Go hillclimbing with big cat

And for this year, our Road Test Editor, Mark Jones, has been invited as one of only five motoring journalists in the country to do battle for motoring media honours on the hill in a Jaguar XF.

The Jaguar Simola Hillclimb extravaganza will take place in Knysna from May 16-18 and will consist of a host of automotive events and competitions designed to cater for young and old alike –whether talking about the people or the mechanical machinery.

Says Jaguar Land Rover South Africa and sub-Sahara Africa Managing Director Kevin Flynn, “The Simola Hillclimb is custom-made for Jaguar, a brand which not only has an incredibly rich heritage but an impressive current line-up and an equally exciting future.

“We are thrilled to be the headline sponsor of an event which pays homage to the past but is firmly rooted in the present.

“The Jaguar Simola Hillclimb transcends the mere metal however, and is ultimately a weekend for those who love car culture and what it embraces.

“It is a celebration of all that personal mobility is about, bringing people with a common passion together.

“I can’t wait for May to come around and enjoy the sensory pleasures that are part and parcel of the weekend!”

Jaguar has signed up to be the title sponsor of the Simola Hillclimb for the next three years, and has every intention of powering it into the same league as the Durban July horse race and Sun City’s Million Dollar golf tournament. This will be the fifth running of the event and each year it has grown in stature.

Jaguar’s involvement will accelerate that process.

“We are incredibly excited to have Jaguar on board as the title sponsor as there is no doubt that it will mark a turning point for the event and lift it to a new level,” says Event Director Ian Shrosbree.

“Jaguar and the Simola Hillclimb are a perfect fit for each other, both representing the finer things in the automotive world.”

The festival will include Classic Car Friday for pre-1975 cars and the King of the Hill Shootout for modern, exotic and supercars on the Saturday and Sunday.

Needless to say, Jaguar has cars which fit perfectly with both sides of this coin, from the graceful SS100 of the 1930s, through D-Type competition cars, the iconic E-Type and MkII saloon cars, and more modern R cars.

The invitational event is expected to attract a wide variety of the best and fastest competition cars in the country, including at least one surprise never seen on SA roads before.