The interior of Project Kaiser, our LS3-powered Mercedes W108, has been the subject of plenty of conjecture over the last six months or so, much of it focussed on its interior. We’ve long felt that interiors are one of the most important single aspects of any bespoke project, not least as their a means of really showcasing the personality of the builder, or in this case, the owner.
Project Kaiser’s interior layout is especially unique, with a one-piece centre console connecting the driver and front passenger with those sat in the rear of the car – next to the custom single malt case and wireless phone charging port, naturally. This won’t be news to you if you’ve spent any length of time following the Retropower Facebook page, Instagram, twitter or merely the blog section of our website, but what might well be is our plan to cloak large sections of the cabin with hydro-dipped aluminium.
Now, hydro-dipping has acquired something of a mixed reputation in recent years, with many struggling to reconcile the innate versatility of the process with the less than subtle, often slightly dubious designs preferred by many of its chief practitioners, so we thought we’d help set the record straight. It means that while there will be plenty of dipped aluminium within the W108, it’ll sport an understated, deep mahogany finish – with not a flaming skull or eight ball in sight!
The initial idea of how we envisioned the interior looking was formulated early on in the build, and we were able to get a good visual idea thorough Dean’s excellent design work, a sample of which can be seen here.
Of course there’s a world of difference between hand drawn designs and the finished article, which is why we recently sent some samples off to Wicked Coatings, a hydro dipping firm we’ve worked with on previous projects. The initial batch was felt to be slightly too light for the effect we’re striving to achieve, which is why we’re so pleased with these latest versions, darker, more subdued and more in keeping with the rest of the big Merc’s interior.
Speaking of which, other aspects of the cabin will feature chrome finishing strips, Linden wood inserts and plenty of Porsche Nappa Black, with contrasting French seams throughout. We’re hoping the overall effect will be as classy as it is understated.
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