Western Cape Region

Killarney Motor Show 2022

By Zillen Venter

The 75th annual Killarney Motor Show was held on Sunday, 30 October 2022, at the Killarney International Raceway. The event once again featured a wide variety of exhibitions and displays, ranging from classic cars to street racers. The aim of the organisers is to cater for all tastes in motoring.

The Mercedes-Benz Club once again supported the Killarney Motor Show under the banner of the Cape Multi Motor Club and this year our members supported the event well with a display of 23 beautiful vehicles representing the Mercedes-Benz model line-up from the 1950's up to the 2000's.

The classic cars were the focus of the Mercedes-Benz Club's display with cars such as Dennis Porter's beautiful 1958 W180 (11) 220 S Coupe and Peter Breen's 1965 W111 Coupe.

The aim of this year’s display was to showcase the extensive Mercedes-Benz model range from the glamorous 1950's up to the early 2000's.

However, the stars of the Mercedes-Benz Club's display was the trio of very special AMG models, namely the Long Family's 2010 R230 SL65 AMG Black Series (one of only 350 cars), Hannes Pienaar's 2008 C209 CLK63 AMG Black Series (one of 500 cars and one of only 120 RHD cars) and Graham van Heerden's 2010 C196 SLS AMG featuring the imposing gullwing doors.

This year's event was the first post-Covid show and was very well attended. The attendance would have been better had it not been for the traffic congestion and parking shortage problems experienced on the day.

A big thank you to all the members who exhibited the cars and supported the event this year. ■

Western Cape regional AGM at Rola Motors

By Hanjo Stier

The Western Cape Region held their AGM for 2022 on Saturday 26 November in the morning at Rola Motors near Somerset West.

About 20 members attended a meeting which was hosted by our regional chairman, Zillen Venter, in the upstairs boardroom of this Mercedes-Benz dealership.

Rola Motors also provided a few snacks and light refreshments, as well as invitations to drive some of their new vehicles after our AGM.

The regional committee was reelected with Zillen at the helm and Brendan Moran as vice chairman. JP van der Poel remains secretary for the Western Cape Region. ■

Western Cape Year-end Function

By Brendan Moran

ith another year on its back, Wit was once again time for our region’s Year-end Function. This year we returned to one of the Club's favourite venues, Cape Point Vineyard in Noordhoek.

Some of our members met for a convoy along Victoria Drive to enjoy one of the Cape’s scenic coastal drives through Camps Bay, Bakhoven, LLandudno, Hout Bay and Chapmans Peak Drive.

On arrival at the venue we had an unfortunate mix up, where our usual reserved parking in the shade had been given up to a group of international motoring journalists who were test-driving the latest (yet to be launched) VW Amorak range.

The venue is always popular, thanks to its elevated position and sprawling views of Noordhoek Beach. We had 48 members in attendance for the year end lunch, who all enjoyed a 3-course lunch.

Some of the models in attendance included a C114 Coupe, Pontons, R107's, R129, W116, W123 and W108 saloons, a C126 coupe and a Pagoda SL. Some of the more modern vehicles were SL 65 AMG, W202, CLC and an S203 . ■

Distinguished Gentleman’s Drive

By Brendan Moran

This year, some of our members attended the Distinguished Gentleman's drive on Sunday 25 September. This is an annual event that takes place worldwide to raise funds for men's mental health and prostate cancer research.

The event was founded in 2021 during Covid, with Movember as their charity partner. It is an on-road motoring event, aimed at uniting pre-80's classic cars, designed to encourage enthusiasts and classic car owners to dress dapper and drive for men's health.

This year’s event started with registration and welcome at the Silo District of the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

The cars were all displayed in front of and around the Silo Hotel courtyard providing a splendid backdrop for all the beautiful classic cars that took part.

Apart from the great cause which the event supports, the diversity of cars which took part was truly impressive, covering all the top classic car brands, and it provided a chance to meet and befriend some new fellow petrolheads. Our Club was represented by about ten of us in five cars.

After registration and the driver's briefing, we left the Waterfront in convoy along the Atlantic Seaboard on a scenic drive through Sea Point, Camps Bay and along Victoria Road. The route then turned towards the mountain and Constantia neck, and back down to Kirstenbosch where the convoy stopped to regroup and walk about discussing the cars.

After that we headed back to the Waterfront to park and display the cars at the Silo District, where some of us also had lunch.

The Distinguished Gentleman's Drive is a truly cool event that supports a very good cause. The club will be sure to attend it again next year in even larger numbers. You can read more about the event and its global following at www.gentlemansdrive.com ■