Alfa Romeo enters three cars in South Africa's biggest hill climb race... including one driven by its sales director

The Simola Hill Climb in South Africa is one of the country's most popular competitions. A few months ago, we had the opportunity to talk about an astonishing Ferrari-powered Lotus. This time, it's Alfa Romeo which is officially taking part in the race, through Stellantis South Africa, which is entering three models. The featured vehicles are the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio , the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio and the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Veloce, 100 % electric.

A sporting past that needs a present and a future

«Motorsport is at the heart of Alfa Romeo's identity, and Simola offers us an ideal platform to demonstrate this spirit to enthusiasts, who can experience it first-hand. Seeing a Giulia or a Stelvio Quadrifoglio racing on the Simola circuit alongside sports cars and supercars confirms Alfa Romeo's expertise in real-life conditions,» says Janus Janse van Rensburg , Alfa Romeo's Sales and Marketing Director.

If Alfa Romeo has a history in rallying (although some still don't know it), the Biscione also has a history in hill-climbing. Going back a long way, the Ventoux hill climb was won in 1932 by Rudolf Carracciola, in a Monza. Ignazio Giunti won the European title in 1967 in the production car class, driving a GTA. The 155 V6 Ti DTM enjoyed an incredible second career in the Italian and European mountain championships in 2000 and 2010. We also had the opportunity to talk about highly modified 4Cs or Giulietta TCR winners in the discipline, again mainly in Italy.

Les engagés: the sales manager puts his shoulder to the wheel

The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio will compete in the A3 class, driven by Art Denisov, whose remarkable performance at the wheel of his own Giulia Quadrifoglio at the Speed Classic Cape Town 2025 attracted the attention of the Alfa Romeo South Africa team. Unfortunately, the Giulia Quadrifoglio did not have a large-scale sports program like its 155 and 156 forebears, but a few examples were prepared for various national championships. We talked about this too.

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio will be making its debut in the B9 class, driven by Janse van Rensburg, who has held the title since 2025 and is now a commercial director in his own right. This will be his fourth appearance at the event, after setting a class record and winning the B9 class last year.

The third factory car is an Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Veloce, a finalist in the South African Car of the Year 2026 competition. It will compete in the A8 category with Trevor Tuck at the wheel. An enthusiast, owner and driver of several Alfa Romeos in historic categories, his move to competition with the Junior electric takes Biscione into new territory.

In addition to the three factory cars, other private models are also entered, as regular participants in the festival's Classic Car Friday and King of the Hill programs. The entry list includes an Alfa Romeo 4C.

It all adds up to a real desire to see the brand make a major commitment to competition again. There hasn't been one for twenty years, apart from Sauber's F1 sponsorship. Indeed, since the 156 WTCC (which ended in 2007), we've been waiting...