Some cars are valuable because they are rare. Others become truly special because of the life they have lived.
This Mercedes-Benz belongs to the second category.
From the day it left the showroom, it remained within the same family. Our client's father purchased the car new and spent many years using it as a taxi. Over nearly half a million kilometres, it faithfully carried thousands of passengers while being maintained exactly as intended. Today, the odometer reads an astonishing 479,000 kilometres, and remarkably, the car still wears its original factory paint.
After its working life came to an end, the Mercedes spent approximately 18 years parked outdoors, exposed to sun, rain and changing seasons. Time left its mark. The paint became dull, corrosion began to develop and every surface became a witness to decades of honest use.
For many, this would be the perfect candidate for a complete restoration.
For us, it became something entirely different.
Preservation Instead of Restoration
At CG-Carworks – The Preservation Atelier, we believe that originality can only exist once.
Every original panel, every factory finish, every production mark and every trace of use contributes to the authenticity of a historic automobile. Once these original materials are removed or replaced, a part of the car's history disappears forever.
Our philosophy is inspired by the principles of art conservation. Museums do not attempt to make centuries-old masterpieces look brand new. Instead, conservators stabilise, preserve and protect the original work so future generations can experience it as authentically as possible.
We believe historic automobiles deserve exactly the same respect.
Rather than replacing original material, we preserve it wherever possible.
Challenging the Traditional Restoration Mindset
This project represents something much bigger than the preservation of a single Mercedes.
It is our statement against the growing trend of over-restoration.
For decades, the traditional approach to restoring classic cars has followed the same path: completely dismantle the vehicle, strip every component, sandblast the body, repaint every surface and replace anything that shows age or wear. The finished result may look flawless, but too often the originality that made the car exceptional has disappeared forever.
Imagine applying the same philosophy to one of the world's greatest works of art.
No museum would remove the Mona Lisa painting and start from scratch simply because it has aged and replace it with a new painting to make it look "better than new." That would be considered the destruction of an irreplaceable masterpiece.
Instead, art conservators dedicate their lives to stabilising and protecting the original material. Every crack, every brushstroke and every sign of age is respected because it forms part of the artwork's history and authenticity.
Why should historic automobiles be treated differently?
A collector car is also a cultural object. Its factory finishes, production marks, wear patterns and imperfections tell the story of its life. Once those original materials are removed, they can never truly be recreated—only imitated.
At CG-Carworks, we believe originality is more valuable than perfection.
Our mission is not to make every classic car look as though it has just left the production line.
Our mission is to preserve the craftsmanship, materials and history that are still there.
A Demonstration Instead of a Before & After
For this project, we made a decision that is almost never seen in the automotive world.
Instead of preserving the entire vehicle, we deliberately treated only one half of the Mercedes.
From the underside to the engine bay and from the exterior to the interior, one side of the car was carefully cleaned, stabilised and conserved. The opposite side was intentionally left untouched, exactly as it had aged over the decades.
We wanted to create a living demonstration.
Not with edited before-and-after photographs.
Not by comparing two different cars.
But on one single vehicle, with one single history.
This side-by-side comparison clearly demonstrates what Preservation can achieve without carrying out a complete restoration.
The preserved half still carries every kilometre, every production detail and every piece of its history, yet reveals a level of beauty that many people never imagined was still present beneath decades of contamination and oxidation.
The untreated half remains exactly as time left it.
Together, they show something remarkable:
A historic automobile does not have to be completely restored to become exceptional again.
Sometimes, preserving what already exists is the most respectful intervention of all.