Belgian Geniuses Perfect One of the Best Mercedes Benz Ever Made

WORDS BY JEROME ANDRE

PHOTOS BY NOORTJE BLOKLAND

R OEL Pollen is the man behind Monceau Automobiles in Hasselt, Belgium, a unique, high-end conversion specialist focusing solely on Mercedes-Benz’s most prestigious classics, SLs. Upon completing its initial 107-series “eSLC,” we were privileged to interview him and discover the team behind the most beautiful electric Mercedes-Benz ever created.

Roel’s choice for SL and SLC is clever. The 107-series roadster and coupe already have much of the inherent smoothness associated with electric propulsion. The Monceau eSLC chassis #001 is the company’s prototype. Still, for the finalspec cars the team is currently building, the drivetrain, which fits all variants (R107 eSL, C107 eSLC, W111 eSE coupe and convertible), will be built around a slightly different requirement than those of this long-term testing prototype.

DISCRETELY updated: The dials feature dual temperature gauges and an OLED display.

EVBG: How did the project start? Why did you choose a Mercedes Benz brand and this model in particular?

RP: Monceau Automobiles was officially founded in July 2020, but the journey started in 2018 when I had the idea to begin electrifying Mercedes-Benz R107 SLs. Back then, why did one have to ditch a 3,300-pound car just because 500 pounds of it is considered obsolete? While browsing the internet, I found our current CTO Klaas De Craemer electrified several vehicles but was mainly known at that time for his Mazda MX-5 build. Together we first made a business plan to see if we could start a business specifically for Mercedes-Benz electric classics.