Unique Road & Race Car Collection in Johannesburg

Although this collection is primarily focused on German vehicles, it all started with an English car. We visit a wonderful collection in Johannesburg.

Words and photos: Wilhelm Lutjeharms

Before the owner of this fascinating classic and race car collection walks me through his garage, I sit down with him to hear his story. 

Nobody wakes up one day with a collection of cars such as this. It all started with that one car that sparked the interest and then subsequently learning more about cars, maintaining them, keeping them on the road and enjoying them. This collector has a clear love for cars from the middle of the 20th century, and that has always been the case throughout his life. 

“When I was a youngster, my dad did a lot of business in Germany and when he came back from a trip overseas one day, he told us - this was in the early '50s - of a customer who took him for a drive in a Porsche and how impressed he was with that car and how you almost sat on the floor. That memory left a lasting impression on me.

“When I grew up, I used to go to the café in those days and buy CAR magazine. I could tell you everything about the cars that were on sale. If the magazine hadn't arrived yet, I would go down the next day to check again.”

That first car

“We didn’t grow up with money. My mother used to make money by buying stuff from the railways. They had a place called the “excess depot”. What used to happen is that the stuff that got lost on the railways would be auctioned there. My mother one day told me about this old car that was there... I was 17 at the time and got terribly excited. I didn’t have the money, but my older brother had a job and he had the money. We bought it at the auction for £17. It was a 1936 Armstrong Siddeley 12hp Plus – a saloon. I thought it was the most magnificent thing in the world… and I started restoring it.

“In those days restoring a car was not like it is today. You needed to buy a magazine from England, then write a letter to the company requesting the part(s). Then four weeks later you would receive a letter saying no, they don’t have the part – and you would be back at square one. It really was not an easy job.

“I then attended university, and the Armstrong was still around. Slowly I realised that I was throwing away the money I was putting into that car. By that time, I was in the auction industry with my brother, but I studied as a metallurgist.”

The first Porsche

“I slowly started to learn about values. I took the car and all the bits and pieces and I sold it all, and I still lost money! Then a friend bought a Porsche 356 for me at a sale in 1971, which I then restored. I discovered thereafter that the car was involved in an accident. It was a 356 A with the front of a B – it was now a 356 A-B! I realised that was not right.

Then I bought a 356 C. But the doors needed attention and it was simply too expensive to order new parts, so I found a body specialist who did a great job for less than what new parts would have cost. I sold that car and made a small profit in the process.” Jokingly, he says he thought he was cleverest guy in the world at that time.

“It started rolling from here on and then another 356 crossed my path. At the time the sellers wanted R50 000 for the car, but I offered them R35 000. They didn’t want to take it. Then an auctioneer had an accident with the car and they approached me.”

As is to be expected, he wasn’t going to offer R35 000 for a car that had now been in an accident, so he offered them R25 000 – and they accepted! This car he would eventually convert into a race car which he admits he has had a lot of fun with and still owns to this day.

Around 2004, during an international rally, he met a fellow enthusiast and Porsche 356 specialist. It was during conversations with this gentleman that the discussion turned to the rare Porsche 356 Carrera 2 with the special 4-cam engine. Long story short, a car was sourced and he added this 356 Carrera 2 to his collection.

Road trips

What is especially encouraging about the cars in the collection is that they are being used. This 356 Carrera 2 is a good example as he drove it all the way from Johannesburg to Matjiesfontein in the Western Cape for a special car meeting a few years ago. “The first night we slept at the Gariep Dam. On the way back we drove through Barrydale and Bloemfontein. The timing gave some issues in the Free State, so I then had to put it on trailer back to Johannesburg.”

If you appreciate early race cars, the Elva-Porsche will undoubtedly draw your attention. 

“Between the Porsche 718 RSK and the 904 there wasn’t a Porsche race car. Some guys in the United States wanted one though. Elva was building some race cars at the time. They looked a lot like the Lotus 23. Porsche wasn’t completely involved with the project, that is why it was called an Elva-Porsche. Elva built about 50 Mark VIIs. Most had BMW and Ford engines while only 18 were built with Porsche engines of which most went to America. A fellow local enthusiast and amateur racer bought one, but without an engine.”

Years later he met the owner of the Elva-Porsche and said that he would really like to buy this unique race car from him, but at the time the owner was not interested. Fast forward eight years and the collector received an email from him.

“At the time it didn’t have a Porsche engine and also not the correct gearbox for an Elva-Porsche. But, I bought it and then had it fully restored. Then I started searching for an engine. My son assisted me and he found a 4-cam engine in France.”

Thankfully, there is also clear evidence on the car that it was originally an Elva-Porsche. Subsequently, the collector has enjoyed the car on track on a number of occasions. Seeing it in real life it is arguably one of most compact and lowest classic race cars I’ve ever seen. The simplicity is one of the most attractive elements of this era of race cars.

The rest of the collection

The collector takes me through the collection which includes a couple of Mercedes-Benzes, a gorgeous 930 Turbo, a 356 Speedster and even an MG. All these cars get driven regularly. Next year he is planning a drive with his son overseas, any every family member shares in the passion. The old photos, paintings and memorabilia along the walls each tell their own story.

It is evident that his love for the restoration of cars shows no slowing down. In the workshop at home there are two Porsche 912s that he and his assistant are busy restoring. 

We page through one of the albums where he shows me the restoration done on a Mercedes-Benz while I can’t keep my eyes off the 220S Ponton Cabriolet which has recently been finished, as well as one of only two in South Africa pre-war 1938 BMW 327 Sport Cabriolets that has also been meticulously been restored over a number of years. Finally, there is a Mercedes-Benz SL300 Roadster next door, which is no garage queen and has been used often on long journeys – like it should!