Continental Tyre SA, whichis celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, has commissioneda4-part “Continental Icons”video series, exclusive toour YouTube channel. The series kicked off with a video featuring a local enthusiast’s 1973 BMW 2002tii, but which other cars (that also feature in New York artistJulian Montague’s “Original Equipment Heroes”artworks) will be next?

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Continental has a rich heritage in South Africa, beginning in January 1947 with the founding of General Tire and Rubber Company South Africa. The local operation was acquired by Germantyre giant Continental AG in 1998 and renamed Continental Tyre South Africa, helping cement its role as one of the country’s leading tyre manufacturers.

“We are extremely proud of achieving the 75-year milestone, and to have played a large supporting role in the local economy by producing some of the best tyres in the world, for some of the most significant cars of all time,” says Monica Ramsunder, Continental Tyre SA‘s marketing manager.

As the only Continental tyre plant in Africa, the local factory produces original equipment Continental and General Tire-branded tyres for half a dozen of the largest vehicle manufacturers in the country. What’s more, it exports tyres around the world – thus making it an important part of South Africa’s rich automotive history, and key to its export-driven growth opportunities.

“We are delighted to be partnering with the creative team at Cars.co.za as part of our 75th-anniversary celebrations, and linking this to the industry-defining legacy of 4iconic, trend-setting cars,” Ramsunder says.

The first video in the series setthe scene by featuring a mint-condition, rare and valuable 1973 BMW 2002tii, owned by Jaques Wessels. The 2002 is a legendary car that created the foundation for what later became BMW’s immensely successful compact executive sedan, the 3 Series, for which Continental remains an original equipment manufacturer(OEM) tyre supplier in Germany.

Notably, nearly1in every 3new cars in Europe is delivered from the factory with tyres from Continental, making it the leading original equipment provider in the European market. Globally Continental is an OE supplier to most of the leading manufacturers, including Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar/Land Rover, Peugeot/Citroen, Renault/Nissan, Fiat and Volkswagen, as well as sports car manufacturers such as Porsche and Maserati.

“Partnering with an iconic brand like Continental, which is so closely associated with some truly memorable cars, is a perfect fit for Cars.co.za‘s classic car lifestyle brand, SentiMETAL,” says Hannes Oosthuizen, who is our company’s consumer experience manager. “This new video series represents a great opportunity to tell diverse and entertaining ownership stories, featuring passionate owners and special vehicles.”

The 4cars that star in the “Continental Icons”video series are also featured in the 2020 collaboration between Continental AG and famous New York artist, Julian Montague. The “Original Equipment Heroes”series of artworks incorporated Montague’s unique style of art to celebrate some of the most iconic cars in the history of Continental globally. It also formed part of the build-up to the company’s 150th anniversary in 2021.

“Continental is trusted around the world for its German engineering, delivering exceptional performance and safety,” Ramsunder adds. “The Cars.co.za ‘Continental Icons’ video series and the artwork by Julian Montague highlight the spirit of innovation that has shaped the cars we drive today.

Which iconwill be featured next?

“Many of the European cars incorporated in the ‘Original Equipment Heroes’ artwork are also celebrated as an iconic part of our South African heritage,” Ramsunder says. “Accordingly, we specifically chose 4cars to be featured by the Cars.co.za team as ‘Continental Icons’ to showcase the diversity of vehicle types relative to our wide range of needs, and to highlight the extensive range of world-class tyres that we produce in South Africa.”

Look out for the next 3episodes of “Continental Icons”on the Cars.co.za YouTube channel, which is one of the largest branded channels in South Africa with more than 320 000 subscribers.

Apart from the 1974 BMW 2002, Julian Montague’s“Original Equipment Heroes”series of artworks also featured the1901 Mercedes 35 PS, 1950 Volkswagen T1, 1955 Volkswagen Beetle, 1964 Porsche 911, 1968 Opel GT, 1974 Volkswagen Golf 1, 1975 Opel Manta, 1980 Audi Quattro, 1983 Audi 80, 1986 Land Rover Defender (D90), 2001 New Mini, 2002 Porsche Cayenne, 2005 Porsche 9FF, 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS, 2011 Renault Twizy, 2012 Tesla Model S, 2013 Jaguar F-Type, 2013 Maserati Quattroporte, 2017 Honda Civic Type R, 2017 Rolls-Royce Phantom and 2020 Volkswagen ID.3…

Of those cars, the Volkswagen Beetle and Golf 1, Porsche 911 and Cayenne, Opel Manta and GT, Audi Quattro, Land Rover Defender, New Mini, Mercedes-Benz SLS, Jaguar F-Type, Maserati Quattroporte, Honda Civic Type R and Rolls-Royce Phantomwere available in the South African market, so at least that narrows down the list of classic-car candidates for the 3 upcoming instalments of our “Continental Icons” YouTube video series a little…

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The BMW 2002tii – A key moment in BMW’s history