Laude Classic Cars has brought a collection of classic, sports and investment cars to Somerset Mall, with visitors able to view and, under guidance, sit inside selected cars from 25 August to 7 September 2026.
I was at Somerset Mall this morning for our usual weekly run, while also keeping an eye on how things are coming together around the new SM Food Market ahead of several upcoming openings.
With Freedom Adventure Park and Rib Republic due to open on 27 August 2026, and Woolworths NOW NOW following on 10 September 2026, there is plenty happening around the revamped section of the mall.
But it was something rather different that caught my attention.
A collection of classic cars had taken over part of the atrium.
Laude Classic Cars is at Somerset Mall from 25 August to 7 September 2026, bringing a selection of classic, sports and investment cars into the Helderberg.
Cars that stop people in their tracks
Among the cars on display are a 1983 Rolls-Royce Corniche, a 1988 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Cabriolet and a 1958 MGA Coupe.
The 2000 Ultima GTR was the one that caught my attention most.
I am hardly a car enthusiast, but there was something strange about seeing a car from 2000 that somehow manages to look both classic and remarkably modern.
And I was clearly not the only one interested.
There was a steady stream of shoppers stopping to take photographs and videos, with children, older visitors, couples and plenty of people who, like me, had probably not come to the mall specifically to look at cars.
Something for everyone
I managed to speak to Clinton Laurens, owner of Laude Classic Cars, while he was being pulled in several directions by visitors wanting to look at the cars and ask questions.
Talking to him also gave me a better sense of what sits behind the collection in front of me.
Laude is based at 120 Buitengracht Street in Cape Town City Centre, where it sells classic, sports and investment cars, but the business extends beyond the showroom. There is a workshop where the cars are worked on and cared for, Crankshaft Café on the premises, where you can enjoy a coffee while watching the team work on the cars, and a limited selection of cars available for hire.
It is part of what makes the business feel less like a conventional dealership and more like a place built around the enjoyment of cars.
That same philosophy was evident in the Somerset Mall display.
For Laurens, the variety of interest is part of the appeal.
The collection at Somerset Mall deliberately includes cars from different eras and at very different price points. The MGA Coupe is priced at R295,000, the Porsche Carrera at R1.395 million, the Ultima GTR at R1.9 million and the Rolls-Royce Corniche at R1,999,999.
So while one visitor might immediately gravitate towards the Rolls-Royce, another might be more interested in the Ultima GTR. It would be easy to assume that age might determine which one catches your eye, with the younger generation drawn to the GTR and older visitors naturally leaning towards the Rolls-Royce. But Laurens told me that it is not that simple.
“That’s the beauty of classic cars,” he said. “There is something for everyone. You might think the young person will like the GTR and the older person the Rolls-Royce, but it doesn’t always work that way. The love of a classic car can be kindled in anyone.”
That was probably one of the things I found most interesting about speaking to him. There was no sense that classic cars belonged exclusively to a particular age group or type of enthusiast. Looking around the atrium, the crowd seemed to prove his point.
You can actually sit in the cars
Perhaps the best part of the Somerset Mall display is that visitors are not expected to admire the cars only from a distance.
Visitors can speak to the Laude representatives on site and, under their guidance, sit inside some of the cars and take photographs.
That guidance is important. These are valuable vehicles, and visitors are asked to wait for a representative rather than simply opening a door and climbing inside.
For someone like me, that turns the display into something of a bucket-list experience.
You might never be in the market for a nearly R2 million Rolls-Royce. You might not even know the difference between half the cars on display.
But for a few minutes, you can sit behind the wheel of one.
There is also a competition running as part of the activation, with prizes including signed memorabilia, classic car jackets and a drive experience, with the total prize opportunity worth up to R20,000.
Worth stopping for
I went to Somerset Mall expecting to spend a few minutes checking on the latest developments around the Food Market. Instead, I found myself standing in the atrium looking at cars I would normally only ever see in photographs.
What stayed with me was not really the price of the cars or even the particular models on display. It was the fact that the display managed to pull people in who had simply been passing through the mall.
You do not need to be a serious collector or even particularly interested in cars to enjoy it. You can simply walk past, stop for a look, ask Clinton or one of the Laude representatives a question, take a photograph and perhaps, climb into one.
For a business that normally operates in the “other” Cape Town, it is a welcome opportunity to bring this experience into the Helderberg and give local residents a chance to see these cars up close.
The Laude Classic Cars display is at Somerset Mall from 25 August to 7 September 2026.
UPDATE
I visited Somerset Mall today and was pleased to find out that the Laude Classic Cars display has been extended and will now remain at the mall until Monday, 14 September 2026. So, if you haven’t had a chance to see the cars yet, there is still a little more time to stop by and have a look. And if you’ve already walked past the display but didn’t realise that visitors can, under the guidance of the Laude team, actually sit inside selected cars and take photographs, this is your chance to experience it for yourself.
