Making and playing with wire cars is one of those village and township pastimes that boys and girls in disadvantaged areas are familiar with.
While the children’s hobby is commonplace in some villages and townships, it doesn’t bring the community together as it does in the remote Karoo town of Philipstown.
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Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix
Such is the wire car’s popularity in Philipstown that there’s an annual race where kids and their parents enjoy each year.
The race has been hosted for more than 14 years in Philipstown. The annual race takes place around springtime.
“We take our cue from the school holidays and exams and work around that. Every year is different, but always in springtime,” co-founder of the Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix and chairperson of the Philipstown WireCar Foundation, Kay Fourie tells The Citizen.
“The Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix has brought a deep sense of pride and gratitude to the entire community. For both children and parents, it’s more than just a race; it’s a moment of being seen, celebrated, and valued,” she adds.
“It affirms that their stories and creativity matter, and it strengthens the bond across generations through shared joy and recognition.”
The popularity of the annual race has sparked the creation of a documentary that tells the story of how children in Philipstown build intricate wire cars from discarded materials, and how this simple act of creativity sparked a movement.
The doccie is set for a release later this month.
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Wire car ecosystem
Through the popularity of the wire car, the Philipstown WireCar Foundation was launched in 2024 to help create other opportunities for the community.
“The Philipstown Foundation is supported through strategic partnerships, including one with Accenture. While we don’t position any single organisation as the sole funder or sponsor, since we’re welcoming a growing number of supporters — Accenture has played a key role in helping us bring the vision to life,” says Fourie.
Fourie says Philipstown has always had this rich, creative spirit rooted in its people.
“For generations, the wire car tradition was something special, held quietly within the community. When Accenture heard about it, they saw not just a story, but an opportunity to spotlight the town and open up real possibilities for its future. Together, we’ve challenged ourselves to blend creativity and technology to build something lasting and meaningful for Philipstown.”
An entire online ecosystem has been built around the wire car, encompassing everything from car building and selling to merchandising.
“Our goal is to make the wire car synonymous with Philipstown — we hope to make it the wire car capital of the world. What could be better than an authentically Philipstown Wire Car?” shares advertising industry veteran and vice chair of the foundation, Alistair King, with The Citizen.
“We realised very quickly that this race, as we wanted to portray it in the film and in the game, was almost certainly going to capture the world’s imagination and so the Foundation was established to professionally manage that attention and the proceeds that hopefully come with it.”
Through wire cars, children in the area have received support in the form of skills development, robotics training, and access to e-learning, among other benefits.
“We are already working with various partners and NGOs and have plans to put Learn to Earn programs, like robotics training, in place. We have numerous other goals, including a driving school which will give young adults, at the very least, a driver’s license and the employment opportunity that comes with it,” King says.
King adds that they are helping youths improve their wire car-making skills for the market, and that the youths are also receiving dance and athletics training.
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