Looking for a high-end three-pointed star classic, but with 2022-style appointments and real punch under the bonnet? Mechatronik, based north of Stuttgart, are waiting to take your order right now. From humble beginnings, these Mercedes-Benz obsessives are now the undisputed leading specialists in classic Mercedes restomods, built to order with such attention to detail that, if you tick all the options boxes, your dream car can cost you north of half a million pounds. Way more than the average house, but how fast is your home anyway?
On one level, Mechatronik are world-class dealers in hard-to-find exotica. That's anything from an opentop 1929 Mercedes-Benz W06 710 SS in concours condition (price strictly on application) and a unique customised Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman (£1.9m) to more run of the mill machinery such as an as-new Pagani Huayra (if you need to ask, you can't afford it) or a McLaren P1 GTR (£2.6m). But these days it's the company's restomods - in effect brand new motor cars individually specified by customers - that grab the attention.
Mechatronik's bold remake of the classic 1960s Mercedes-Benz SL "Pagoda" won horrified rebukes and open-mouthed admiration in equal measure. While the simply beauty of the exterior remained relatively unmolested - masking a bare metal rebuild, with every component replaced or refurbished - the company's engineers somehow shoehorned a 1990s Mercedes V8 under the bonnet for truly brutal performance. Suspension was uprated and, while each car was built to customer's specifications, up-to-the-minute technology installed in every mega-Pagoda.
The latest offering is based on Mercedes-Benz's elegant 1960s W111 coupe, designated the M-Coupe by Mechatronik. Yours is available to order on the company's addictive online configurator, with bespoke options for everything from interior veneers to the most lurid of external colours. Under the classically fluted bonnet that V8 again lurks, ready to push this unassuming little coupe to unlikely speeds on the autobahn.
Mechatronik is very serious about what it does, very serious indeed. The company's 40-strong team of engineers operate out of purpose-built premises which include a state-of-the-art bodyshop where donor cars are stripped down and entirely rebuilt. Their production is hardly likely to challenge Mercedes-Benz themselves, with less than a dozen of these restomods made each year. Exclusivity is part of the appeal, of course. That and being able to drive a true classic rebuilt with 2022 performance and technology. Now, should we go for Signal Red or Moss Green? Choices, choices.
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