Besides the displays by the distributors of these inspirational models, one of the show's media sponsors, CAR magazine, will have a recently-introduced Porsche Cayenne GTS on its stand.
Aston Martin, which has done exceptionally well in South Africa since these sleek British cars became available here a few years ago, will have a comprehensive display of three cars – a DB9 Coupe Sports Pack, a V8 Vantage Roadster and a DB9 Volante.
Cliff Joffe, the marketing director of the Aston Martin division of the local distributors, the Daytona Group, based in Sandton, says unprecedented demand for Aston Martins has resulted in the opening of a second outlet, in the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, since last year's Durban Motor Show. Plans for a dealership in Durban are also well advanced.
The mouth-watering range of two door Aston Martin coupes will receive a further boost with the introduction of the range-topping “James Bond” DBS model shortly. The DBS will replace the Vanquish S, while another new introduction will be the Vantage 400, with an upgraded engine.
One of the world's ultimate luxury cars, the Rolls Royce Phantom, will share the stand with the sporty Aston Martins, as it is also distributed by the Daytona Group.
Bentley is aiming to have two of the most exclusive cars in its range on the display stand in Durban – a recently launched Continental GT Speed and a GT convertible.
The brand's performance flagship Speed model has had its weight cut by 35kg and received a 50 horsepower boost in power to take the output of its unique, W12 engine to 600 horsepower, which makes it the most powerful Bentley production car in history. This endows it with the ability to accelerate from standstill to 100km/h in well under 5 sec., with a top end in excess of 320km/h.
The distributors of Bentley in South Africa, Pearl Auto, also market Lotus sports cars in South Africa and will unveil a new, supercharged version of the Lotus Elise at the show.
On the other side of the scale, Fiat South Africa will preview one of the latest icons in the “down to earth” side of motoring – the reborn Fiat 500. This car, which was announced in Italy last year and comes to South Africa in May, is proving such a hot seller worldwide that Fiat is already planning to ramp up the planned production volumes.
The new Fiat 500 is a reincarnation of the original Fiat 500 of 1957 that demonstrated Fiat's recovery after World War 2 and it seems likely to be a similar success story to BMW's “reborn” MINI.
Fiat SA, which previewed the “new” UNO with a bio fuel engine at last year's Durban Motor Show, will launch a more mundane product at this year's show, in the form of the Scudo – a medium van (payload of about 900kg), that slots into the company's commercial vehicle range between the smaller Doblo and the larger Ducato.
The attractively-styled Scudo is the Fiat model arising from a joint venture between the Italian automotive giant and the French company PSA Citroen-Peugeot, with the latter marketing similar models as the Citroen Jumpy and Peugeot Expert. The external styling of the Scudo is similar to that of its bigger stable mate, the Ducato.
Great Wall Motors (GWM) will launch its new corporate identity as well as to introduce its Chinese-made Hover, which will compete in the “crossover” segment of the local market. “Crossovers” are a recent addition to the automotive market and blur the traditional boundaries between cars, SUVs (sports utility vehicles) and MPVs (multi-purpose vehicles).
SsangYong, the Korean manufacturer, will also launch two new models – the new Actyon Sports six-speed automatic double cab and the Kyron 270 manual SUV.
