- The Power Pit
- Project Black Boar
Project Black Boar
The forgotten car, or what can come out of a lunch break. Lunch break at Lara’s Garage. Tools are still warm on the workbench, the scent of coffee hangs in the air, and as always, we quickly end up on the same topic: cars.
The forgotten car, or what can come out of a lunch break.
More specifically, Mercedes-Benz. Those special MB cars that are more than just sheet metal, bolts, and displacement. Gems, essentially.
We dreamed of a project. Not just any project. It had to be one that gives you the chills. Sporty, obviously. Technically demanding, no question. And above all, with character—a mind of its own. So names flew through the room: famous racing cars, great victories, loud engines. Plenty of myth, plenty of emotion. And then that one name came up. Almost in passing. The Red Pig.
Silence. Everyone knew it. Everyone loved it. The Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.8, that incredible beast that showed everyone at Spa-Francorchamps in 1971 that a heavy luxury Mercedes can win races. Class victory. Second place overall. The beginning of AMG as we know it today. We started researching. Deeply. Nerdily. Exactly our thing. AMG had built a street version for almost every racing car. Almost every one. But not for the Red Pig. Why, exactly? Was it too wild? Too uncompromising? Or was it simply forgotten? And that’s exactly when it clicked. What if this car was never intended for the road—but we bring it there anyway? An interpretation. Not a replica. But a restomod: street-legal, modernized, reliable, safe, with comfort—and the soul of the original.
The lunch break was over. The idea remained. And it had a name: The Black Boar.
For the build of our project, the choice quickly fell on a 280 SE. Identical except for a ten-centimeter shorter wheelbase—perfect for our sporty approach. On the flip chart behind us, hours were spent playing through every conceivable combination: suspension, engine, gear ratios, every bolt turned over in our minds. We were looking for the perfect base.
The first hit: a W108 US import. A dream on paper—until you looked closely: rust-free or rust-bucket? Unfortunately, the latter. Still, we had gained our first experiences. The next car was a direct hit: black as an espresso, from Italy, without major flaws, ready for our adventure. Then things really got started. Our master metalworker, a true artist, built the body flares out of sheet metal. Along the way, he proudly told us that he had recreated the lost trophy from the Red Pig’s Spa victory—a small spark of history that flowed directly into our project. In parallel, the first version of the engine was installed, 50 kg of insulation added, Recaro Ergomed DS seats fitted, Hi-Fi and countless details integrated. Everything was meant to harmonize perfectly.
The tech: Now it runs like a beast.
But then came the reality check: upon closer inspection, the first engine was a pile of scrap metal. Panic? Not really. Challenge accepted. A replacement was needed. Our choice fell on our partner company, MKB. They offered us a top-tier engine that fit our vision
perfectly. Race-optimized and proven: an M117 5.6-liter engine from a W126, plus the transmission from the W203 AMG, with EFI and an Ofgear control unit already adapted.
And then it happened: the Boar was running. Not just well—it ran like a beast. A pun that made the whole team grin, yet expressed exactly what we had worked for. Technology, passion, team spirit—all united in a vehicle that reinterprets history.
The tech: Now it runs like a beast.
But then came the reality check: upon closer inspection, the first engine was a pile of scrap metal. Panic? Not really. Challenge accepted. A replacement was needed. Our choice fell on our partner company, MKB. They offered us a top-tier engine that fit our vision
perfectly. Race-optimized and proven: an M117 5.6-liter engine from
a W126, plus the transmission from the W203 AMG, with EFI and an Ofgear control unit already adapted.
And then it happened: the Boar was running. Not just well—it ran like a beast. A pun that made the whole team grin, yet expressed exactly what we had worked for. Technology, passion, team spirit—all united in a vehicle that reinterprets history.
What’s next?
The Boar is here. Black, wide, powerful. But is it finished? No! Never. This was just a brief look at the technology, the hard hours of wrenching, and the first test drives. We still have a lot planned: suspension, safety, fine-tuning, always new ideas—the Boar remains our test vehicle, our laboratory on wheels.
If you’re into the details, you can watch everything on YouTube: engine, transmission, bodywork, every bolt, every modification. No bells and whistles, just facts, team spirit, and passion.
Want to know what’s next for us? We already have our next project lined up—the technical developments we make here directly benefit our customers. A conversion, a classic, an AMG or MB project? We are your partner when ideas become real cars.
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Peter Lustig – Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
