Mercedes Enthusiast

Juli 2021 – I’m thrilled that Mercedes Enthusiast, a specialist magazine from the UK, has shown interest in my work. In fact, they have published more than a handful of my articles since the August/September 2021 issue.

I’m especially grateful for the top-notch photography provided by Noortje Blokland or Casper Heij, which has undoubtedly helped to enhance the readers’ experience.

How things started

Between 2001 and 2003 I met the online Pistonheads community. I started to post in the forums from October 2002 and ran homepage topics about a year later. A long list of photoblogs can be found on my Pistonheads profile page.

Between 2003 and 2006 I sourced subjects for their daily news feed. Long story short: I met 1,001 car dealers and collectors, racing teams, got invited by Lola, made stills for the GT Racer Algarve Special episode and so on. Although I’m a Dutch native my focus is international. And for a reason: passion for classic cars has no boundaries.

As a communications professional, I’m well-accustomed to writing text across a variety of formats, from lengthy documents to concise social media posts. By chance from 2017 to 2019 I became lead-editor of Dutch RS Porsche Magazine and classic car enthusiast magazine Onschatbare Klassieker. I also contributed to SL Mercedes Magazine. After 2.5 years I took a different turn.

In the autumn of 2020, I wrote a story about a genuine ‘Peaky Blinder’s gang car’, simply because a UK Bentley dealer provided me with high-resolution images of a car they had recently sold. It was a fun project that I thoroughly enjoyed.

In the spring of 2021, I decided to take things a step further by reaching out to international magazines to gauge their interest in publishing my work. To my delight, several responded, and Mercedes Enthusiast offered to feature one of my articles.

Let’s have a look at the published articles:

Article 01
The Reinier Groenveld collection
ME August / September 2021,
pages 44-48

Mercedes Enthusiast August / September 2021,
pages 44-48

Reinier Groenveld opens the doors to his 57-piece Benz collection. I brought photographer Casper Heij to inspect the stock in Reinier’s vault-like shed and wrote the words for a 5 page article.

Reinier in front of only a selection of his Benz jewels

Article 02
Monceau Automobiles eSLC #001
ME October / November 2021,
pages 56-60

Mercedes Enthusiast October / November 2021,
pages 42-45 & pages 56-60

My first ever drive in the all electric Monceau Automobiles eSLC. And it is a revelation. Some say it drives even better than a contemporary EV… Photographer Noortje Blokland did a great job capturing the beauty of this gem. Check this Belgium company out: more E-classics soon!

Snapshots kindly provided by photographer Noortje Blokland.

Article 03
Review E50 AMG and SL60 AMG
ME October / November 2021 ,
pages 42-45

E50 AMG and SL60 AMG on the move. Ace shot by Casper Heij.

Brutal AMG road warriors still offer huge value for money. Both cars are made to eat miles, either in four-seater or two-seater guise. Hard to pick my favorite: E50 is a practical fast family hack and the SL60 V8 is just awesome. Better than the V12 6 litre? Yes!

Article 04
Review W114 and 123
ME February / March 2022,
pages 34-40

Mercedes Enthusiast February / March 2022,
pages 34-40

Fantastic coverage of 70s Das Haus workhorse w114 and successor w123. Start reading from page 34 and enjoy the ace photography by Noortje Blokland.

Article 05
Review 450SEL 6.9
ME June / July 2022,
pages 38-43

Mercedes Enthusiast June / July 2022,
pages 38-43

The best car ever built? Photographer Noortje Blokland and I found out: start reading from page 38. And also enjoy the SLC special – my favorite Benz – and consider a subscription.

Article 06
Review W110 Heckflosse Binz 190Dc & S123 300D Combi
ME April / May 2023,
pages 28-32

Mercedes Enthusiast April / May 2023,
pages 28-32

Again a fine repo about two very special Mercedes-Benz cars: one of only a handful Binz survivors and the very first estate built by Das Haus. Pictures for the article are again by Noortje Blokland. The featured image is my own humble effort because I always seem to carry my Olympus on me.

Article 07 & 08
< two articles in progress >
ME issue ?,
pages ?-?

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