A life devoted to the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

The trendy “father” of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL is Hans Kleissl. The very best-known restorer of the Mercedes 300 SL based HK Engineering in 1984 and relies in a renovated monastery.

For a lot of Mercedes-Benz 300 SL is a dream. However what would it not be wish to have over 50 Mercedes SLs to revive at a time in a renovated monastery and never in a workshop?

Hans Kleissl’s story is fascinating. When he purchased his first Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster in 1979 he didn’t know a lot about vehicles and was fooled. The chassis had been bent in an accident and he couldn’t discover anybody to repair it. So the one resolution was to restore it himself with the assistance of an area service.

So he bought the concept to arrange an organization that will deal completely with restoring the 300 SL and began within the early Eighties with two mechanics.

Later, Kleissl grew to become well-known and is thought to be the primary specialist in restoring the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL that gained the title of sports activities automotive of the twentieth century. He has earned this repute not just for dealing nearly completely with this mannequin but additionally for having one of the best mechanics and sustaining a excessive normal of high quality.

Kleissl not solely loves basic vehicles but additionally historic buildings so after he began accumulating an increasing number of basic vehicles he appeared for a historic constructing to arrange his headquarters. After seeing a number of buildings within the Munich space he determined to decide on a ruined former monastery in Polling which he has been restoring for ten years. So Kleissl adopted the concept of historic autos in the proper ambiance.

Later, Kleissl expanded the constructing by establishing a whole advanced that opened in 2019 after a 5-year restoration, which is at this time the headquarters of HK-Engineering Classics the place occasions are held and showrooms are situated.

There are occasions when there are greater than 50 300 SL examples in HK-Engineering’s headquarters. Kleissl says that between 2013-2015 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL costs went via the roof after which those that purchased the automotive simply as an funding disappeared and solely fans remained. That’s why it’s more durable to promote a 300 SL at this time than previously as a result of clients place a excessive worth on the originality and historical past of the mannequin.

Kleissl says the technique in restoring a 300 SL is to maintain as many unique parts as potential. He additionally had an unique advertising and marketing technique. As an alternative of spending cash on promoting, Kliessl determined to enter his Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster in historic race conferences. This was the right place the place he may exhibit the standard of his restorations.

Kleissl obtained quite a few awards such because the award for the world’s greatest restoration firm in 2014 and some years later the Federal Medal for Monument Safety for his companies within the restoration of Arendsee Citadel in Brandenburg. And lately the State Workplace for the Preservation of Monuments in Bavaria awarded him the monument safety medal for the renovation of the outdated monastery brickworks in Polling.

In the meanwhile, 13 Coupes and Roadsters are listed on the market on HK-Engineering.com, 5 of that are already bought.