Alfa Romeo’s Italian Heritage Takes Over Modderfontein This September

There are few car marques where the past and present can sit next to each other and still feel unmistakably related. That will be the scene at Modderfontein Bird & Sculpture Park on Sunday, 20 September, when the Alfa Romeo Club of South Africa brings together generations of the Italian marque for its 2026 Concorso d’Eleganza.

The annual gathering has become one of the standout dates on the local Alfisti calendar, bringing together carefully preserved classics, contemporary Alfa Romeos and the owners who have kept them on the road. This year's event will place particular focus on 60 years of the Duetto Spider, while also looking towards the present with the latest performance-focused models from Alfa Romeo.

Among the newer cars on display will be the all-new Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce and the high-performance Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Their presence alongside older models will offer a rather useful reminder that while the technology, proportions and performance of Alfa Romeo have changed dramatically over the decades, the marque's distinctive approach to Italian design and driver-focused engineering remains recognisable.

That continuity is arguably what makes an event like the Concorso more interesting than a conventional car show. A classic Alfa is not simply an old car parked in a field, particularly when you speak to the person who has spent years maintaining it, sourcing parts, learning its quirks and keeping its history intact.

Alex Shahini, Brand Communications Manager of Alfa Romeo at Stellantis South Africa, believes the owners are just as important to the story as the cars themselves.

“Even when a newer Alfa is placed alongside its senior, their identities and origins become ever apparent. The Concorso lets the cars tell that story, but the owners are just as important because they know where these vehicles have been, the history they have lived through and meticulously preserve them, bolstering the fascinating and intertwined history between Alfa Romeo’s Italian roots and the fruitful branches of South Africa,” says Shahini.

That preservation is rarely as glamorous as the finished result suggests. Keeping an older Alfa Romeo running can involve years of accumulated knowledge, from understanding mechanical quirks to knowing who to call when a particularly obscure problem appears.

This is where an owners' club becomes more than a social group. For someone new to the marque, access to people who have already solved those problems can be invaluable, while long-time owners get the opportunity to pass their knowledge on. The Alfa Romeo Club of South Africa has been doing exactly that for more than five decades.

The club was established in Johannesburg on 27 March 1973 after Dr Vito Bianco, then Managing Director of Alfa Romeo South Africa, asked Star Motoring editor Harvey Thomas to place an advertisement inviting Alfa Romeo owners to meet at the Balalaika Hotel.

Sixty-three Alfisti turned up. More than 50 years later, the club has grown into a community of around 220 members, maintaining a calendar that extends well beyond the annual Concorso.

Monthly social gatherings, breakfasts and lunches sit alongside insurance valuations, track days and dyno days, while members can also access technical advice and a regular newsletter. The club is affiliated with the Alfa Romeo Owners Association of South Africa and, through it, the South African Motor Club Association, while also appearing in Alfa Romeo's global directory of approved clubs.

That practical side of the community is particularly important when it comes to classic cars.

“A model owners’ club keeps practical knowledge moving from one person to the next. That helps older cars stay on the road and gives people who are new to Alfa Romeo somewhere to learn. At the Concorso, you see the result in one place,” says Shahini.

The cars arriving in Modderfontein will carry more than a century of Italian automotive history with them. Alfa Romeo's story began in Milan on 24 June 1910 as A.L.F.A., or Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, before the company became Alfa Romeo following Nicola Romeo's takeover.

Motorsport quickly became part of the marque's identity. In 1923, Ugo Sivocci drove an Alfa Romeo RL to victory in the Targa Florio, beginning a competition legacy that would eventually see Alfa Romeo claim 10 victories in the famous Sicilian road race.

Even the badge reflects that Milanese heritage. The red cross comes from the city's emblem, while the Biscione, or serpent, draws inspiration from the Visconti symbol associated with Castello Sforzesco.

At the Concorso, those historic symbols will appear across generations of cars, but they will also be surrounded by the people who have given those cars a life far beyond their original production runs.

“Alfa Romeo’s story began in Milan, but it stays alive wherever owners care for the cars, drive them and share what they have learned. The Alfa Romeo Club of South Africa has been doing exactly that for more than 50 years and the Concorso brings that history together in one place and gives members the simple pleasure of seeing a field full of Alfas,” Shahini concludes.

For anyone with an appreciation for Italian automotive design, classic cars or simply the spectacle of seeing generations of one marque gathered together, the Concorso d’Eleganza offers a chance to experience that history in motion.

The 2026 Alfa Romeo Concorso d’Eleganza takes place on Sunday, 20 September 2026, from 09:00 to 15:00 at Modderfontein Bird & Sculpture Park, Queen Street, Modderfontein, Johannesburg. Entrance to the venue is free for the public and Alfa Romeo owners, while club members can enter their vehicles into the concours at no charge and non-members are subject to a concours entry fee.