Pebble Beach: Two For the Road
Since 1950 the Pebble Beach Concours d’Excellence has celebrated the history of the automobile, bringing together both exceptionally rare classics and car connoisseurs. Over the years the event has also witnessed many innovations from collaborative efforts, and this year is no different.
Just days before the Tour D’elegance, two classic car heavyweights, Hemmels and Everrati, announced a new partnership with a mission to create the world’s finest electrified Pagoda, kicking off their new relationship by jointly exhibiting their previously finished cars in the California sun.
While the new Hemmels-Everrati electric Pagoda prototypes were not on display, their individual company reputations and attributes are certainly known amongst experts and collectors alike.
Those with a penchant for the early SL classics – Pagodas, 190SL and 300SL – will know of Hemmels’ exquisite and painstaking restorations. On hand from Hemmels was a recently reborn – and flawless – Mercedes-Benz 280SL, finished in metallic green with tan interior. This gem was all petrol though, and the engine certainly made for mouth-watering viewing. Meanwhile Everrati showcased its technology in e-powered Pagoda, G Wagon and Porsche 911 test cars.
Given the display of high calibre of engineering and craftsmanship, it is obvious why the new Hemmels-Everrati Electric Pagoda is marketed not as a garage queen but a car to be used often, with bullet-proof reliability and modern functionality. Throughout the Pebble Beach event visitors were offered the chance to experience the car on the road and drive test the Everrati electric power train. The duo promises an upcoming video of the electric Pagoda touring along the Big Sur coast with spectacular Monterrey scenery as a backdrop.
But let’s be clear – this is not a ‘marketecture’ pipedream but a significant technological step change in green driving, by proven specialists, in a classic ride that defines elegance. A closer look at the companies reveals the strengths each partner brings.
Everrati has designed and refined its electric drivetrain solution by paying special attention to the myriad of technical challenges in properly converting a classic car. In particular the company has ensured the weight distribution and centre of gravity of the electric motor and battery is very similar to that of the original petrol engine. This is critically important to ensure the car’s handling and braking characteristics remain the same. The powertrain features a 300bhp cutting edge electric motor, a limited slip differential and regenerative braking allowing ‘one-pedal’ driving when the opportunity arises. AC and DC fast charging is also included, allowing owners to quickly top up en-route.
The Everrati solution further includes re-engineered functions for power-assisted steering, power-assisted brakes, cabin heating and A/C, as well as new technology for wipers, fans, radio and lights. All of this is hidden away with the exception of the modified dashboard instrumentation and the gear selector housing, each sympathetically re-designed, and in harmony with the cabin interior.
Hemmels practices a factory-built approach to restoring cars, strictly applying its Neugeboren (“newborn”) Process to every classic. As the process is pre-defined and repeatable, every car that leaves Hemmels has had virtually identical work, completed under a predictable timescale and budget. Each car is fully stripped back to its bare metal beginnings with every component rebuilt or replaced, ensuring the final product is better-than-new. Of course, the body is subjected to new metal work, the suspension and drive train are dismantled and rebuilt, there’s new glass all round (including the instruments), and every piece of brightwork is re-chromed as new. The interior leather is remade and refitted by the company’s trimmers, while in-house painters give each car that legendary finish.
Hemmels is also embracing Everrati’s wider commitment to carbon-neutral motoring by offering super soft luxury leather with a matt finish and haircell grain from Everrati partner Bridge of Weir, maker of the world’s lowest carbon leather for the automotive industry. Covering the luxurious and supremely comfortable seats, as well as the dashboard and door panels, this opulent material is available in beautiful light Vanilla, Cashmere, and Fawn, to the darker Fastnet and Black hide colours. Leather hides that are in-line with those available in period Mercedes-Benz SL ‘Pagoda’ models are also available.
For those buyers torn between staying original or going electric, the good news is that clients really do not need to make an eternal choice. The companies claim that the conversion process is 100% reversible – in fact, clients can have Hemmels rebuild the original engine and preserve it on a bespoke engine mount. Imagine that on display in your garage!
Yet, despite the intriguing thought of owning and driving an electric Pagoda of superb quality and technical advancement, the big question is, who is interested in commissioning such a car? Each company is very careful about client privacy, though Hemmels does reveal that F1 participants, European nobles, famed entertainers and industry magnates are amongst those who have commissioned cars previously.
Neither partner is committing to a final price for a completed electric Pagoda, and to a degree this will vary as each classic is bespoke and built to order.
It comes as no surprise then that the ordering process is just like buying a new luxury car. You choose your spec – colours, options and ICE or Electric drive train – then Hemmels builds your dream car. Typically, Hemmels will source the donor car though certainly you can provide your own Pagoda as a starting point. Backed by a full worldwide warranty, you can have your classic delivered anywhere in the world.
The partnership of Mercedes-Benz benefitted from combined synergies of Karl Benz’ ingenuity, the coachworks capability of Gottlieb Daimler and the business acumen of Emil Jellinek (whose daughter was named ‘Mercedes’). The trifecta of engineering, style and vision has created some of the most iconic and advanced cars for over a hundred years.
Combining the strengths of Hemmels, with its exhaustive and formulaic approach to SL restoration, and the proven electric powertrain from Everrati, promises the ultimate electric Pagoda. While it may be too soon to be witnessing the nova of a new three-pointed star, there is no doubt that these two companies could very well set the ultimate standard for how classics should be restored and converted to e-power.
