Talk about travelling in style; one of Mercedes-Benz’s very best modern classics of the late 60s/early 70s is of course, the 280 SE 3.5 V-8 Cabriolet
Wife Linda and I were stumbling through Cologne, Germany recently, and happened upon a classic car rally that was launching from a square right near out hotel, and taking off to parts unknown. It wasn’t a specific marque or club, very much a mixed back of delightful run what you brung stuff. Nothing really super crazy, instead a lot of every day approachable classics, and a few special and rare. No matter, it was great to see them all out on the road on a clear sunny day, looking and sounding great, each filled with what appeared to be happy smiling occupants.
Cellphone HappySnaps by Linda, BIG scrapbook below…and doubleclick on any photo to see it full screen
And away they go…Great Moggie was the only one we saw this day…
Sparkling X1/9 out for a day in the sun
Bet you haven’t seen a Citroen TractionAvant out on the road lately
The Panzerwagen…R107 Mercedes SL still looks stylish to my eyes
as does the 190SL Roadster
Many of you may not think of the VW Beetle Cab as a classic car, but I find them interesting, cute, fun and now collectible. One is fun, two is a rarer sight
This 250 SL not only had the cool Euro spec flush headlights, but also a manual transmission…uber rare in the U.S.
The first of at least two big Healeys that blew past us…wait for it…
…and here’s tehe other one
Luverly Series II E-Type Coupe looked and sounded the business
Here’s one you won’t see often — anywhere, of course, the Borgward Isabella coupe
Hey we’re in Germany, so nice 911s at every turn
Der Grosser Mercedes — the Big Benz as they call them. Did you know that overhauling the mechanical fuel injection on the 6.3-liter M100 V-8 in this 600 limo will cost about $10,000
Handsome pair of old Maggies
Charming little Fiat coupe…not fast but cute
Seeing one W111 cabrio is a treat, two in a row is an occasion
Born in the USA! American classics very popular in Germany
Talk about miles of Italian styles; killer quad light Lancia cab
British Racing Green – Indeed
I’m forgetting the exact model number of this big Mercedes Cabio, but looking great and very posh on the streets of Cologne
Go Big Red: Carrera 3.2 cab with sport package options including front chin spoiler and rear Turbo wing
Cloud series Bentley looking particularly regal on the streets of Cologne
If I had to name three Bests of Show, it would be these in no particular order:
This ’61 Corvette really wowed the crowd, drawing lots of whoops and thumbs ups
This rumbling, grumbling Martini liveried 911 made no pretense of being a genuine Carerra RS, but certainly played the part well
No other car or owners we saw this day better captured the spirit of this group and their obvious enjoyment than this Citroen DS Decapotable, cool and worth a ton of money now too
MISC and cutting room floor stuff below…
I never tire of Nissan Figaros. Terminally cute and wonderfully retro
My rental car: a Peugeot 306D Turbo hatch with 6-speed manual gearbox. Big torque from the turbodiesel engine, well built and tun to drive
KIA Optima? No, although a lot of them are sold in Germany and Holland, but this would be a Skoda, which is a Spanish VW brand wearing a very KIA-like visage
Didn’t exepct to see so many Teslas on the streets of Germany and Holland, but there were, and with fuel costing about a buck seventy five a quart, all electric makes sense even with the hefty buy-in
Calling this fabulous V-Series Mercedes a “mini van” would be a travesty. It’s really a limo, smooth, large, fast and leather lined quiet — Kind of like a Lear Jet
991 series GT3 looked great prowling the streets of Amsterdam
Didn’t expect to see TESLAS as cabs, but quite a few of them in private car, limo and cab duty in Amsterdam
Also very popular as cabs in Amsterdam is the Hyundai Ionic, which can be had as conventional hybrid, plug-in hybrid or pure electric — saw all three of them in livery service there