Simola 2025: Where Speed, Smoke, and Supercars Collide


If you think a quiet weekend in Knysna, South Africa, sounds like a sedate trip full of oysters and picturesque lagoon views, think again. From 1 to 4 May 2025, the coastal calm is set to be shattered by rev-hungry maniacs (a.k.a. motorsport enthusiasts) at the 15th edition of the Simola Hillclimb. If your idea of bliss is the scream of a V8 one moment and the futuristic whir of an EV the next, you’re in for a treat.


Ready, Steady, Scrutineer

Festivities kick off on Friday, 2 May, with all the glitzy road cars and supercars lining up for scrutineering. This is where officials poke around the undercarriages to ensure everyone’s playing by the rules (or at least hasn’t stored a spare rocket under the hood). By late afternoon, the legendary parade on Knysna’s Waterfront Drive turns the tarmac into a tyre-smoking runway—smoke signals that say, “We’ve arrived, and we mean business.”


The Race to be King (or Queen)

The real fun begins on Saturday, 3 May, with four practice sessions and three qualifying rounds. On Sunday, tension hits fever pitch in another three qualifiers before the fastest three in each class battle in the Class Finals. Ultimately, the Top 10 Shootout decides who gets crowned King of the Hill—no pressure, just a 1.9 km track that climbs and twists, all eyes watching, and a 42.935-second record (set by JP van der Walt in 2024) looming like a teased donkey. Since JP isn’t racing this year, a new monarch must rise.


Hybrids, EVs, and Monstrous V8s—Oh My!

Don’t think this is all about old-school gas guzzlers. Class A8 is a tech-lover’s dream, featuring Mercedes-AMG and MG duking it out with hybrid and electric firepower.

  • Mercedes-AMG returns with its newly unveiled GT 63 S E Performance, boasting a 4.0-litre V8 and a hybrid system that collectively produce a hair-raising 600 kW and 1 420 Nm. It’ll be piloted by the ever-ragged-edge Clint Weston, who clearly has a vendetta against tyres.
  • The AMG GLC 63 S E Performance and C63 S E Performance—each with 500 kW and 1 020 Nm—are driven by Natalie Weston and Courtney Nicholl respectively, presumably to see who can terrify the tarmac more.
  • Meanwhile, MG takes the stage with the all-electric Cyberster Roadster (375 kW, AWD) driven by Joshua Lowe, and the intriguing MG4 XPower EV entrusted to Johannes Pretorious.


Muscle Meets Supercar

Class A7 is all about forced-induction eight-cylinders and above. Cue a small army of Shelby Mustangs from Shelby South Africa/Lindenberg Racing:

  • Five Shelby Super Snake beasts (driven by O’Callaghan, Padayachy, Smit, Malatji, and Paige Lindenberg) and a rare Shelby Terlingua piloted by James Temple.
  • They’ll go head-to-head with Eugene Herbert’s Roush Mustang and Garth Mackintosh’s roaring McLaren 720S.

Not to be outdone, Class A6 parades naturally aspirated V8+ cars: a Ferrari 458 (Jon Williams), an Audi R8 V10 Plus (Gordon Nicholson), and a 2000 BMW M5 (Shiraz Bawa).


Porsche, Pioneers, and Proof of Determination

Class A5 showcases three glorious Porsches: a 2014 Cayman GTS (Dayaan Padayachey), a 2000 911 GT3 (Sean Mackay), and a 2018 911 GT3 RS (Abu Bakr Omar).

There’s also a 2003 BMW M3 lurking under Ridwaan Babamia’s command.

In Class A4, BMW SA officially steps up with a 405 kW M4 Competition xDrive (Leyton Fourie). Martin van Zummeren trades in the wild Modified Saloon Car category for a 1997 Nissan R33 GT-R.

Among the most inspiring stories is Guy Davies, a paraplegic racer making his Simola debut in his trusty Porsche 911 Carrera—200,000 km on the clock, hand controls fitted, zero modifications otherwise. “Behind the wheel I’m not disabled,” he says, proving that determination trumps doubt.


Turbocharged Twosomes and Fiery Four-Cylinders

Over in Class A3 (two-wheel drive, up to six-cylinder forced induction), watch out for a 353 kW M2 Competition (Cristiano Verolini), a 2023 M4 CSL (Ebrahim Mayat), a 2020 Toyota Supra (Paul Munro), and a 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio (Piet Potgieter).

With no takers in Class A2, Class A1 welcomes everything from a dainty Suzuki Swift 1.2 (Ernest Page) to a Swift Sport (Jeanette Kok-Kritzinger), plus a feisty MINI John Cooper Works (Bradleigh Boshoff). Stellantis South Africa throws in an Opel Corsa GS Irmscher (Siyabonga Mankonkwana), while the rest of the field is a motley crew of a Fiat 500 Abarth, a Porsche 718 Cayman, an Alfa 4C, and a Fiesta ST from the MasterDrive Driver Search winner.


Join the Madness

For tickets, event details, and a chance to see this incredible spectacle firsthand, head over to www.simolahillclimb.com. If you have a weak heart or an aversion to the sweet smell of burnt rubber, maybe pack a blindfold and earplugs—just don’t say we didn’t warn you.

#SimolaHillclimb – Where Knysna trades tranquillity for turbochargers, one blistering second at a time.


Images : Supplied