What’s in a name? In Mzansi, it’s a flavour! We add our unique spice to everything. From the way we greet to the cars we love and the names we give them. There are good car nicknames, and there are those you’ll only hear in Mzansi! Here’s a list of some of our flavourful monikers.
Names South Africans call their cars
‘TJOR’ / ‘ITRANSI’
(n) [tjo-rrr] / (n) [e-trance-e]
Just other words for the word car that you will only hear on South African roads.
‘SKEDONK’ / ‘SKOROKORO’
(n) [scare-donk] / (n) [score-raw-co-raw]
These are all the cars affectionately nicknamed Karen because they are just a problem. These cars are on their last rims (AKA limbs). You probably always have to drive these with the volume up – lest you hear many unsettling noises and rattles.
‘SLAHLA’
(n) [sl-SOME SYLLABLES JUST DON’T EXIST IN ENGLISH-ah]
Away with the top! This is what we call convertibles in Mzansi. Slahla, loosely translated, means ‘to throw away’, which refers to dropping the top.
Good car nicknames you’ll only hear in SA
‘GUSHEHE’
(n) [goo-share-share OR goo-cher-cher]
Revered as the doughnut king, the BMW 330is boasts the nickname Gusheshe. An absolute favourite in the local “spinning/drifting” scene.
‘G-STRING’
(n) [think underwear]
If you look at the rear of the BMW E46 3 series models, you’ll notice what appears to be a visible panty line in the way the boot lid curves around the taillights. Maybe that’s how they got the nickname.
‘VOORA’
(n) [voo-ra]
You just need to close your eyes and open your ears to know where this nickname came from. The roar of the Volkswagen’s MK3 Golf/Jetta VR6 engine inspired this revvy nickname. Vroom, vroom!
‘VRR PHAA!’
(n) [just go with the onomatopoeia]
A phonetically magical chemical reaction or mini-explosion happens when a car with a dual-clutch gearbox system changes gears. It’s called the Vrr Phaa! Initially made famous by the Volkswagen Golf GTI, its definition has been extended to include most performance cars with a dual-clutch gearbox.
Honorary mentions:
- Molo Fish
- Anaconda
- Zola Budd
- Starter pack
- Tony Yengeni
- Caracara.
For more on our Honorary mentions check out this Facebook post.
