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‘VRRPHAA FS’ owner is a public safety and transport official in Welkom

Ever wondered who the personalised “VRRPHAA FS” registration plate that has been trending on social media belongs to?

TMG Digital can reveal that the red Golf 7 GTI Limited Edition which has tongues wagging belongs to Victor Morris‚ an African National Congress (ANC) councillor in the Free State city of Welkom.

Morris is the member of the mayoral committee for public safety and transport at the Matjhabeng Local Municipality. He's also the secretary of the local ANC branch.

The car has been called a “panty dropper”‚ and some men on social media have said they live in constant fear of having their girlfriends or wives taken away from them by men who drive a GTI.

TMG Digital spotted the well-known GTI in Vilakazi Street‚ Soweto‚ over the weekend as the ruling party held its 105th anniversary celebration at Orlando Stadium.

“When I bought this car almost two months ago‚ I didn't actually know what am I buying. I'm someone that loves VW and I've always said I want to drive a GTI‚ but [after] buying this car and driving all over the country for work-related issues‚ all eyes were on me and people were stopping me‚" said Morris.

“I then had to drive to Umhlanga Rocks to the VW plant itself to go and ask what (sparks all the attention) and that's where they explained that the reason why I get all the attention is because this is a limited edition.

“So wherever I went‚ people always used to say 'vrrrr phaa'‚ so because of that‚ I decided to personalise my number plate even though I'm not somebody who likes attention‚" added Morris.

For those who aren't petrol heads‚ “vrrr phaa” is the noise Golf GTIs make when drivers with a heavy right foot press down the accelerator to over 6000rpm‚ at which point the car makes a popping sound almost similar to that of a gunshot.

Transport Minister Dipuo Peters was even quoted using the phrase last year in an interview about road safety.

The Golf 7 has been around in South Africa from 2012.

Efforts to try and reach VW's brand and public relations officer‚ Andile Dlamini‚ were unsuccessful at the time of publication. - TMG Digital

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