MG EXPERIENCE LUXURY
MG EXPERIENCE LUXURY
Making a Mercedes ‘Better Than New’
Shops rebuild older classics to high standards, or modernize them with new technology
BY JIM MOTAVALLI
T here will always be a market for classic Mercedes-Benz restorations. The cars tend to be gorgeous, beautifully engineered, and highly complex, meaning that quality restorations require a lot of specialized knowl- edge. The cars also lend themselves well to tasteful updating. Some of the more valuable Benzes have had celebrity ownership, such as the singer Ella Fitzgerald’s big 300D Cabriolet. Meanwhile, a Mercedes 190SL two-seater with ties to Welsh vocalist Dame Shirley Bassey was found in the U.S. need- ing work, and was fully restored at Hemmels, a shop in Cardiff, Wales, (Bassey’s hometown) that’s known for making classic Mercedes-Benzes (1954 to 1971) better than new. It can restore a car to its original state, but if a customer wants an update or an electric conversion, that can be arranged, too. Hemmels expects to make the restored two-seater avail-
able for sale at an event in Monaco in April. Richard Butterfield, founder of the brand-implementation agency Principle Group, bought a majority share of Hemmels and became chair- man in 2018. His interest began as a customer. “I always wanted to own a 280SL and a 300SL, and I was told that Hemmels was the only company to make my dream come true,” Butter- field tells Mansion Global Experience Luxury . “That was the start of my addiction. I looked at the way these guys worked, and it’s like the cars were being born again.” Their work was single-minded and all-consum- ing, Butterfield says, and “it went beyond taking the cars down to the last nut and bolt.” Butterfield calls himself a “detail fanatic.” To tailor a Savile Row suit, he says, “You can’t start out with poor-quality cloth—that would be like putting lipstick on a pig.” To improve on cars that were pretty
Opposite page: Hemmels, based in Cardiff, Wales, can restore a classic Mercedes-Benz to its original state, but if a customer wants an update or an electric conversion, that can also be arranged. Above: A 190SL two-seater with ties to Welsh singer Dame Shirley Bassey was found in the U.S. needing work.
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