2023 Simola Hillclimb poised to be the best yet

One of the most eagerly awaited race events on our local calendar is the Simola Hillclimb, a weekend where literally millions of rands of race cars all gather at the base of a small estate road in Knysna to see who can get to the top fastest.

Lawrence Minnie

12 Apr 2023 · 08:08Automotive News10 min read

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2023 Simola Hillclimb set to be the best edition yet

The Simola Hillclimb event which takes place in Knysna every year, is South Africa's premiere motorsport event that garners entries from all over the country and in some circumstances, the world. This year's event promises to be the best yet with numerous privateers and factory teams taking to the fabled hill to see who will ultimately be crowned king of the hill.

Suzuki once again returns as an event sponsor but is not alone as more factory manufacturers are bringing their own flavor with a series of exhibition runs that are sure to wow the crowds. The Simola Hillclimb is a very special motorsport weekend with the best atmosphere you’ll find in the country, It’s also a real challenge for the driver as you can’t go and practice, and there’s no room for mistakes. You need to progressively build up your speed, and leave a bit in the tank for that final run. The hillclimb is run up the Simola Hill Estate road in Knysna and covers a distance of 1.9 kilometres and comprises 9 corners with sheer rock walls to one side and thick trees and a ravine to the other, with no margin for error.

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Entrant list points to the best of the best

The hill sees all types and ages of race cars making their attempt at the hill with everything from the 1940's up to 2023 and every conceivable engine type and displacement ready to take on the course. Previous year's winners will be in attendance hoping to take the crown of King of the Hill sporting everything from custom-built international hillclimb monsters to tuned production cars and an entirely new form, electrified vehicles.

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Special exhibitions

Title sponsor, Suzuki will be returning with their sporty Swifts and will be doing motorcycle demo runs up the hill with the new DL1050 DE and DL250 models. Other title sponsor BMW is bringing the monstrous XM hybrid SUV, the all-electric i4 sedan and iX3 SUV that will also be tackling the hill. Toyota will be sending the eagerly awaited GR Corolla and Honda is also bringing a new toy, something Type R-ish. Shelby South Africa has their fleet of Mustangs while Volkswagen would not be left out and is bringing race-prepped Golf 8's and has also just announced that WRC champ Petter Solberg will be piloting his insane WRX race car, which accelerates faster than an F1 machine, up the hill.

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Don't miss any of the action!

AutoTrader will be in attendance to bring you all the action as well as the contents of the pit-lane so stay tuned to our social media pages as bring you all the thrills and spills of this once a year event. You can also search for the event livestream on the weekend on YouTube and Facebook if you want to follow along at home.

Written by Lawrence Minnie

Lawrence has been involved with motorsports for almost 30 years. Whether it's two wheels or four, if it has an engine, he will try to race it. This love of motor vehicles has led him to ride, drive, film, photograph, and write about his passion. Freelance for a while but now a permanent fixture on the AutoTrader team for over 7 years, Lawrence contributes written, photographic, and video content for AutoTrader and AutoTrader Bikes.Read more