Cyberster Toyota GR Supra
“The motor show was quite an experience. The stunning cars, food and flea market stalls and live music, all made it a phenomenal experience. The atmosphere was lively with all the friendly stall holders and car company reps. The only downside would be that there weren't many old beauties to admire,” said George, a good friend of mine that came along to the show, and I have to agree.
That isn’t to say there weren’t any classics there. Oh, there were in fact some very noticeable ones. We had the opportunity to check out some of them, varying from a Shelby Cobra, a custom “Knight Rider” inspired Pontiac, and even some old muscle car icons. For me the standout was the old school Mustang, that is something you will probably not see again in a long time. That does paint the picture for some old-school American muscle, but there were also some newer sports cars there as well.
Custom Pick-up
There was no doubt about it, while it was a celebration of some of the classics, it was also quite the celebration of modern machines as well, I mean, I even saw the updated version of my Picanto there (Well done Kia, you really knocked it out of the park with this one!).
Next to the motorshow was the Shongweni Market, filled with many and I do really mean
many stalls. It’s quite a surprise that it feels like there is always a flea market wherever our group goes. Anyways, stalls were lined up with all sorts of items, activities and just fascinating things to check out. We noticed George was quite interested in an electric bicycle (although to be fair, I was as well), and I got the opportunity to have a taste test of various hot sauces (You know what? the Carolina Reaper isn't too bad).
Past the market we arrived at the food stalls, with a large gazebo set up covering many tables within. Live music made the already vibey atmosphere feel warmer, and the food stalls had various local offerings. I kept it simple, wors roll and chips, and honestly, it was good. In fact, a lot of the food here was good.
So back to the Shongweni Motorshow. One thing I appreciated about this show was the car culture. Going there made me realise that KZN truly is a province that is vibrant in car culture. Really, this isn’t the only motorshow we had here, let’s not forget how great that GAS Motorshow was. But for this one, it was a true reflection of the active car community in KZN.
