![IMG5284 Freedom Group](https://cdn.freedom-group.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_5284-1024x683.jpg)
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes-Benz?
I have long hankered after a classic Mercedes. A dark blue, late Sixties 280 SL convertible would fit the bill nicely, thank you. Low and lean, it sits purposefully on the road, its broad tyres filling the arches, offering a sense of romance and freedom. When I next have £40-50,000 to spare, I’ll consider my options.
![IMG5284 Freedom Group](https://cdn.freedom-group.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_5284-1024x683.jpg)
Meanwhile, I can enjoy the Mercs and many other examples of fine vehicles at the rallies and displays by North Cyprus’s classic car owners’ clubs. At a recent show, the harbour of Girne was packed with a remarkable collection of four-wheeled wonders. I spotted a jet-black Lincoln Continental, a bright blue “James Dean” Porsche and a near combat-ready British Army Land Rover.
In North Cyprus, a “classic” car for import purposes, is counted as anything over 25 years old, which covers everything from an enormous American Graffiti-style gas guzzler to a Mini Cooper.
![IMG5292 Freedom Group](https://cdn.freedom-group.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_5292-1024x683.jpg)
For now, I drive a modest Japanese hatchback. I know next to nothing about the workings of the internal combustion engine and avoid opening the bonnet of the Suzuki unless I have to fill the water of the windscreen washer bottle, but conversely, I love driving. I follow the latest motoring news and browse examples of lovely old cars that I will probably never own.
![IMG5301 Freedom Group](https://cdn.freedom-group.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_5301-1024x683.jpg)
If you are in the happy position of owning a well-loved vehicle you would like to bring to North Cyprus, you will need to join one of the classic car clubs here to arrange a licence. The duty payable will be calculated on the original sale price of your vehicle and your annual vehicle tax will be discounted.
![IMG5297 Freedom Group](https://cdn.freedom-group.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_5297-1024x683.jpg)
Sparkling chrome and radiator grills
If you just want to indulge yourself looking at sparkling chrome and radiator grills, pay a visit to the Classic Car Museum, part of the Near East University on the north side of Lefkoşa.
More than 60 vehicles are lined up here, ranging from early 20th-century horseless carriages to vehicles of the 60s and 70s. The big names include Bentleys, Lagondas, and a Jaguar XK120 from 1948. You will also see more common transport examples, a Ford Anglia from the 1940s, a Popular from the 50s, and an Escort of the 60s, alongside Minis, Beetles, and Morris Minors, as well as a handful of modern supercars.
![IMG5303 Freedom Group](https://cdn.freedom-group.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_5303-1024x683.jpg)