We stumbled upon this pair of beautifully restored Mercedes in the most unlikely of places: SEMA’s SUV, wheel, and tire hall. Then we looked under the hoods to find something else that didn’t quite belong: modern AMG engines. When the drooling ceased, we started asking questions.
The “why?” was pretty obvious. Old Benzes are beautiful, but not always the best daily drivers. Also, who doesn’t like more power?
“Who?” was the interesting bit. Mechatronik is a German company founded 15 years ago by former AMG engineer Frank Rickert. It does full restorations of anything Mercedes from 1949 through the ’80s, and even does contract work for the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Germany. The two cars it brought along to SEMA—a 280SE coupe and a stately 300S—were shiny, shining examples of their work. Both appeared like-new and with what we can only assume were all the right parts and pieces.
That applies to the visible components, anyway. Rickert and his team will also upgrade any of the cars’ mechanical systems, creating what they call a “New-Tech” restoration. All modifications are done with great respect to the original vehicle, with Rickert claiming no new holes are drilled to accommodate the new stuff.
The 300S at the show was powered by the 3.6-liter inline-six from a C36 AMG—one of the company spokesmen admitted it was overkill—backed by a column-shifted five-speed. A 555-hp AMG 5.5-liter V-8 was fitted in place of the 280SE’s original 3.5-liter V-8. The coupe also had an upgraded suspension of Mechatronik’s own design using Eibach parts, as well as modern Mercedes ABS brakes. And thanks to Becker’s line of classic-looking modern stereos, the sound system got a stealth redo as well. We were told the company’s current over-the-top project is a 280SE convertible with a supercharged AMG V-8 for “a special client.” You gotta imagine most of their clients are pretty special, though.
Mechatronik’s booth was in the nebulous “first-time exhibitor” area because, well, this was the company’s first visit to SEMA. It wasn’t just in Vegas to tease us, though; Mechatronik has plans to sell its cars in the U.S. It already has a distributor in Colorado Springs and is looking to sign three dealers here in the States. Before a customer picks up a car, though, Rickert insists they come to Germany for a test drive on the autobahn. We definitely don’t have the cash for one of these restored beauties—or, let’s face it, even an unrestored basketcase—but we wouldn’t mind taking the test drive.
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