Once in a Lifetime

CAR's first issue was published in 1957. That same year, the Lazarus Motor Company was formed. To commemorate this momentous anniversary, we've gathered three very special Blue Ovals for their first-ever run together on South African soil

- By Stuart Johnston. Photos by Peet Mocke

Colin Lazarus was at Le Mans in 2016when a Ford GT scored its historic victory in the GTE Pro class to once again beat out the Ferrari challenge, just as it had done 50 years before in the world’s most famous motor race.

“I watched 23 hours of that 24-hour race and the emotion was absolutely indescribable. Ford had taken the lead with about four hours to go and I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the event in their hospitality area. The tension of those last hours, with the Ferrari less than a lap behind, meant I didn’t even feel tired!”

At this race, Colin mentioned to one of Ford’s executives he had to have one of the planned 1 350 examples of the latest GT supercar, to take pride of his place in his museum back in Centurion.

Now, in 2022, Colin Lazarus and his team at the country’s most successful Ford dealership rolled out his 2020 model year Ford GT for the first time at the Gerotek Facility near Hartbeespoort Dam, and the CAR team was on hand to document the historic event. The beautiful blue GT had resided in Colin’s museum for several months before. Until the Gerotek unveiling, Colin admitted he’d only driven it a few hundred meters to place it in his museum, and the odometer at that stage registered just 20 miles.