Picture the scene: A mid-summer’s late afternoon with the temperature in the high 20s and the sun’s golden glow reflecting off the ocean. You wind your way slowly down a hillside towards the waterfront in a late 1960s classic Mercedes-Benz – the iconic Pagoda – with the roof down and in complete serenity.

It’s an inviting thought, and whilst Mediterranean paradises such as Monaco or Nice might first spring to mind, our story takes place in south Wales. Oh, and the Mercedes in question isn’t powered by a straight-six; it’s an electric motor.

This is the dream that Hemmels is now offering to buyers around the globe. The Cardiff-based company, which specialises in restoring classic Mercedes to as-new condition, has just launched a resto-modded W113 Pagoda with a fully electric powertrain. It’s a new direction for the company, however, its expertise in ground-up restoration and technical know-how makes Hemmels the ideal company for the job.

Hemmels’ Mercedes-Benz Pagoda in electric form retains the original car’s looks down to the fine details, but like all the best resto-mods on our website, adds 21^st century technology that makes the most of the car’s new powertrain. For example, Bluetooth in-car entertainment and modern air-conditioning are just two of the elements buyers can opt for. Realistically, though, each car is built to spec so the world is the buyer’s oyster.

The build process is painstaking and to begin with, just 12 examples will be available during 2021. Some are already reserved. Each car undergoes Hemmels’ Neygeboren (newborn) process during which it is dismantled and stripped back to the bare metal. Around 4000 hours is then put into rebuilding it ‘as-new’ with parts retained where practical, or replaced where needed. This goes for the interior as well as the classic bodywork and running gear.

Underneath, the Mercedes-Benz Electric Pagoda has a purpose-built powertrain that makes it a genuinely practical car. It is capable of around 160-200 miles on a charge and can be rapid charged to 70 per cent in less than an hour at 50kW. Overnight home charging at 6kW will juice it fully in eight hours.

Hemmels’ powertrain was developed specifically for the Pagoda and with 160bhp of continuous power, offers ample performance for serene wafting and a very respectable turn of speed. It’ll do 0-60 in 9.4 seconds and 124mph at the top end.

Like the original, this silent performance and stylish cruising capability can be done with the built-in soft top down, up, or with the removable hardtop in place.

As with almost all of the top-end EV resto-mods we’ve featured, such as those from AC Cars, RWB and its MGB, or Lunaz, the Hemmels Mercedes-Benz Pagoda doesn’t come cheap. Prices start at £215,000, though with the level of detail, workmanship and time put into each car, you can begin to understand where that money goes.

Then there’s the promise of that balmy summer drive towards a sparkling blue ocean in a classic Mercedes. Priceless? Some would probably argue as much.

Check out Hemmels’ website for more.

Photo credit: Shawn Eastman, Hemmels