It was Eid when Mohammed Ali Royker, from the Cape, got the call from the Lourensford Wine Estate Car Show in Somerset West informing him that he had just won the W123 230E – the car MUA Insurance and this publication recently gave away in a lucky draw.
“I was having Eid lunch, so I didn’t take the first call from MUA. When my phone rang a second time, I was worried something might be wrong and took the call from Candy, a manager at MUA, and could not believe the special news on a special day,” says Royker.
He has already done a few trips to Gordon’s Bay in his blue Stuttgart-stormer, and mentions that it’s incredible how many thumbs-ups he gets, even in places like Camps Bay where Lambos roll around freely. Royker also points out that for a 40-year-old car, the fuel consumption is on point, thanks to a fuel-injected 2.3-litre 4-cylinder that has aged well. The W123 series has long been cited as one of the most over-engineered cars on the planet, and Royker is the latest testament to that.
The Royker family is no strangers to the three-pointed star, with a collection that includes an SL, a Ponton and a W108. “The funny thing is that a few weeks before, I had been looking at a beige W123 230E up in Joburg, similar mileage, with the owner asking close to two hundred grand. Something told me to wait – and here we are.”
Royker goes on to say that despite the many offers he’s had for the car, there’s no way he’ll part with it. On his to-do list: some paint repairs and a few minor interior corrections. Otherwise, the 230E is as good a daily runner as it gets. “I wasn’t a fan of the aftermarket whitewall tyres, so I had those reversed as it gives the car a more modern look,” he concludes.
It’s also a fitting year to be winning such a prize. June 1926 saw the official birth of the marque, the result of a merger between Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie., establishing Daimler-Benz AG and making 2026 a centenary year for the Stuttgart giant. Add to that the 140th anniversary of Karl Benz’s invention of the horseless motor carriage in 1886, and the 50th birthday of this very car, the W123.
“Giving away a car of this calibre has not been easy,” says MUA Insurance CEO Vajra Singh. “From the day we found it, we grew more and more fond of it, becoming a part of our MUA family. Parting with such a special piece of history was like saying goodbye to an old friend. The massive consolation is the R100,000-plus donation we were able to make to worthy causes through ticket sales, which in the end makes the entire initiative all the more special.”
