JEWELS OF GIULIETTA
Spring has sprung, and so too has the season for car clubs and motoring events to get properly underway. Not too long ago, at the tail end of what was otherwise an extremely temperate winter, the Alfa Romeo Club of South Africa pulled off the annual track day at Zwartkops, just outside of Pretoria. A few weeks after those Biscione badged creations took to the circuit, another event took place bringing the most meticulously maintained of the brand together. Enter into the annual Alfa Romeo Concorso D’Eleganza…
The first few steps over a small bridge raised above a stream leading into the Modderfontein Bird and Sculpture Park yielded a vast array of colours, shapes, chrome, piano black and details all superimposed on the yellow grass on which they rested. To the one side, a modern architectural concrete showpiece spanning multiple stories stood to demonstrate that contemporary design was all around but to the other, on the shores of a pruned and manicured Highveld dam was a collection of Alfas that delved equally as much into the past. New and old, an appreciable collection of models showed up, in numbers that would make any other rival automotive club locally green with envy.
Lake Como and the Villa D’Este Concorso, or Pebble Beach on the shores of Monterey may be the globally revered automotive events that garner visitors from all over the world with some of the most iconic and respected pieces of coachbuilt metal, but thousands of kilometres south of the equator is where the South African Alfisti celebrate the best of the brand. This enclave of picnic-perfect area, part of the Flamingo Shopping Centre compound has served as the chosen location for the annual Alfa Romeo Concorso D’Eleganza over the past few years but in 2024, there was a key difference that separated this as a cut above the rest.
Myself and Ivano, who snapped away on his camera while we made our way throughout the event, walked into an oddity as we entered the grounds of the facility. There was a paralell line of classic Tipo 750 and Tipo 101 Giuliettas, very clearly restored to meticulous nut and bolt standards, but to their flank were modern Tipo 940 Giuliettas arranged into a circular configuration from our eye-level point of view. A few moments of bickering, we had eventually figured out the reason behind this. I unfurled my drone from the satchel and sent it into the air to confirm our suspicions that a 70 symbol had been arranged on the ground with a variety of Giuliettas, but only Giuliettas, to celebrate the 70 years of the moniker, which originally debuted in 1954.
These were the real winners of the day. A lineage spanning 70 years for a single moniker within a brand is nothing short of impressive, particularly when thinking how many pertinent automakers today were even in existence back then. This epiphany aside while getting a glimpse of the rest of the event from a bird’s eye view, and it seemed that the Alfisti of South Africa had showed up. This undisturbed drone view on my phone screen preemptively traced our steps along the shoreline, with dappled shade under trees catering to the crowds in the dry warmth, and all the way up to the concourse display area. Dozens of post war vehicles had milling spectators intimately engaged, the vivid colours before the modern era speaking to their many decades on this earth.
Further up at the judging section, Giuliettas once again made their presence known but this time - an impressive gathering of the 116 kind. A brisk trajectory directly overhead also showed some familiar models at these club events. GTAs, Spiders and of course the 4C, which in 2024 celebrates a decade of life. At the height of the drone, I was not yet privy that some of these models on display were also prepared to meticulous standards, with full nut and bolt restorations prevalent on older models, while their contemporary low-mileage peers seemed to have just rolled out of the local dealership. An appreciation towards the level of time and money spent to turn back the clock on these pieces of history can’t be ignored.
In the same breath, one of the standout participants of the event was Brendon Scholtz’s 4-door Brera, which by this point has probably appeared on every social media platform to a mix of praise and critique. Whichever side of the fence spectators stand with this, even the most draconian critics would be able to appreciate the attention to detail and factory finish the local engineer has achieved after his second attempt at creating it. Expect to see more on this soon!
With battery life dwindling, I moved the drone far enough over the water to face the collection of cars and the contemporary architecture behind in a single frame. It was a sight to behold, as it is each year. The most staggering aspect of all of this though is the sheer numbers that this brand still yields in terms of enthusiasts. The South African automotive market has seen a shift in buying trends, with consumers moving away from premium brands and into the driver’s seats of affordable and well equipped vehicles hailing from the Far East. An inconsequential amount of new Alfas find homes each month and despite this, the owners seem as steadfast as ever spurred on by the participation and support of Stellantis and local dealerships.
The drone eventually landed and was promptly tucked away in its protective bag, the rest of the afternoon followed a recurring process of bumping into familiar faces and rekindling stories of old. The more Ivano and I got engaged in conversation, the more I thought “You couldn’t find more devoted enthusiasts anywhere else” - a perfect example of quality over quantity!
