This 1960s Mercedes hides the twin-turbo V8 AMG just walked away from
One of the most beautiful Mercedes ever built, now with the engine Stuttgart no longer makes
There is a particular kind of restomod that just makes sense the moment you hear it, and this is one of them. Take the elegant 1960s Mercedes-Benz W111 coupe, one of the prettiest shapes the company ever produced, and give it the heart of a modern AMG. That is exactly what Los Angeles coachbuilder Kugelwerks has done with the One Eleven, and the timing gives it an extra twist: the V8 it uses is the very engine Mercedes-AMG has just retired.
A modern AMG under a Paul Bracq classic
The body is the timeless W111 coupe, penned by the legendary Mercedes designer Paul Bracq, but almost everything you cannot see is modern. Kugelwerks builds the One Eleven around the complete running gear of the previous-generation Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe, the W205 sold from 2016 to 2022. That means its twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8, producing 510 hp and 700 Nm, drives the rear wheels through a seven-speed AMG Speedshift automatic. The suspension, brakes and electronics all come across from the same donor, so this is a classic that should genuinely drive like a modern performance car.
Subtly modernised, not butchered
Visually, Kugelwerks has resisted the urge to overdo it. There are widened fenders to cover 20-inch AMG-inspired alloys, body-coloured bumpers in place of chrome, deeper side skirts, gloss black trim, twin tailpipes and discreet modern LED lighting. The proportions and the essential elegance of the original remain intact. Inside, buyers choose their own blend of leather, Alcantara, wood and carbon fibre, so no two cars need look alike. Kugelwerks is not a newcomer to this game, having previously reimagined the vast Mercedes 600 Grosser.
Rare and expensive, as expected
This is strictly low-volume, bespoke coachbuilding. Production is deliberately limited, each car is built to order, and deliveries are due to begin in September 2026. Prices start at 480,000 dollars before you begin personalising, which is a lot of money, though not unusual for a hand-built restomod of this ambition and provenance.
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The clever part here is not the horsepower, it is the engine choice. Mercedes-AMG has moved on from the twin-turbo V8 in the C-Class, and confirmed it will not bring a V8 C63 back, which means this glorious, characterful motor is already becoming a piece of history. Wrapping it in one of the most beautiful Mercedes bodies ever drawn is a lovely way to preserve it, giving a modern AMG powertrain a second life in a shape that will never date. It is nostalgia done with substance rather than just a badge and a respray.
At 480,000 dollars it is firmly a rich enthusiast's toy, and you could buy an awful lot of very good classic and modern metal for the same money. But that misses the point of a car like this. The One Eleven offers something you cannot buy any other way: the looks of a 1960s icon with the reliability, pace and drivability of a car built sixty years later. For the handful of people who want exactly that, this is close to perfect, and it is a fitting send-off for an engine we are going to miss.
