2026, the year of the horse and the first episode of The Flat Shift. We’ve made it. Sound the trumpets and release the balloons. Rejoice. And while the streets may be overrun with SUV slop, there’s a beacon light of hope from Cape Town along with a new chapter.
A chapter that has a freshly painted fresh HQ deeply rooted on the fringe of Cape Town's East City Precinct, containing enough variation in automotive heritage to send any purist into the corner of the room, hunching up, and questioning all decisions in life, like whether it’s ok to cash in the savings for a new ride. It’s ok, this is your safe place. Modern Classic Collective, don't forget the name. New home, new look, but one thing hasn’t changed: the same ethos. "Cars for the driver. By the Drivers."
Brad and Dave, founders of MCC and the Gypsy Kings of the Car Cult movement in South Africa, are doing what they do best: moving wheels. Only now, from the new MCC HQ, which has a few extra services being bolted on, so stay tuned as they say. Whoever ‘they’ are. "Visionary cavaliers in the car game", Brad and Dave are, delivering a departure from the ordinary. Which we needed.
Brad and Dave, founders of MCC and the Gypsy Kings of the Car Cult movement in South Africa, are doing what they do best: moving wheels. Only now, from the new MCC HQ, which has a few extra services being bolted on, so stay tuned as they say. Whoever ‘they’ are. "Visionary cavaliers in the car game", Brad and Dave are, delivering a departure from the ordinary. Which we needed.
About that HQ. The new home, 7 Roodehek Street – by appointment only. It brings a welcome change of scene from the shoebox housing pandemic, and overpriced flat white that every Cape Town CBD street corner has bowed to. Housing crisis and morbidly priced coffee aside, let's face it...investing in cars is way more fun anyway, MCC is scaling up and delivering something special and in the great Garagista style of yesterday, spurred on by Chapman and McLaren, every car subculture movement needs an iconic home base. Who knows? 7 Roodehek Street could be the next Railway Hotel in Hornsey, or Colnbrook, laying the path down for the future and what awaits. The scene certainly needs it.
Now, what makes a name, and what exactly is a modern classic? The definition has, over the years, been blurred, bludgeoned and left for dead and misappropriation, but safe to say that subjectivity is the driver. We all have our poison and forbidden fruit, but a modern classic is what you make of it. Perception, not reality, reigns supreme. And no one gets that more than MCC. More than anyone, they’re here to deliver and meet your enthusiast needs, wants and desires.
Does all that mean anyone is safe from a BMW E30 325is being listed at R2,000,000 to fund an entire family’s University tuition? Short answer: “No”. Dave and Brad do, however, understand value, and the reason they turn the numbers they do, backs that understanding up, and now you get a front-row seat to the action, but by appointment only.
What exactly is in store for the future? Simple - Digging out the best versions of modern classics worth driving, along with curating an experience for you, the driver, because sometimes it’s not just about the cars, but about having the right people around you for the drive. It’s also about forming new relationships and partnerships along the way, and nurturing the existing ones formed. Without getting too romantic, I’m sure you understand.
While the world has all but lost its mind, there are cars to still be enjoyed. So, in the year of the horse, send word to the stable keeper; we ride at dawn. Only this time from the new stables, so go make that appointment.
While the world has all but lost its mind, there are cars to still be enjoyed. So, in the year of the horse, send word to the stable keeper; we ride at dawn. Only this time from the new stables, so go make that appointment.
Brad, Dave & the MCC Team