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What if I told you that tucked away in Forstern, a little town within the district of Erding, Bavaria, is where one of the most impressive automotive body shops I have ever seen or heard of resides? What if I told you that this could be one of the best automotive body shops that currently exists in the world? What if I told you that the BMW 507 that Elvis owned was rebuilt here and that BMW Group Classic themselves send their cars here to be restored? What if I told you that this body shop, also builds concepts and prototypes for BMW, Audi and Mercedes? And what if I told you that this body shop even manufactures body panels for aircraft engines, crafting each piece painstakingly by hand? Thanks to some fortuitous timing on the day I met up with Mr Nicolas Navarro to take a look at his lovely 2002te, I joined him earlier on a short side trip as he dropped off a (rather impeccable looking) shell for the first customer-ordered build of a Bavarian Econs 2002. This is the prelude to my 2002 drive, this is Martelleria Blechformtechnik. If you are now experiencing some sort of disbelief from the questions I asked earlier, read on. Because that was exactly how I felt before my serendipitous visit and tour. One part, an extraordinary automotive body shop. Another, a heavy metal master artisan’s studio and workspace. That master artisan is Mr Martin Deggelmann, his canvases of choice, are sheets of metal and his hands and the various tools and machines neatly located throughout the facility are his paintbrushes. From rolling works of automotive art to architectural installations and conceptual art pieces, you wouldn’t be able to tell from his quiet demeanour but Mr Deggelmann has done it all and much much much more, because inside that quiet exterior lies a wild imagination that’s constantly churning, constantly creating. While the non-automotive part of the business is mighty impressive in and of itself, the most impressive aspect of Martelleria is where they revitalise classic machines and make them, at times, even better than when they were new using the very same techniques employed during the years from whence they came. There is a painstaking amount of work going into each piece of sheet metal. Rolled, bent, hammered and tapped into shape before test fitment and thereafter, repeating it over and over again until everything lines up perfectly. While this is without a doubt an extremely time-consuming and highly skilled process that some might find overkill, it is an essential part of the restoration work because these cars were all originally hand-built and as such, no two cars will ever have the same exact body panels and tolerances. Even when they do have in their shop the very actual wooden bucks and templates purchased one way or another from the manufacturers themselves. A single door panel can take hundreds of hours just to put together. Yes, it is also a very expensive process. Despite the time and funds required, cars from around the world are shipped here to be rebuilt because of Martelleria’s dedicated staff, expertise, attention to detail and eye for perfection. This “eye for perfection” is of course a figure of speech because while human sight and feel account for a significant part of any rebuild process, there is absolutely no “eyeballing it” when it comes to finishing a car here because, in addition to being highly skilled in the traditional art of metalwork, Martelleria also employs a selection of laser measuring devices and machines that last saw service in the BMW factory. If there ever comes across a chance where these methods are not quite enough, they are also able to laser scan and 3D print parts when the need arises. On a particular one-off period racer, Martelleria even recreated an entire section of the automobile based on past journals and photographs, rendering it in 3D before physically printing out a true-to-life scale model from which they crafted the body panels. To say that they are dedicated is an understatement. This dedication to their craft does also mean a workspace full of desirable cars and during my short visit, I counted no less than three E9 3.0 CSLs, each in a different stage of their build. Such a beautiful shape that even its bare bodyshell can make me weak in the knees. This original Batmobile was in for only minor work. A brand new bonnet, boot and fitment of that iconic rear wing. Even looking at this very picture fills me with so much yearning for the car. It is so so pretty even when incomplete. Oh yes, the owner of this CSL also happens to be the owner of the first Bavarian Econs commission I mentioned earlier. GarageLife goals right there. I know it’s a workshop but I want my house to look exactly like this, along with that CSL. On a more serious note, if you look up at the walls, you can not only see previous body panels from cars that were here before but also Martelleria’s list of accomplishments and builds neatly lined up just below the Elvis Presley BLVD sign. Here’s a look at another CSL with its brand new hand-made aluminium bonnet fitted before paint. Straight. While the CSL is truly an icon, the car that seems to be most synonymous with Martelleria is the aforementioned BMW 507. With one fully completed car waiting in the wings to be picked up (by an owner whom we cannot mention here). Like many others, I had no idea this shop existed before my visit, which also meant that I had no idea that the Elvis 507’s body was rebuilt by them. If you don’t believe me, take a look at BMW’s very own archival photos and you will spot some familiar backgrounds! Though when you look at this particular 507’s level of finish, it’d be difficult to remain a sceptic because beautiful doesn’t really begin to describe it, this car is flawless and perfect. One can dream, right? One can dream. What about the BMW 2002 shell that we were originally here to drop off? Well, I left this part to the end because this is one for the 2002 nerds. While you might think this is a fully restored shell that had been acid dipped and electroplated, you’d only be partly right because while yes, it has undergone the full acid and electroplating treatment, this bare shell is a fully original frame with no rust repairs ever made. It was (to me at least), quite unbelievable seeing one this clean. And indeed, the original car from which this was source was a beautiful low mileage and very clean Golf yellow roundtail. It looked almost brand new. If you look closely, the only area where rust occurred was below one of the windscreen washer outlets which leaked washer fluid. That particular bit is the only rust spot throughout the entire frame. Pretty wild. As a point of reference, my own car (and I’m sure many others) looks like swiss cheese around here. Original fenders and original doors as well. All looking as good as new. What’s something that’s already so clean doing here? Remember the wide Alpina-Esque pig-cheeks from the Bavarian Econs prototype? Well, this is where it will receive those cheeks but unlike the fibreglass panels from the test car, the ones fitting to this 2002 will be hand-crafted from aluminium. From what we’ve seen, there’s no doubt this 02 is in good hands. Thank you for reading!

Legendary Hollywood actor, Steve McQueen is a man who is genuinely passionate about cars and obviously he loves fast cars. Most would know or remember the Ford Mustang that he drove in the movie Bullitt and it is one of the best car chase scene ever in movie history. Even though the Mustang was a brilliant piece of machine, McQueen prefers something a little different. The car that you see here is a Ferrari 275 GTB4 and it was once owned by Steve McQueen himself. It was said that McQueen took delivery of the car in San Francisco while filming the movie Bullitt. The current owner of the Ferrari 275 GTB4 has brought the car to Ferrari Classiche to have it restored to its original state in order to receive an authenticity certification. Ferrari Classiche is based at Maranello and they authenticate and certify classic Ferraris as original which would be a huge advantage to owners when they want to sell their cars. But for their cars to be certified as a Ferrari original, the car must be in the original condition (same specifications as when it left the factory) and with matching numbers and not subject to any modification. When the car arrived at Ferrari Classiche, there was one problem. One of the previous owners has converted the coupe to a convertible during the 1980s. This was done probably because the owner at that time wanted a 275 GTB4 NART which is the Spyder (or convertible) version of the 275 GTB4. He probably could not find or afford one as only 10 units of the Spyder variant were ever made by Sergio Scaglietti and Enzo Ferrari. Since Ferrari Classiche could not authenticate and certify a fake 275 GTB4 Spyder, the current owner had to allow them to turn his pretend Spyder back to an original coupe by reproducing the roof and other parts of the car with hand beaten steel panels. And this will restore the car back to its original condition and granting it Ferrari Classiche status. Classic Ferraris are becoming excellent long term investments. Recently, a Ferrari 250 GTO which was built for Stirling Moss sold for US$35 million in a private sale. The 275 GTB4 might not fetch a huge price but at least the owner made a good decision to restore it back to the original state. Plus, with the car

Hardly any other car model (or mini bus for this instance) has such a high cult status as the Volkswagen Bus. It has been around for over 60 years and the Type 2 model is still in production in Brazil. Volkswagen is dead serious on its heritage as they have appointed Franz-Josef Paefgen (in October last year), former chief executive of Audi, Bentley and Bugatti, to head their classics program. At Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, the Volkswagen Bus has its own department dedicated in preserving its heritage and it is known as the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Oldtimer. The department was set-up in 2007 and in five years, it has expanded really fast. The team at the Oldtimer department has purchased and restored over 100 vehicles. They also do restoration for external customers, inclusive of detailed documentation of their work on the vehicles. Due to the formation of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Oldtimer department, they moved to a new building in Hannover, Germany at the beginning of this year. The new facility has approximately 7000 square meters of space that houses these historic vehicles. On top of that, it also has a machine park that includes a sheet metal bending bench, lathe and milling machines and its own paint shop. The department currently has 13 employees, from mechanics to even an event planner. Owners of a historic Volkswagen vehicle can have their rides restored there and regardless whether it is a full or partial restoration, the staff there will take on any assignment. They will talk through all personal wishes with the vehicle owners before preparing any individually custom job. The unique feature of the department is the detailed documentation of any restoration work. Every comprehensive step is photographically documented and described in detail. In this manner, the work done are left for future customers, who can browse through their folders whenever they visit the place. Photo credit: Auto Blog

Back in December last year, I wrote about the resurgence of several British sports car manufacturers and one of them is Atalanta Motors. Details were little back then but a recent launch of the new car provided more details about the revival. The event was held at the Royal Automobile Club on 05 March 2012, exactly 75 years when the original Atalanta Sports Tourer was introduced in 1937 by its founder Neil Watson. This revival project is a joint venture between restorer Trevor Farrington and motoring enthusiast Martyn Corfield, who purchased the Atalanta name. Both Corfield and Farrington designed a new Atalanta Sports Tourer that combines modern engineering and the classic lines of the original car. At the launch, Corfield spoke about the history of the marque and highlighted some of the innovative technologies which the original Atalanta models featured. The revived company uses modern technology to enhance performance and safety, while the 1930s English sports car styling is retained including the tall and narrow tyres so as to give a good driver

[extract] Getting buried in a hole is one of the strangest things to happen to a car especially if it is a rare classic. The car you see in the picture above is a Ferrari Dino 246 GT. It was discovered in a yard of a house in Los Angeles, USA in early 1978. How the car ends up in this manner is still a big mystery to many till today. An example of a Ferrari Dino 246 GT Pictures of this car have been in circulation for many years but many do not know the real story behind it. In 1978, a group of children were playing in the yard of a house in Los Angeles. The yard was muddy and, being children, they soon began digging into the soft soil. After a short while, just below the ground

The 1960s Jaguar Mk 2 is an icon of automotive styling. It was a favourite for gangsters and bank robbers in the U.K. in its heydays because it was fast and handled well. The favourite was the 3.8liter version as it could outrun the outdated Rovers used by the British Police then. Until the police themselves started using it that is. The Mk 2 especially on chrome wire wheels looked especially good and hit all the right notes when it came to the styling. Its styling was so liked that Jaguar based its late 1990s S-type on this car. But it didn't look right as it was too retro looking for its own good. Anyway, due to its everlasting popularity, the Mk 2 is a favourite among classic car enthusiasts as well as among Jaguar collectors. Due to this, there is a few companies in the UK like Eagle, that cater to the refurbishment as well as 'upgrading' of this Jag utilizing engines from newer Jaguars as well as modern brakes and other equipment. However a company in New Zealand had caught my eye, offering the same services for Jaguar collectors in this part of the world. Beacham started off as restorers of these cars, then started upgrading them with the more modern technology of newer Jaguars. Their specialty seems to be Supercharged V8 cars using the Mk 2 base engine. To date more than 200 MK2's have been delivered to customers by the company. The company states that their cars

[extract] In the 1990s a friend of mine used to run a 1960s MGB GT as her daily driver (a metallic red coloured one similar to the one above). I suppose it is because of my acquaintance with this individual that I now adore classic British sports cars from the 1950s and 1960s. I simply do. I suppose it