Nearly 425 Mercedes-Benz vehicles of various architectures and ages turned out for the first Simply Mercedes car show this past week at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, England.
“For Simply Mercedes’ first year, we had expected around 300 cars to join the show, so to have over 400 Mercedes’ drive in to take part in the rally was astonishing,” said the museum’s events coordinator Sophie Boyes. “It was brilliant to see the event come together on the day and it far exceeded our expectations.”
The event included the 40th anniversary of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class and G-Wagen.
Beaulieu’s “Simply” single-marque events allow show visitors to vote for their favorite vehicles. Winning the People’s Choice Award at Simply Mercedes was a 1966 Mercedes 600 “Grosser,” a large and luxurious limousine-style “Grand” Mercedes meant to compete with the best from Rolls-Royce and Bentley
“I always aspired to own one,” said the car’s owner, Stuart Haynes of Worthing. “In the five years that I’ve owned it, I have completely restored the car.”
Runners-up for the award were a 2018 Mercedes-Benz G350 owned since new, and personalized with such things as roof tent and camping gear, by Keith Maiden of Poole, and a 2012 C63 AMG that Lee Harvey of Bournemouth has owned for only five months.
Simply Mercedes was Beaulieu’s ninth single-marque show of the year. The next one scheduled is Simply Smart on November 10.
