Classic cars and women
DB6 Rep Alexander Reichhart | Published on 3/2/2025
In Germany, for example, women have already made history when it comes to classic cars. Bertha Benz is regarded as the first female driver and the first person to venture beyond short test drives. When the three-wheeled Benz Patent-Motorwagen No. 3 did not meet with the desired approval of the paying public, she undertook a 106-kilometre drive from Mannheim to Pforzheim in August 1888 and returned three days later on a different route. Heidi Hetzer, owner of several Opel dealerships in Berlin, is a driving legend. She has already taken part in the Monte Carlo Rally. Today, she is an enthusiastic classic car driver. In 2017, for example, she completed a trip around the world in her Hudson Great Eight. Elke Middeldorn has already successfully taken part in one of the toughest classic car races in the world, the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico, several times. The winners of the 2nd Ennstal-Classic in 1994 were Jutta Roschmann and Nicole Neukunft in a BMW 507. Ladies such as Gundula Tutt are also making a name for themselves in research into automobile restorations.
I would like to publish stories about women around the Aston Martin DB6 in our 60th year. I would be delighted to hear any personal stories of women behind the wheel of an Aston Martin DB6, no matter how small. Send me photos to db6@amoc.org with some information. I will be happy to collate them and publish them in the AMOC. Thank you very much for your support.
Maria Romão de Sousa at the 21st Rallye Lisboa-Pedras d'El Rei in 2002, below