Our Classic for the month of February, is a rare Cypriot car being a 240TD Mercedes Estate. This dates from 1983 and being a W123 design is one of the most elegantly styled estate cars ever built.
The cars proud owner is Jacques Phedonos and this is his story. “The car was imported to Cyprus direct from Mercedes in October 1983 by J&P Contractors and used by them for collecting guests from the airport. It was bought by a friend of mine in 1990, and I always admired its design, practicality, robustness, huge interior space, and relative rarity. (Estate cars not being popular in Cyprus with most Cypriots preferring pick-ups). However, after many years of asking I finally convinced my friend to sell the Mercedes to me in 2006.
If you like classic cars and have a family, it is perfect! It is very comfortable, has air conditioning, will cruise at 70mph all day, shrugs off road bumps without hesitation, and, the build quality is second to none! In addition to the cavernous interior, the estate is equipped with a factory fitted roof rack and has self levelling suspension. Just the job for a trip to Nicosia to collect your IKEA flat packs. Other factory fitted extras include tinted windows and cargo net. The only non-standard addition being a baby seat in the back that young Raphael enjoys immensely.
Diesel-engined Mercedes cars are renowned for their longevity and in Cyprus formed the backbone of the taxi industry. Some vehicles have even clocked over a million miles, however, mine has only done 290,000 miles, so I have got some way to go!”
Jacques Mercedes Estate is resplendent in its original beige paintwork, with contrasting Forest Green interior trim, and is powered by a 2376cc diesel engine which through a 4 speed manual gear box produces 75BHP.The car is of course FIVA registered as a Classic Car.
If you have an interest in Classic Vehicles visit any PCVC events and meetings, full details of which can be found on our Facebook page, or, on our webpage www.paphosclassicvehicleclub.com, or, telephone, 97760997.
