5 Reasons You Should Attend the CBA Africa Concours d’Elegance

Ian Duncan’s Ford Capri

The CBA Africa Concours d’Elegance is an annual event held on the last Sunday in September at the Nairobi Racecourse and has become the classiest event on the Kenya Motor Sport calendar. The event is in its 48th year and is still one of the most popular family events on the Nairobi social calendar. CBA has been the title sponsor since 2012.  In case you are still unconvinced, here are 5 reasons you should attend the CBA Africa Concours d’Elegance.

1. Rich History

Concours d’Elegance has French origins and means ”competition of elegance” and refers to an event where prestigious vehicles are displayed and judged. The event dates back to 17th century France where aristocrats paraded horse-drawn carriages in Paris. Over time, they became competitions for vehicle owners and there are such competitions around the world.

In Kenya, the first Concours d’Elegance was in 1971 and was organized by the Alfa Romeo Owner’s Club Kenya. The event is sanctioned by the Kenya Motorsports Federation and the FIM Africa and has grown to be the biggest motoring event in Kenya attracting 10,000 visitors.

2. The Cars

This is the main attraction as the event is centred around cars after all. The competition registers about 70 cars to take part in the competition each year. The cars are judged individually which is a very interesting process with age and maintainance of the car taken into consideration. It is made so by the car owners who have spent, some of them, many months of rebuilding, repainting and polishing their entries. The minimum age of cars entered into the competition is 10 years and the classes for the entries are usually 13 and include everything from vintage cars to touring vans to sports cars. It’s a treat to get to see one of a kind cars and I am always amazed at the level of care the owners put into them.

Dicon Wilcok’s 1934 Railton

In 2017, there were 13 cars from Uganda and 14 motorcycles – 11 from the Uganda Bikers Association, who once again rode in convoy from Kampala. There were three cars from Tanzania and three motorcycles from South Africa. Over the years there have been entrants from as far away as Argentina, Australia, Mexico, England and Germany. the overall winner of the car classes was Diccon Wilcock’s 1934 Railton.

3. The Motorbikes

The competition registers up to 40 motorcycles to take part in the competition each year. The motorbikes are also judged on maintenance and age, with the minimum age of motorcycles entered into the competition being 3 years.  The overall winner of the motorcycle classes was Sati’s Classics 1925 DKW.

Sati Classic’s 1925 DKW

4. The Fashion

Every year, the Concours d’Elegance has a theme. The 2017 theme was Beauty and the Beasts and the dress code was Ascot.  Kenyans are not the best when it comes to following dress codes but over the past few years, there has been a marked improvement and it’s always great to see those who do follow the dress code putting their best foot forward.

From left to right-Reginah-Karubia-Bona-Giselle-Miriam-Hosea

This year’s theme is Aladdin and the Magical Rides and so the fashion choices should be interesting!

5. Family Fun

Other than the competition itself, there are lots of other things happening at Concours. There is an Auto Expo, a Classic Car and Motorcycle Sale, and the Heritage Collection of old and interesting vehicles, equipment and machinery, a kids corner with fun activities, plenty of food and drinks and entertainment.

I’m looking forward to attending this years CBA Africa Concours d’Elegance and can’t wait to see what the competition looks like this year.

Advanced tickets are going for Ksh 1000 for adults and Ksh 500 for children and are available here. There will also be tickets available at the gate at Ksh 1200 for adults and Ksh 600 for children. The event is on Sunday, September 30th and will be held at the Ngong Racecourse starting from 9 am.