This year was more about the drive. The other parts of the formula of getting as many Sacco cars together as possible, and finding a great driving road remained.   The route chosen was the Putty road, which is probably the best driving road in Sydney’s outskirts.

I took my 560SEC.  Of my Sacco era cars, it is the best suited to the Putty Road.   In any case the W124 is being repaired after the hit from the p-plater and the 560SEL has a coolant leak.

Our meeting point was a hotel in Windsor.  We left home at 7am, so I would have time to grab the kids breakfast at McDonalds nearby.   They were less than impressed when a power outage meant that McDonalds Vineyard was closed, and so was the Hungry Jacks over the road.   We had been running a bit late too.  We took Galston Gorge to the meeting point instead of the main road.  The road down the gorge was fine, but on the way up, we drove at 5km/h, as a group of selfish cyclists were blocking the road and preventing anyone from passing.   There were ample places where they could have paused to let the huge line of cars through, including an ambulance, but they didn’t.

We arrived at the meeting point about 30 minutes before the departure time.  The meeting point was serving coffees, but not much in the way of food.  Luckily the kids had brought a few snacks which they ate instead.

The weather was amazing and turnout was really good.  As would be expected, The W124 and W126 dominated. There were also a few W201s and a few R129s, plus on or two other Sacco era cars.

At around 9am, the group took off for the Putty Road. We had a waypoint of the Greygum Cafe, around half way along the Putty Road.  The route was quite simple so it was almost impossible to get lost.  In addition, this year we didn’t try and keep everyone in a tight convoy.  This worked far better.

When we arrived at the Cafe, the Aston Martin Owners club was already there.  There were some lovely classic Aston Martin’s there, including a DB5.  I didn’t get a chance to take any pictures as they left soon after we arrived.

We stopped at the cafe for around 40 minutes.  This gave me time to get the kids something to eat.  Pies and sausage rolls is the breakfast of champions and one of my daughters aid the beef pie was the best she had ever had.

After our break, we completed the second part of the Putty Road.   The Putty road is great as it has long sweeping sections, tight corners and interesting scenery.   Traffic wasn’t too bad, so we were able to get along reasonably well.   The 560SEC does pretty well on roads like this.  It is fast and comfortable.

Our destination was the BenEan winery.   We had a parking area in a back paddock where we could line up our cars.   The only thing I would have changed about the day is that it would have been good to have the non-sacco cars lined up separate to the Sacco cars.

We had an excellent lunch at the winery.   There was an outdoor area with was quite shaded – important given it was in the mid 30s.   Next to it was a pizza oven and the staff were making very good pizzas.

Prizes were awarded after lunch.   There were prizes for the best original Sacco car, best modified Sacco car, presidents choice, highest mileage and lowest mileage.   The best original car was a lovely green E320 C124, the best modified was a red R129 500SL and the the presidents choice was a lovely Bornite 420SEL.   All were very deserving winners.

Looking around the cars parked at the event, there were some really nice ones on display.   Youngtimer Sacco Day 2025 manages to bring out a lot of cars that are rarely seen at club events.  It shows how well a theme for events works.   A regular drive and lunch event wouldn’t get nearly as many cars.  But focusing on a particular era of cars and making it a bit special makes the day work really well.

My kids and I really enjoyed the day and hope to go again in 2026.

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The thing that makes this event great is that its always a combination of great driving roads, an interesting destination, and the theme of the Sacco cars.  The past three events have had HARS as the destination, but this year the event was all new.   As much as I like HARS, I am glad the organizers decided to shake it up this year.  Even good events can go stale if they don’t change and evolve.

For 2024, the destination was Mt Panorama Race track in Bathurst.   The idea was to take some good roads up to Bathurst, have lunch at the track, do a lap and then see the museum.   The lunch was to include special guests of Aussie racing legends to talk about their time driving the track.

This was the first event since the recent passing of Bruno Sacco, at age 90.   Sacco was hired by Mercedes-Benz as a stylist in 1958, and became head of design in 1975 after the retirement of Frederich Geiger.   He would hold that position until 1999.   While Sacco contributed to many deigns under Geiger, he is best known for the models that were designed while he was head of the Styling Department. Timeless classics such as the W126, W124, W129, W201 etc.

I am lucky enough to own three Sacco cars – my 1987 560SEL and SEC, as well as my 1990 300TE.  I took my 560SEL.   Primarily because its a very comfortable road trip car and I have driven it less than the other two this year.  I also took two of my kids with me – they have enjoyed the previous Sacco days at HARS.

The meeting point was a hotel in Penrith.   Numbers were a fair bit down from prior events.   I’m not sure why as I thought the new event sounded really good.   Perhaps there was the perception that Bathurst is further than HARS, even though in reality that is not the case.   We arrived early at 7:20AM, so I could get the kids breakfast at McDonalds before the event.

Of the cars that attended, the A124 seemed quite popular this year with a number of very nice examples.

The drive to Bathurst was split into three stages.   The first was to the Botanic Gardens in Mt Tomah (on Bells Line of Road).  The second was Lake Lyell.   And the third was the racetrack itself.

The first leg was a bit of a shemozzle.  Instead of giving attendees directions with waypoints defined, there was a desire to keep the group in a very tight convoy the whole way up to Mt Tomah.   This was destined for failure. On these roads it would have been impossible to keep a tight convoy with three to four cars, let alone around 30.  We stopped to let the convoy regroup every five minutes or so, often blocking traffic and causing irate motorists.

In an attempt to keep the convoy together, it went slower and slower up the single lane sections of Bells line of Road, struggling to hit 50 in 80 zones.   The slower the convoy went, the more aggressive other motorists were in trying to get around us, causing us to stop even more.  It became a bit of a vicious cycle by the time we finally got up to Mt Tomah.  I’m surprised we didn’t have a road rage incident or an accident from other motorists trying to pass us dangerously.

By the time we got to the waypoint, there was a lot of frustration in the the group.  Some members were trying to think of ways of ditching the group and just going themselves.   One group with modern cars did in the end.   As it happened, the next leg as far better, not stopping nearly so much, and sticking mostly to the posted speed limits.   Since we were not going to slowly, the convoy stayed together more naturally anyway.

Without all the stops we could enjoy the drive and the roads were pretty good.   In some places the were quite bumpy, but the nice thing about most Sacco cars is they have wheels and tyres that are suitable for Australian roads.   Forged 15″ Gullideckels are not going to have any issues with a few potholes.  Especially with the amount of rubber between the tyre and the road.   In the W126 we hardly felt the bumps and cruised along quite happily.

At Lake Lyell, the planned stopping point was behind a boom gate, so we skipped it, heading straight for Mt Panorama.   On this third leg we didn’t stick to the route sent out the day before, I’m not sure if that was intentional due to being behind from the first leg, or an omission, but as far as I know everyone made it to the race track.   This even included the A124 with a jammed petrol cap – freed with a set of service station pliers.

We had a nice lunch at the Rydges hotel on the track.   As well as the food, we were entertained my anecdotes from a couple of Aussie racing legends – Phil Ward and Spencer Martin.  Their stories were quite entertaining and it was a nice addition to the day to have them there.

After lunch we did a lap of the track.   The track is a public road with a 60km/h speed limit.   It was good to see so many Saccomobiles driving around the circuit before we headed into the Museum.

The museum was a real revelation.  I’ve been past it a few times but never gone inside.  It looks quite small from the outside.   But actually it has over 100 cars inside.   We had a guided tour of the museum.  The curator is also the owner of a lovely W111 220SEb which was parked outside.

After the museum, my kids wanted to do another lap of the track before we headed home.  It turned into two, as we got stuck behind a box truck on the fist one.   Not sure who finds enjoyment in taking a box truck around Mt Panorama, but I guess others may say the same for a 5.1 meter German limo.

We ended up getting home at about 9:15PM – it had been a very full day and we covered 491km.   Events like these are what car club membership is all about.  We really enjoyed the event.  The only two things I would do to improve it is to send the google maps directions with waypoints and use the points between the three legs for everyone to regroup.  Plus it would have been nice to have a place to line up all the Sacco cars for a photo shoot near the track.

We are looking forward to next year.

The post Youngtimer Sacco Day 2024 appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The event is focused on the cars designed by Bruno Sacco, but other cars could attend.   Sacco was lead designer for Mercedes-Benz from 1975 to 1999.  His era covers a number of key models in Mercedes-Benz history such as the W126, W201, W124, R129, R230 and more.   Sacco also contributed to the W123, although mostly under the direction of Fredrich Geiger.

I had planned to take my 1987 560SEL.   I own three Sacco cars, the 560SEL, my 1987 560SEC and my 1990 300TE.   The 300TE was ruled out as the instrument cluster is still out, as is the centre AC vent.   I’m taking the SEC down to Melbourne later in the week, so I thought I would take the SEL.   However, after driving out of a multi-storey parking lot on Friday night, the drivers window failed to go back up.   I assume the plastic slide in the window regulator is broken or jammed.   That ruled it out and I took the SEC instead.    The SEC went well, and the wheel alignment and balance seems to have fixed my wheel wobble issue, although I still have some vibration at low speed turning.

As with the 2020 event, we started at Tynan’s Mercedes-Benz dealership.     We then took the Grand Pacific drive though the Royal National Park before ending up at HARS.    Unlike the last two events, we could not drive the cars onto the apron.   Some idiot drove a BMW M-car at high speed on an active runway, causing cars to be banned.  I hate these knee-jerk rules, they should have just thrown the book at the offender.

The drive through the national park was good as always, and the cyclist menace was not as bad as normal.   HARS is well worth a visit – they had multiple aircraft flying, and we could take a tour of the Super Constellation and the Boeing 747.    I took my three kids and they all enjoyed HARS.

After a couple of hours at HARS, we took a very enjoyable drive over Macquarie Pass to Moss Vale for lunch.   This was the same place we had lunch in 2020.

I understand there were more than 30 cars on the day.   This time the W124 was the clear majority.   In the first year, the W126 was king of the hill, especially the 420SEL.   There were probably as many 420SELs as there were cars today.   Although I am a big fan of the designs of Bruno Sacco, my favourite car on the day was the W111 280SE 3.5 cabriolet, a design of Paul Bracq.

The day was really good, and an improvement over 2021.   In 2021 the weather was rather poor, and we didn’t do the second drive for lunch.     I’m glad that was brought back.      We didn’t top 2020 as that event was huge and we had access to the apron to show off the cars.   I think that was what was missing this time – we didn’t have the showcase of all the Sacco designs lined up.

I certainly enjoyed the day and Youngtimer Sacco day remains one of the premier events on the MBCNSW calendar.

The post Youngtimer Sacco day 2023 appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Oskar the 300SE ready for auction

Moving forward a year, I had an itch to buy another classic. I attempted to justify the purchase, but in all honesty, I couldn’t really, apart from knowing that our cars had contributed to my mental wellbeing during COVID. I also knew Naomi wouldn’t say no, as she has two lovely classics, a Jensen Interceptor and Triumph Stag and can’t resist another exciting addition to the family.

We have always subscribed to the philosophy of owning cars that suit different purposes. Looking at the garage we have enough four door vehicles and no longer need to worry about carting kids around on Club events, so the focus turned to a two door Mercedes. In the last five years I’d seen values escalate for the Mercedes models I grew up with, so I started to think about the more recent Mercedes models, CLK (A/C208, A/C209), SLK (R170/R171). Initially I did look at the CLK, but as I own half a C209 CLK320 with our daughter, I didn’t want another 209 even if it was a convertible. I also thought about the R129 (for less than a minute), but values were way outside my budget.

Eventually I started to look at the SLK R170 as I’ve always been a huge fan of Bruno Sacco and loved the design queues of its elder brother, the SL, with its power domes on the bonnet and optional two-tone interior options. The two-part vario-roof was also a large plus for me (even though it does consume a large amount of boot capacity when down). Within 25 seconds you can enjoy the fresh air of top-down motoring or close it and enjoy the warmness of what could be described as a coupe. Our Stag is much more usable when we have the hard top on too, but we have to use a winch, so just flicking a button is a huge leap forward. The other bonuses are that the SLK will be club plate eligible in 2023 and it’s an approved vehicle for P probationary drivers (excluding the SLK32 AMG).

The SLK range initially consisted of the SLK230 Kompressor released Feb 1997, then followed by the SLK200 in Oct 1997. The series II was released in Jul 2000 with revised safety equipment (electronic stability control) and suspension. The SLK200 Kompressor replaced the SLK200 and the SLK320 was released, while Sep 2001 marked the introduction of the SLK32 AMG. The R170 sold until 2004, with Mercedes releasing Special Editions to mark the end of the line for the R170. It came with exclusive features including pleated seats in fine Nappa leather, special aluminium trim on the dash and console, stepped 5 twin-spoke 16-inch alloy wheels and a special grille finished in the body colour.

The good news I found was there were plenty to choose from in terms of colour and engine combinations, but on the downside, there are plenty of bad ones which appear to be dragging down the values of good ones. Initially I wanted to buy locally, but it quickly became apparent that I couldn’t find one in the condition and colour combination I wanted. The search turned to interstate where I identified a listing for a 1998 SLK230 in silver with the two tone, red & black interior. It’s always fantastic to connect with a lovely seller and in this case, he was more than happy to supply 11 years of receipts, listing all the work done and dollar amount spent. We are delighted to welcome Sally the SLK as the latest member of our family and a lovely way to keep my Mum’s memory alive.

Sally on her way to a new home

Author:  Nick Gruzevskis is a member of the Mercedes-Benz Club (Victoria) and the owner of 1979 450SE, 2005 CLK320 and now an SLK230

The post Guest Article: In search of another Benz – Part 1 appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Unfortunately we had heavy rain most of the day.   Not ideal for a drive day, but that didn’t stop a fairly good turn out on the day.   It’s a real credit to some of the owners in the MBCNSW that they still brought their cars out on a day like today.   To many classics become garage queens never venturing out unless the weather is perfect.   This is a shame as cars a meant to be driven and generally sitting unused is worse than occasionally getting wet.

Youngtimer Sacco Day 2021 started at Taren Point Bowling club.    The parking lot there had more room than the Mercedes-Benz dealership we started at last year.   After some time to look at the cars and for everyone to arrive, we left on the first leg of the drive, to Cataract Dam.

We took the Grand Pacific Drive through the Royal National Park, over Sea Cliff bridge and then up Bulli Pass to Cataract Dam.    Had the weather been good, the Dam would have been a lovely spot to have a bit of a walk and check out the scenery.   Due to the cold, rainy and windy weather, most people huddled under the gazebos.     There was a nice line up of cars in the parking lot though.

From the dam we headed to HARS via Broughtons Pass, Picton Road and then down towards Kembla Heights.    The chosen roads were really good – it was such a shame that the weather was so bad.   I would say the route was as good as last year, and last year was a high bar to follow.

Like last year, I took my 560SEL.    I was quite keen to experience my just rebuilt front suspension on some good driving roads.   The suspension is probably great, but the alignment is clearly out as the car was a real handful in the wet.   Really twitchy handling at speed, strange behavior during cornering and not a very enjoyable experience.   After my mechanic did the work, he sent the car to be aligned.   I’m not sure what went wrong, but my suspicion is that they used the wrong specs.    After I got the car back, I noticed it was making the tyres squeal on minor cornering, so I took it back for a 2nd look.   The alignment place assured him it was fine.   Its clearly not.     The W126 normally one of the most surefooted cars in the wet I have driven.

When we arrived at HARS, the cars were first assembled in a marshaling area.   Once they all arrived, they were brought into HARS in model groups.    I really liked the idea of lining the models up together, but this didn’t work very well on the day.   I hope they try again next year as it would make an impressive display.

Instead of a look at the HARS display and then a second drive to a different lunch spot, we had lunch at HARS and then were free to look around as long as we wanted.   Overall, I think that was a better choice.  While the food was nicer last year, it was better to have more time to browse the displays, and the food was fine at HARS.

Last year there was a section of the museum closed off due to an upcoming Qantas event.   This time that wasn’t the case, so we were able to tour the 747-400, the Connie and other large exhibits.   The 747-400 was VH-OJA, the first 747-400 operated by Qantas and the aircraft that set the record for the longest delivery flight at over 20 hours.

The club also had prizes for various things.   I managed to win the prize for the highest mileage W126 on the day – 335,000.     In addition, my two daughters were excited to be chosen to help give out the prizes.

The selection of cars at Youngtimer Sacco Day 2021 was more balanced this year.   Last year it was very skewed to the W126, the 420SEL in particular.   This year there was more balance of Sacco models, in paritcular a nice selection of W124s.   This changed so much I think I was the only 560SEL, but I think there were four LWB Nautical blue W126s on display.   There was also a nice selection of W126 SECs.

Overall the organizers did a really nice job with Youngtimer Sacco day 2021 and I look forward to next years event.

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The event started out at Tynan’s Mercedes-Benz dealership in Southern Sydney.   They were also the sponsors of the event.   Tynan’s is a large dealership, but their forecourt was soon overwhelmed by Saccomobiles as event attendees started to roll in.   The event was capped at just over 100 attendees due to COVID restrictions at the venues.   Had it been a normal year, numbers would have probably been even higher.

I took my 560SEL to the event, as the W126 is a Sacco creation.   I read an interview with him a few years ago and I seem to recall the 126 SEC and W201 as being to designs he is particularly proud of.   Others who attended the Youngtimer Sacco day clearly had a similar idea as the W126 was by far the most popular car there, mostly 420SELs.   The 420SEL is very popular in the club, so much so it’s almost a membership requirement!

There were of course other models represented at the Youngtimer Sacco Day.   There were a few nice W201s, W124s etc, although the numbers skewed to the 80s models and there were only a couple of the 90s and 2000s in attendance.   For the W124s there was at least three rare A124 cabriolets as well as a real AMG Coupe.

The first leg of the day took us through the Royal National Park on the Grand Pacific Drive.   This is a nice (but busy) drive through some good roads in the national park and over the sea cliff bridge.

The morning tea break was at HARS Aviation Museum.   This is one of those places I have been meaning to attend for years and never got the chance.   They have a really interesting collection of aircraft significant to Australian Aviation.   Its definitely worth a visit.    Not only was the museum really interesting but the line up was extremely impressive.    I took a couple of my young children to the event as they were interested in seeing the Aeroplanes.

It would have been logistically difficult, but it would have been quite cool to get them lined up my model given the number.   In any case, given it was Youngtimer Sacco Day, the Saccomobiles were all in the first row and then the other Mercedes-Benzes behind.

Once we finished up at HARS, there was a great route selected to take us to Moss Vale Golf Club for Lunch.    There were some great twisty parts of this road.   Surprisingly there was even a little floodway with about 1″ of water flooding through.   There were a couple of low slung AMG cars at the event that probably had to detour, although it was no problem for the W126.

The lunch at Moss Vale was quite nice, done in multiple sittings to comply with COVID restrictions.

The Club, in conjunction with Tynan’s had some nice door prizes.  I was lucky enough to win some detailing products.    The day was a big success and a credit to the organizers.   I hope it does run again next year.   Maybe they should also consider an Oldtimer Bracq day?   This could commemorate the cars of Paul Bracq including the W108/W109, R113, W111C, W100 and W114/W115.

The post Youngtimer Sacco Day 2020 appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Bracq was responsible for one of Mercedes-Benz most elegant designs of the post war period, the W111 Coupe/Cabriolet.  He was also integral to the W108/W109, W114/W115 and the W113 Pagoda.     Later in his career he also styled the E24 6 Series, another favourite of mine.

This article got me thinking about the car stylists behind the cars in my garage.   The visual appeal of all the cars I have ever owned are the work of the six individuals below.   It is particularly impressive to think that during the 60s, Mercedes Benz had Geiger, Bracq and Sacco all working in their styling department.

From what I have read, Malcolm Sayer never considered himself a stylist.  He always considered himself an Aerodynamicist.  This is rather ironic as the Jaguar E-type is not especially aerodynamic.  It is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful cars ever made.

Stylist		Design	Current Cars	Previous Cars	Other Notable Designs
	David Bache (1925-1994)	Rover P5/P5B	-	1965 Rover P5 MKII Coupe	Rover P6, Range Rover, Rover SD1
	Flamino Bertoni (1903-1964)	Citroen DS Traction Avant	1970 Citroen DS21	1954 Citroen Traction Avant Light 15	Citroen H Van
	Paul Bracq (1933- )	Mercedes-Benz W111 Coupe/Cabriolet	1965 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Cabriolet	1967 250SE Coupe	Mercedes W108, W114/115, BMW E21, BMW Turbo
	Frederich Geiger (1907-1996)	Mercedes-Benz R/C107	1977 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC	1982 280CE*, 1985 230E* (* with Sacco)	Mercedes 500/540K Roadster, 300SL Gullwing, 600, W110/111 Sedans
	Malcolm Sayer (1916-1970)	Jaguar E-Type	1965 Jaguar E-Type S1	-	Jaguar XJS, Jaguar C & D Types
	Bruno Sacco (1933- )	Mercedes-Benz W126	1986 Mercedes-Benz 300SE, 1987 560SEC, 1987 560SEL	1988 & 1989 Mercedes 560SEC, 1982 280CE*, 1985 230E* (* with Geiger)	Mercedes W124, W201, C111 Concept

All these men belong on a broader list of the great stylists of the 20th Century.   This is not that list.   There are many others that would need to be considered.   It does highlight how prolific some of these stylists were.  It also shows how so many cars I like were the work of a few individuals.

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