Specialty File
The Mechatronik M-Coupé serves as transportation in the same sense that a Gothic cathedral shelters you from rain. Virtually unknown in America, Mechatronik is a German company founded in 1997. It might be a fraction of the age of the Benzes it rebuilds and restores, but the quality of Mechatronik’s work is such that its list of clients includes Mercedes-Benz’s own classic center in Fellbach, Germany. Part of the business is restoring old Mercedes-Benzes to showroom condition, but in the grand German tradition of Vic Frankenstein, Mechatronik also dabbles in monster making. What at first appear to be mild-mannered old Swabians are really reanimations, with modern AMG engines for hearts.
Mechatronik calls this particular creation the M-Coupé. It began life in 1970 as a 280SE 3.5—today’s equivalent would be a CL550. Coupes such as the 280SE were built on what’s known as the W111 platform from 1961 until 1971. The big M-Coupé’s build quality is beyond what you’ll find in a modern car. Part of that is due to the meticulous restoration, but it also speaks to the goodness of old Mercs. If this car is in any way indicative of what it was like to buy a Benz in 1970, we now fully understand why Janis Joplin prayed for one. The doors close with an evocative ka-thunk. With all the warmth and depth of a vinyl LP, it’s a welcome sound from another era. Every part, however minor, seems to have been designed and built to endure forever. You get the sense that this car will outlive your grandchildren’s grandchildren. permanence like this knocks you on your ass—who builds stuff to last anymore?—and, thanks to Mechatronik, so will the performance.
Behind the chrome-covered tombstone grille is the naturally aspirated 354-hp, 5.4- liter V-8 from a previous-generation S55 AMG. The engine and the five-speed automatic fit so perfectly that, if you didn’t know better, you’d suspect the car left the factory that way. There are no extraneous wires, no suspect parts, nothing out of place—it all looks as if it were assembled in Stuttgart. It’s odd to mention originality when discussing a restomod, but it’s actually possible to return the car to its original spec: Mechatronik mounts the new powertrain without drilling or cutting into metal.
We doubt anyone will ever put the old V-8 back into this car; there’s just no reason to. The AMG V-8, complete with modern emissions controls, starts at the first key twist; it doesn’t smoke and it doesn’t fill the cabin with unburned hydrocarbons. Drive it like a ’70 Benz, and the engine doesn’t shout; all that comes through is the coupe’s vintage goodness. A custom exhaust keeps the engine humming quietly unless you stand on the throttle, at which point all Aufrect, Melcher, and Grossaspach break loose, sending your body deep into the horsehair-filled leather mitts that pass for seats. In our hands, the Mechatronik car smacked 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and continued on through the quarter-mile in 13.6 seconds at 105 mph. Nothing with this many Gothic architectural cues should move this quickly. It’s as silly, absurd, and unlikely as that cliché involving winged swine.
