Make your reservations now to attend our first-ever Western Reserve Section Cars & Coffee at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church (2113 Ravenna St. Hudson, OH 44236) on Saturday, May 9th from 9:00-11:30 am. In addition to enjoying coffee and donuts with fellow Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts, we will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a presentation by our special guests, Elisabeth and Fred. They will be on hand with their 1957 220S and Zambezi Tent-Trailer that is their home during their around-the-world adventure.
Elisabeth and Fred are the ‘ultimate travelers. Originally from the Netherlands, they migrated to New Zealand with their three children in 1985 and currently live in Wellington. The couple has traveled the world extensively for work and as tourists, visiting many places in Europe, the Americas, Asia, North Africa and the Pacific.
Imagine driving across five continents through unforgiving terrain in a 1957 Mercedes Benz! In 2014, after some three years of preparation, seasoned motoring pioneers Fred and Elisabeth will embark on a ground breaking worldwide driving adventure. They will venture some 90,000 miles from New Zealand, through the Americas, Europe and Russia, by way of India and Malaysia to Australia before returning home in 2019.
The intrepid couple will leave their beloved family, risking breakdowns, corruption, robbery and muggings, as they travel unsupported in a 55-year-old classic car. The team will brave inclement weather and challenging driving conditions and will spend five years living in a specialised, light-weight tent-trailer, all in the name of adventure. You can follow their adventures online here
Our guests will also be making a special presentation that talks about their plans, their preparations of the car and the trailer, the search for new parts, and modifications/improvements to the car and trailer to cope with the various climates they will pass through. The talk also includes several video clips, including a great black and white 1950s Mercedes promotional film, and of people who used the 220S for their challenges around the world. One of those shows Karl Kling in a 190 winning the 1961 Algiers to Cape Town Trans-Africa Rally; a Ponton being used for the re-enactment of the Carrera Pan Americana, during which the driver actually rolls the car, pushes it upright again and carries on. It also contains a video clip of Dirk de Groen during the Peking to Paris last year in his 1958 Ponton.
This event promises to be an fascinating morning that attendees will be talking about for years—and those who missed it will be regretting it for a long time!
Mail your registration by May 5th using the form below to Ted Gottfried, 35 S. Hayden Pkwy. Hudson, OH 44236 or register and pay online here
Questions: Contact Ted at [email protected] or (330) 554-9694
Promises to be a fantastic event
We hope you can come