Matthew Jones, 20 April 2011
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Mechatronik drags Merc’s W111 into the future
The best way to dispose of £263,000 you’ve ever seen?
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Behold. This is the latest old-car-with-new-stuff from classic Mercedes specialists Mechatronik, whose tuning
philosophy ranks highly on the TopGear.com scale of wondrousness.
Method: find old Mercedes W111 coupe. Remove dull 60s engine. Fit supersonic AMG lump and running gear.
Make it shiny and inconspicuous. Win.
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Yep, this quiet old classic - named the M-Coupe - has a 5.5-litre 360bhp AMG V8 that produces a chassis-
twisting 376lb ft of torque. To cope with the power, the old girl's all off-the-shelf AMG underneath -
the five-speed auto, propshaft, driveshafts and differential all come from the MB subsidiary's back catalogue.
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The suspension's been tinkered with, too. And you'd hope so - the W111's original swing-arm underwear's
pretty antiquated. Mechatronik ripped out everything and fitted stainless steel rebound-adjustable dampers
and 20mm lowering springs. They replaced all the rubber stuff while they were there, too.
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This means that the W111's capable of 60mph in less than six seconds and tops out at a tethered 150mph.
Any faster would probably be slightly terrifying - remember, the less-than-slippery coupe was launched
when Kennedy was president: 1961.
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Inside, there's an uprated sound system, aircon and specially developed heated sports seats, which look just
like the originals. It's also fitted with a retro Becker Mexico satnav, which does a sterling job of disguising
itself as 60s tech.
It is a touch expensive, around £263,000, which is Maybach money.
But frankly, what would you rather roll around in?
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