Since then, they have built up their own niche in the club.   They will never be large mainstream events, but they provide a way for members who are very busy with work, children etc to get out and use their cars on a regular basis.  For that reason, while any car is welcome, they are most popular with owners of the older cars.

The very first one was July of 2020.  However, the first three were unofficial drives, and they didn’t make the club schedule until October of that year.

As with the first one, we met at Shelly Beach parking lot.   We had 11 registrations for the drive, which is quite good for a winter route.   Surprisingly the weather has been quite good this week, so I suspect people were very keen to get their cars out.

I took my W111.  It was a clear but cold night so I left the roof closed.  We had a good variety of cars there on the night.   There was a white 280SE 3.5 W108, a pair of 126s in a 280SE and a 380SEC, a 123 280CE, a 107 380SLC, and four 124s (300E x2, 300TE, E320).   The E320 was a new acquisition for its owner and it looked nice.   In addition, there was also a modern convertible.

Our route took us along the coast as much as possible.  It was a fairly cruisy night and most of the group made it to the finishing point at Palm Beach.   On arrival, we seem to have lost the 380SLC and the modern convertible.  Not sure if they got lost or their homes were along the way.

At palm beach, there isn’t anything open at that time of the night.  However, one of our group is a member of the Palm Beach surf club and we were able to go into the clubouse for a chat and a coffee.  He even brought some tim tams along!  It was a better ending spot than McDonalds and a fitting way to celebrate our 50th night drive.

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I took my 560SEC this time.   As well as my car, there was another 560SEC in Nautical Blue (but with a grey update interior), a Silver 450SLC, a concours condition W116 280SE with only 100,000km on the clock, a W108 280SE 3.5, a rare A124 E320 that belonged to a new member.   Representing the modern models was an SL500, an E-Class cabriolet and an SL500.    Not only is the A124 a rare car in its own right, but in Australia the 320 is particularly rare.  Most A124 models seem to be the E220.   I’ve driven an E220 sedan and I found the model very sluggish.   The same cannot be said for the E320.

The starting point was Shelly beach car park and the route took us up the coast past Manly, Freshwater, Dee Why, Collaroy, Narrabeen and other beaches until we hit Palm Beach.   At night the bends on Barrenjoey road are not as busy as during the day and can be quite fun event at legal speeds.

The weather was perfect for our night drive to Palm Beach.  Not a hint of rain and cool weather.   It was quite pleasant driving the 560SEC with the windows down and the heated seats on.    I’m still happy with my monovalve replacement, but am thinking of perhaps trying to modify the setup so the valve does not open when the car is off.   It means a blast of hot air after a quick restart, and a foggy windscreen.

The attendance today bodes well for future night drives with the Club.    We have already planned a night drive for November.   We also plan to keep them going for 2021.

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