On his 2022 summer tour, Mayor Dr. Ulli Meyer wants to draw attention to traditional crafts. “We have many local craftsmen in St. Ingbert who enrich the people and the economy with their expertise and are strong employers. I am pleased that I can get to know the craftsmen and their work personally,” the mayor said happily.
On his fourth stop, Ulli Meyer visits the Berlinetta Motors GmbH car workshop, one of the few craft businesses in Rentrisch, together with economic promoter Martina Quirin and local mayor Dieter Schörkl. Owner Wolfgang Graf gets into one of his "favorites" and turns the ignition key. "That sounds like a real sound," says economic promoter Martina Quirin with pleasure at the warm, deep rumble of the 12-cylinder Ferrari classic car.
In this workshop, real mechanical work is done: Wolfgang Graf turned his vocation into a career in 2000. The master automotive technician worked for many years as an employee at Mercedes. In his free time, however, he preferred to deal with vintage sports cars from Italian brands: Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, but also smaller brands like Iso Rivolta and Bizzarrini. "The shape and design of these vehicles is simply unmatched," he enthuses. Encouraged by the support of other vintage car enthusiasts and potential customers, he went into business together with his friend from their days in the military. When his friend passed away in 2007, Graf continued the business alone in the halls of the former Stolz model carpentry in Rentrisch. Currently, he has one employee, automotive mechanic Ralf Köhler, who was also formerly employed at Mercedes. "In the past, I simply swapped car parts; today, I build something completely new," he comments on his work.
Customers of Berlinetta Motors are vintage car enthusiasts and collectors from all over Germany and abroad. They purchase vehicles sometimes in poor condition or even disassembled into parts. Wolfgang Graf and Ralf Köhler reassemble the parts, repair, manufacture new components, order spare parts, screw, press, turn, and polish. In the end – often after many years of highly focused work – a true treasure with gleaming paint and chrome stands at the door. This is also true for the dark red Ferrari with fine leather seats, shiny chrome trims, and wooden interior paneling: the first owner of this car was the actor Tony Curtis. But also the former cars of singer Cher, racing driver Eddie Irvine, and many other celebrities have gone and continue to go through the hands of the two specialists.
„As a craftsman, you are a pillar of the economy. However, it is clear that it is important to find a niche in order to achieve real success,“ acknowledges Mayor Dr. Ulli Meyer. „With you, real work is being done,“ he adds. The automotive industry has completely changed; today, a lot of plastic is used, and the entire control is done via software. Even the 58-year-old workshop master cannot escape the computer-controlled error diagnosis and settings. But all other work on the vintage cars is purely manual labor.
Berlinetta Motors GmbH
Untere Kaiserstr. 46
66386 St. Ingbert
https://www.berlinettamotors.de/
