Six exciting brands to watch in Simola Hillclimb

Six car manufacturers are supporting the Simola Hillclimb in Knysna from May 4-7 with official entries, with four of the brands also signing up as event partners.

“For the past three years we have been working hard to expand the manufacturer support and participation in the Simola Hillclimb to broaden its appeal for spectators and competitors,” said Ian Shrosbree, MD of the Knysna Speed Festival, which runs the Simola Hillclimb.

Suzuki Auto SA returns for its third consecutive year of sponsoring the event. “Globally, the Suzuki brand has a very strong heritage and an enviable reputation of building high-powered hill climb monsters such as Monster Tajima’s Suzuki Escudo Pikes Peak and the Suzuki SX4 Pikes Peak Special,” says Brendon Carpenter, brand marketing manager at Suzuki Auto SA.

Suzuki will enter two Swift Sport entries in the standard production class.

BMW

After its participation as an entrant last year, BMW SA has become a partner for the 2023 Simola Hillclimb.

“BMW’s presence at this year’s Simola Hillclimb will be a celebration of our heritage in SA on Classic Car Friday, as well as a look towards our future and our expanding electromobility portfolio in the King of the Hill Shootout,” said Thilosh Moodally, GM: group communications and external affairs, BMW group SA.

Volkswagen

The Volkswagen line-up will include the Polo SupaCup race car that featured in the 2022 event, with two Golf R entries and a fourth “very exciting car” of which details will be revealed closer to the event.

Honda

Joining the fray for the first time as a partner is Honda Motor SA.

“For King of the Hill, we are entering a highly anticipated new performance car that will be launched just before the Simola Hillclimb driven by one of SA’s best-known racing drivers,” said Honda Motor SA.

Honda hasn't confirmed which vehicle it is but our guess is the  new Civic Type R.

Hyundai

Hyundai SA returns as the media shuttle partner for the second consecutive year, while the Hyundai i30N is the official entry model driven by Joshua Lowe, Hyundai’s regional sales and N-sport manager.

“We have entered our i30N, which we raced in the Johannesburg-based Vilaca Racing time attack series in 2022. For this year the vehicle has a few basic modifications for the track, but is essentially what you can expect from the factory vehicle,” said Lowe.

Ford

Ford SA will enter the new V6-powered Ranger Raptor — all 292kW of it — in the unlimited class for sports utility/activity vehicles and bakkies. 

Purchase your tickets online

Tickets can be purchased on the event website (www.simolahillclimb.com) with prices starting at R150 per day.