It is with great sadness that we bring you the news of André’s passing this last weekend. André was an extremely enthusiastic and clever writer and a contributor to PORSCHE ROAD & RACE.
Andre was born on 18 February 1940 in Cape Town, and was educated at Bishops in Rondebosch, Cape Town, matriculating in 1957. At the tender age of 7 years he ‘borrowed’ the keys of his father’s Morris to drive it out of the garage, and he watched his first motor race in 1948, the Van Riebeeck Trophy Race at Paarden Eiland, an area close to the Cape Town harbour.
In 1958, Stanley Porter, the Mercedes-Benz and DKW agent for Cape Town and the Cape Province, opened a branch in the city of George, 275 miles (440 km) due east of Cape Town. The founder’s son, Allan, was appointed as branch manager and the following year Andre joined the dealership as PA to Allan, and salesman. In December 1960, Porsche racing manager, Baron Huschke von Hanstein, Jo and Marianne Bonnier and Count Wolfgang ‘Taffy’ von Trips, spent several days in George after the Cape Grand Prix and before competing in the South African Grand Prix in East London. André Loubser was assigned to look after the visitors while they were in town, which, through Huschke von Hanstein, led to André eventually joining Porsche in Stuttgart in 1962.
André spent two years with Porsche before joining Stirling Moss’s Paint-A-Car system in the UK. In the four years he was with the famous racing driver’s car spraying company, André learned much about the business, which would benefit him in later years. In December 1966, André married Gill Scott in Old Woking, Surrey and in 1968 the happily married couple moved back to South Africa.
André’s love of motor cars and racing led him to continue his work in this field and even at the age of 80 years, he shared with this writer, his plans for opening a sports car manufacturing plant and showroom in Cape Town. Not one to sit still for long, André was a long-standing member of the SA Guild of Motoring Journalists and an Honorary Life Member of the Cape Town based Nomads Motorcycle Club. He was also the Editor of the Crankhandle Chronicle, the monthly publication for that active motoring club of the same name.
On Sunday 25 October 2020, André was attending an old car meet in the Cape when he collapsed and died. The automotive world has lost an energetic and highly respected, fun-loving member of this worldwide community.
All at PORSCHE ROAD & RACE are deeply saddened by this news, and we offer our sincerest condolences to Gill and the family. Written by: Glen Smale Image by: Tony Willitt
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