PR agency head and author Alex Iwan from Düsseldorf loves making a grand entry in her 380 SLC. “Only” 35 years old, her classic car exudes a touch of exclusivity. Just the right amount for the taste of the people of Düsseldorf. Just like this centre of fashion and lifestyle on the Rhine, the 380 SLC embodies classic looks, style and luxury. Alex Iwan calls it “passion”.
There was never any other brand of car in the life of Alex Iwan. As her father worked for Daimler-Benz, daughter Alex enjoyed such exotic countries as West Africa and Indonesia from an early age. Her youth left its mark on her: “I can’t imagine driving a different brand,” she says, looking admiringly at her classic car. Even though the new Mercedes-Benz models impress with their design, comfort and technology, the PR agency boss is in love with classic cars. And she regularly shares this passion with the readers of her Daimler blog. Her latest post is, naturally, about the 380 SLC.
1200 deutschmarks – that’s how her great love of Mercedes-Benz classic cars began. As a student of art history, Alex Iwan earned a little extra on the side from her first PR assignment. And she immediately invested the freshly earned money in a new “old” car. “I wanted to fulfill a lifetime dream and become the owner of a classic car. But I didn’t really know the difference between a classic car and an old car.” She bought a Slash Eight. And it was a love that turned out to be a genuine love story: she met her husband in her “mega cool” car.
Her 380 SLC is coffee brown. For Alex, it’s simply a fantastic color; for the first owner of the Mercedes, it was a lifestyle statement, as the proprietor of a coffee roasting house was inspired by the coffee bean when it came to choosing the color of her car, too. Manganese brown metallic was the name of the evocative color. And in the interior: Brazil brown leather. Incidentally, the 380 SLC is one of the rare eight-cylinder models produced in 1980 and 1981. Design matters: “The slats in the rear window are just super,” says the PR boss.
If you ask Alex Iwan about her favourite car, you shouldn’t expect a clear answer. At the moment, it’s her 380 SLC, model series C 107. The lady from Düsseldorf is no automotive expert – the communication specialist has little interest in kW, hp or cc. Until recently, anyone asking her how many hp her coffee brown classic car had would have received the answer: 380. After all, that’s what it says on the back of the car, she adds. In truth, of course, the vehicle has “just” a sporty 218 hp. But that doesn’t really interest Alex Iwan.
Something like “Prada blue” was the color of the second Slash Eight in Alex Iwan’s life. It was a wedding present from her husband. Yet her love for that car didn’t last long. It was only the third Slash Eight that became her constant companion. The handsome coupé, built in 1973, whiles away its time not under the often cloudy skies of Düsseldorf but in the Spanish sunshine – as a car for vacationing on Mallorca. In Düsseldorf, the blogger remains faithful to her C 107.