Summer isn’t my favourite season of the year. Soaring 35+ degree days combined with extreme UV index ratings means my skin turns to burnt toast the moment I set foot outdoors. Although I find myself in-doors within the confines of a blasting air-conditioner for most of January each year, exceptions are sometimes made. For 2019 that exception was realised in the form of SlowCase – an annual car show hosted by local group Slowlife. As added motivation to brave the heat, my good friend Pete offered me a ride in his Z33 and before my eyes could blink, we found ourselves blasting down the Southern Expressway bound for picturesque McLaren Vale.

Adelaide is fortunate when it comes to wineries, having claimed the wine capital of Australia throne. For car enthusiasts, what better way to rejoice this fact than to host a car show at a renown vineyard? Thanks to Slowlife, such thought was executed with their SlowCase 2019 event taking centre stage at Leconfield Wines.

It didn’t take long before the sweltering climate got the better of Pete and I. We decided to retreat to the cellar doors, but not before passing some tidy stanced rides; including Sam’s bagged Evo 8 sitting on chrome CCW LM20 wheels and Daniel’s shimmering-gold BA Falcon slammed on GMR shoes.

After refreshing ourselves over some of McLaren Vale’s finest Pale Ale and discussing Pete’s future plans for his Zed, we decided to brave the heat once again.

In this post here, I wrote about my thoughts on aura-cars. No doubt, for many on the day – including myself – these two Silvias were beaming with aura and lured in lots of onlookers for a closer look.

I spent some time admiring the Vertex-kitted S13 above which was lowered on three-piece Work Meister S1 wheels and filled with a Bride themed interior; but there was something about the S15 parked next to it that had me fascinated. I could feel that it was meticulously prepared with lots of intimate ingredients. The more I observed this S15, the more it felt like I had somehow met it in a previous life – particularly when I observed the Yashio Factory titanium muffler. Perhaps the heat was getting to me, or so I thought. A few weeks passed before I shockingly discovered who owned this particular S15, and that the last time I laid eyes on it was over twelve years ago in 2007. I’ll save the full tale for a future dedicated post.

Another car which caught my attention was Matt’s extremely clean and custom-painted Hachiroku. This Levin used to sit on Watanabe RS wheels which has since been swapped out for a set of SSR Longchamp XR4 as pictured here.

After an hour or so, Pete and I decided to call it a day as our internal thermometer was hitting the red zone. We stumbled upon some familiar cars on our way to the car park including Chan’s Evo 9 and Selina’s STi. Last year, Vinh’s bug-eye WRX took centre stage at SlowCase 2018 but for 2019, he arrived anonymously in his daily Ralliart Colt. The WRX is currently undergoing a refresh with a debut planned at SA Time Attack later this year and is a car that will surely drop jaws when it’s completely revealed.

Although many people enjoy the outdoor sizzling-warmth that is summer in Australia, my preference is to hide behind closed doors of a climate-controlled room. Exchanging the possibility of getting sun burnt to see a bunch of modified rides at Leconfield Winery was not appealing to me at first. However, after attending SlowCase 2019 and enjoying the event’s vibe and atmosphere, I’m sure there won’t be as much hesitation next summer when it comes to deciding whether or not to attend SlowCase 2020.