The car enthusiast – a special breed who passionately enjoy their form of transport.
The Toyota Enthusiast – a breed who can drive on a daily basis their form of transport and share a common passion on any occasion.
On 17 November 1988. A group of passionate Toyota Enthusiasts got together and decided to share their common interest, which gave birth to the Toyota Twin Cam Club.
Spearheaded by Barry Simon and Guy Keeling, the first Annual General Meeting was held on 25 January 1989 in the Auditorium at Toyota South Africa in Johannesburg. Barry Simon was nominated as Chairman, and assisted by eight committee members proceedings were started off for what has now been a successful term of 15 years.
The first steering committee of the Toyota Twin Cam Club consisted of Richard Dames, Guy Keeling, Andrew Kayser, Andy Adendorff, Ahmed Moolla, Barry Simon, Melville Weddell, Tony Weitz and Glen Sherwood. The initial mission of the club was to gather as many owners of Toyota Twin Cams as possible for social events, monthly meetings, Gymkhanas and fun runs. The club would also be considered as a platform for technical discussions, Concourse d’ Elegance competitions, track days and advanced driving courses.
“We would like to be seen as a group of Toyota Enthusiasts that enjoy the company of fellow enthusiasts that feel the same way we do about their cars”. Barry Simon 1989.
This same simple philosophy still remains the fundamental backbone of what the Toyota Twin Cam Club stands for today. Throughout the years, the club has hosted many various different events of which some have become a deep-set tradition. The Car of the Year show day, the Ladies Revenge rally and the Advanced Driving Instruction are legends in their own right.
What initially grabbed the attention of the South African community and indirectly led to the formation of the Toyota Twin Cam Club, was the new generation of Toyota motors, with its multi-valve technology and fuel injection, known as the legendary 4-AGE motor. This is where it really all started. The name RSI conjures up fabled legends as great as the Samurai itself. Even today, in its latest incarnation, the RSI still remains the legend that was born so many years ago. Toyota set a benchmark in the performance industry which, to this day, enjoys great status within the local performance arenas.
The longest standing Chairman within the history of the Toyota Twin Cam Club is Clive van Kerckhoven & Thags Govender the present Chairman who has contributed a full term of six years for Clive and Thags contributed and still there for term of five years currently . In there own capacity, together with his involvement with Toyota South Africa itself, they have added great value and depth to the club, and now enjoy honorary lifelong membership (another tradition awarded for exceptional commitment).
Currently, the club enjoys a 80+ strong membership but at events turnout various from 100 to 200 people on the day. From all over the country. The clubs hosts an event once a month, which ranges from the traditional Advanced Driving, Drag events to the well-attended show days. Moving with technology, the club is proud of their web-site, and the information base that is shared through it The Website was first Posted in 2001 and designed and owned by Thags. Govender ,together with Paul Rathbone being hosted on Network 54 and very shortly in 2003, Dirk Tolken our current web developer and owner of Semantica Digital heads up all Web development for the Toyota Club.
Thags Initial grasp of launching the website was to assist all fellow Toyota Enthusiasts but to this current day the Website and Forum remains active and has grown to support all Technical Tuners and adverting for various large cooperate conglomerates.
Members have come and gone, some still remain, the cars have changed and the motors have become more technologically advanced, but one thing that has remained unchanged is the spirit with which the Toyota Enthusiast proudly drives their vehicles.