LAUNCHES • REVIEWS • MOTORSPORT
Peugeot RCZ life-sized cake assists children in need
A life-sized cake depicting Peugeot’s
ultra-desirable RCZ sports coupé,
created with the support of Peugeot
South Africa, was one of the crowd
pleasers at the Good Food and Wine
Show, held at the Coca-Cola Dome in
Northgate. But there was more to this
cake than turning heads: the huge and
delicious RCZ was baked for a very
worthy cause. Visitors to the show
were offered a slice of the delicious
automotive confection in return for
any donation, with the proceeds going to
Shammah House, a safe house for abused
and abandoned children in Johannesburg.
The remainder of the cake was cut into
slices, and sent to a feeding scheme
in Noodgesig, which assists more than
1 200 children with much needed food.
➲ The RCZ takes the cake
The RCZ cake was the brainchild of Paul
Vieria, a master baker and owner of two
successful bakeries and confectionaries
based on Gauteng’s East Rand: Rainbow
Treats, and Cake Extreme. The main sponsor
of the ingredients (300kg of flour; 200kg of
sugar; 200 litres of oil and 15kg of baking
powder) was sponsored by Bakels, while the
4 000 eggs were sponsored by Fairacres.
Paul, who is the proud owner of a real
Peugeot RCZ, spent many hours baking,
sculpting and finally decorating the tasty
replica of his automotive pride and joy before
displaying it at the Good Food and Wine
Show. Visitors to the show queued to sample
the delicious Peugeot cake in return for a
donation, and when the doors closed after
a very busy weekend, more than R22 000
had been raised for Shammah House. We
are still awaiting the final amount of money
received through the SMS line, where you
can message the word “MEAL” to 39055.
The safe house was founded in 2006, and
currently cares for 20 children from a modest
home south of Johannesburg. It serves as
an after-hours centre where police drop off
children that have been found abandoned
or abused. Shammah House’s doors are
open 24/7, and the centre provides a
warm and caring environment, while also
offering comprehensive assessments,
medical services, and trauma counselling.
While Shammah House was the primary
beneficiary of the RCZ cake initiative, other
organisations also benefited.
The slices of cake, kindly transported
to Noodgesig by Meals On Wheels,
brought some much-needed cheer to
these children. Peugeot has a close
association with Meals On Wheels,
which operates an extensive fleet
of more than 70 Peugeot vehicles,
all bought and supplied by Peugeot
Pinetown. Established 50 years ago the
Meals On Wheels Community Services
target and helps feed the poorest of
the poor and vulnerable persons in nine
provinces in South Africa.
“With the deliveries of over One Million
meals a month, the Peugeot Partnership
is a wonderful way to go forward as this is
Charity in Motion”, commented Gershon
Naidu, Programmes Director at MOWCSA.
“We are delighted to have been able to
assist in helping children in need through
this unusual initiative,” commented Francis
Harnie, managing director of Peugeot
Citroën SA. “We also hope that it has
created much needed awareness about the
plight of so many disadvantaged children in
our country, and the very real need to help
them.”
New found freedom for Chobe game rangers
South African electric vehicle conversion
company, Freedom Won introduced
sections of the media to its latest fullelectric creation, the Freedom3 recently.
The bespoke Land Rover Series 130
Defender is the first commercially viable
electric game viewing vehicle produced
in South Africa. It is powered by 180
custom-made 60Ah LifePO4 Lithium
batteries that are imported from Brazil.
In total, they produce the equivalent
of 35kWh. Freedom3’s electric motor
produces 80 kW and 600 Nm of torque,
with these outputs sent directly to a
transfer case, meaning there is no
gearbox as such.
While top speed is rated as 115km/h,
of more importance to drivers is the
140 kilometre range (provided an
average speed of around 70km/h is
maintained).
The vehicle can be fully charged on a
standard household plug in around eight
hours, while the same charging process
can be achieved in five hours when using a
30A plug (three-phase). While the batteries
add an extra 250 kg