Capturing The Creations At A Modified Car Show: Durban, South Africa

The last Friday of April 2018 saw one of the largest car gatherings in local history take place here in Durban, South Africa. Modified car shows can sometimes be a bit hit-and-miss, but as this one was happening a mere 2.5km from my house, I felt obligated to go and take my camera along, so that I could share the experience with everyone here.

The location? Gateway Shopping Centre. Gateway used to be the biggest mall in the southern hemisphere (maybe it still is), and is also one of the 50 largest malls in the world, welcoming in 2 million visitors per month. Therefore, the massive amounts of parking space on offer would be ideal for a car show.

So, sit back, relax, and take a journey below through the car scene in Durban, containing both the good and the bad.

There were at least 10 of these E46 M3’s in attendance, but this one was no doubt my pick of the bunch. Owned by a local car collector (he now has 10 cars), it’s a perfectly mint example of one of the best M3’s BMW ever made. Additionally, the entire car is original, including the paintwork.

Again, all original paint - look at that shine. The owner has also just imported a Nissan R34 GTR Vspec 2, which I'll hopefully get the chance to do a proper photoshoot of in the coming months.

Straight out of NFS: Underground 1 is this rather interesting creation. Out of the over 1000 cars in attendance, this was the only one that was sporting some sort of neon underglow - a trend I thought died out over a decade ago. But hey, each to their own right?

I must admit, I do have a soft spot for the C63 AMG. So soft in fact, that I played with the idea of buying one not so long ago. The roar of the N/A V8 is loud enough to wake the dead, and you can bring all your friends along for a fright at the same time. This one however, I’m not so sure. The paintwork isn’t standard, and can you see that enormous wing stuck on the back? It just doesn’t match.

As I’m sure you’ve already gathered, car modification laws in South Africa are quite…relaxed. If you know the correct people and can backhand a bit of cash, I’m pretty sure you could get a roadworthy certificate for a potato. Hence how this guy manages to get around with his car set up in this position.

In the wise words of Sir Mix-A-Lot: “I like big butts and I cannot lie”. The Nissan 350Z would certainly tickle his fancy then - even with this ones aftermarket single-exit exhaust.

Hidden away on one of the floors was the only slice of American muscle present, and technically it wasn’t even “muscle”. Yep, this Mustang isn’t rocking the 5.0 V8, instead housing the much smaller 2.3 Ecoboost engine under the hood. In my mind, you can’t buy a Mustang if it doesn’t have a V8 - it just doesn’t work.

The sight of a Honda S2000 is always welcoming, as these cars are quite rare. Official figures state that less than 100 were sold throughout the country, but these numbers have been disputed over the years. Regardless, seeing this red example parked next to a newer M3 made for a good combo.

Another car that I found questionable was this Toyota. I’m not sure what the owner was going for here, not to mention there were also additional fake bank notes stuck in various places around the car.

At first glance, I thought this particular BMW was the M5 variant - a car that I’m a huge fan of. Sadly, this was not the case, as this black example turned out to be a 540i with an aftermarket exhaust. However, it still commands a certain respect in my opinion…old school cool and all that jazz.

Now this was an interesting combo to see: the mighty S65 AMG from Mercedes-Benz parked next to a car that appeared to be a Jaguar. I only think it may have been a Jaguar because the infamous hood ornament was pouncing out above the grille. For all I know, it was actually a kit car that someone stuck a Jaguar hood ornament on to.

Again, not a car that I’d consider making or owning, but this type of look and feel is very popular here. Make of that what you will.

I stood for about 2 minutes setting up this photo, and the entire time I was tinkering around with my settings, the owner was standing in the background with his arm in the air. Commitment.

For such a large gathering, I really expected there to be more in the way of the Toyota 86, as it’s quite a popular car in this area of the world. This was the only one I managed to spot in the crowd, and it was also the only 86 I’ve ever seen locally that has a “Rocket Bunny” kit on it.

Somehow, you can even get away with having these for wheel nuts.

And not too far away, the grand daddy of the 86 was sitting in a prime parking spot - in this case, maybe it’s actually the grand mother of the 86? This particular Supra is the 3.0 N/A variant, and it’s also automatic, which is a combo that certainly doesn’t get my fancy. Give me a twin turbo with a 6 speed manual please, and all will be good.

A quick cellphone snap showing half of one of the parking levels - the event took up three levels in total. It’s worth noting that the event opened at 6pm, and was already at full capacity by 8pm, with hundreds of cars still stuck outside causing huge traffic issues. This just goes to show how large the car scene in Durban is.

After an hour of walking around, I decided to call it quits and head inside the mall for a break. Luckily, I'd been tipped off that another section contained a selection of cars that I was much more familiar with. After a brief walk, I came across a display in the centre of the food court (of all places), housing a bunch of super cars from a dealership located not too far away in Ballito. The area was roped off, and a rather large security guard was giving death stares to anyone who even made an attempt to take a slightly closer peek at some of the exotic machinery on display.

Pretending to not notice him, I set my camera up for a few shots of the cars that didn’t have any rope obstructions in the way, but sadly only ended up with two photos - the front end of a brand new Lamborghini Huracan Performante, and a BMW M4 GTS. There were 7 “super cars” on display here, including a Ferrari 458 with a Liberty Walk kit, a regular Ferrari F430, as well as an original Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder.

Just as I was wrapping up, I spotted the aforementioned security guard walking towards me. With most of my gear out on the floor, I couldn’t exactly run anywhere, so I just kept my head down and packed away as if nothing was wrong. It didn’t take long until I heard a rather deep voice ask me “hey, you. Do you like these cars?”. Not knowing if this was a trick question or not, I just responded bluntly with “yeah, they’re nice. Too bad I’ll never be able to afford one”. To my surprise, the security guard just chuckled and said “never say never. Enjoy your evening”.

Let’s hope that he was right.

DISCLAIMER: All photos and writings are my own original work.

Camera	Canon 6D
Lens	Canon 24-105 F4 L Series
Additional	Manfrotto tripod
Processing	Lightroom CC