Heimatfest (Homecoming)
The Peachtree and Alabama-NW Florida chapters are staging a 3-day MBCA event commemorating 140 years since Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler independently created the first internal combustion automobiles. This year is also the 100th anniversary of Benz and Daimler merging to form Daimler-Benz or as we call the cars today, Mercedes-Benz.
It is also the 50th Anniversary of the W123 and the 40th of the W124, both of which are very well loved by our MBCA members.
Of course, this is also the 70th year for MBCA and the 20th of Alabama – NW Florida chapter.
Our homecoming celebration will begin on Friday evening of 5 June at the Hampton Inn at Oxford, Alabama where we have reserved a block of rooms at $114/ night. Call the hotel directly (256-831-8958). There is plenty of room for trailer parking. Oxford is on I-20 about 90 miles west of Atlanta and 60 miles east of Birmingham.
On Saturday we have arranged a personal guided tour of the fantastic Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum’s race car collection: mostly Lotus and mostly Formula One, sports prototype, and Indy cars. Our guide will be the museum’s chief restorer emeritus, MBCA member Lee Clark. He located, acquired, and restored the first 25 of the 100+ collection, so he knows the “back story” on most of the entire collection. He has arranged a very special price for us for this 2-hour tour. After the Barber visit we will set off on one of our favorite drives that begins almost at the museum’s door: Alabama hwy 25 ( “The Copperhead”) twists and turns for 40 miles until we cross the Coosa River on the dam that impounds Lake Logan Martin (the one you cross on I-20). We will stop for lunch at a rustic marina restaurant that is a favorite of the boating crowd. We continue to the Talladega Superspeedway’s International Motorsports Hall of Fame Museum which enshrines a few Mercedes-Benz drivers as well as your obedient servant’s 1988 SCCA National Champion(mine is the only Japanese car). Passing Talladega Grand Prix Raceway we head to Cheaha Road which has almost 300 turns in 13 miles—better than the tail of the Dragon with very little traffic. After we summit Mt. Cheaha, the road becomes wider — more like the Blue Ridge Parkway for another 30 miles. We finally get back to I-20 and Oxford.
Sunday is a straightforward drive to Huntsville and the famous U.S. Space & Rocket Center. While it features the Apollo moon program that ended 50 years ago the collection includes rockets from the space shuttle to the V-2, V-1, and well before WWII.
NASA Director and cheer leader Dr. Wehrner von Braun was a Mercedes-Benz enthusiast and always drove the current S-class. His last one was the W116. Again, we have a special group rate. On the way back we will pause at a charming Hungarian vineyard and winery and eat in a wildlife exotic animal park.
Since you will have a taste of challenging driving by now, you might want to refine your skills on a track. Monday we will be at Talladega Grand Prix’s road course where you can drive like you wish you could on the street.
This track has 7 turns in 1.4 miles with lots of grassy runoff. I’ve never seen anyone damage a car here. We will have experienced instructors to help you learn the basics of Performance Driving.