Your dream car has a way of staying with you

There’s always one car that stays close to your heart. From an early age you yearn for it, you dream about drive and even owning this perfect mechanical artwork, which, in your fantasy, has already taken you past 300 km/h just by looking at it.

For me it was the BMW cabriolet. When I was young, I had a huge poster of the BMW 635CSi, which featured prominently in the hit TV series Spencer: For Hire, on my bedroom wall. It embodied what I though a car should be. When Avery Brooks’ character, Hawk, drove the dark beauty into view, all the bad guys knew he’d come to save the day and help Robert Urich solve the case.

When the time finally came for me to buy my first cabriolet, I walked tall into the dealership and staked my claim to the almighty BMW 330Ci. The scent of the soft beige leather seats with the rush of wood trim against the killer gold colour stays with me like the Michael Jackson tune Bad.

On the streets of Cape Town, it was called the “golden boy” – and boy, did I paint. On one of its first outings, I cruised to Long Street Café for chill sundowners with my crew. In between Audi S3’s, Golf GTi’s and rough BMW X5’s, my car stood out like Miss South Africa at a KFC. My car was hot and ready to start working for me. Four women joined our table and the flowing drinks made tricky conversations seem so natural, especially when they all remarked on the poised pouncing ride.

Later that night, one of the fine women drove with me through the city. I remember her gasp at the scent of the car, which was further enhanced when I dropped the roof to invite the star-filled night in. The sleeping moon reflected perfectly onto her long legs, which stretched out onto the dashboard. Right then it became clear to me that this car and its irresistible scent had sustained my youth. She became the face I can’t forget.