Can you guess how much a 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing might cost today? It would fetch between US$500,000 and $2 million. The vintage model is highly coveted among car collectors while supply is limited, as the 1956 Gullwing is no longer in production.

For automobile enthusiasts eager to own classic models without breaking the bank, recreated vintage cars are a viable alternative. This trend has grown in Indonesia in recent years, and recreated cars are slowly being seen as something resembling an art form, as most everything is made and assembled by hand.

“There are people who have mistaken recreated cars as modifications. In order to recreate a car, we build almost everything from scratch,” said Pudji Handoko, the founder of recreated car specialist Tuksedo Studio in Gianyar, Bali.

Thirty years ago, when Pudji first recreated his first car, he never thought that his hobby would grow into a thriving business.

Handcrafted: Everything about the recreation car is mainly made up by hands, therefore the process of creating a car could take from six months to one year period. (JP/Yohana Belinda) (JP/Yohana Belinda)

“People are into recreated cars because the original vintage cars are no longer in production. Even people who have a lot of money cannot easily get their hands on an original vintage car,” said Eko Widjaja, a car enthusiast in Bali who has been following the recreated car hobby for the last two years. Though he doesn’t own one yet, he dreams of owning a recreated BMW 507.

Moreover, the classic car industry has been encouraging younger car enthusiasts to learn more about the automotive variation, as recreating vintage cars is still relatively new to Indonesia.

“It is expected that the [recreated car industry] could grow in the future to show that Indonesian people are able to recreate vintage cars,” said Gusti “Ajik Krisna” Ngurah Anom, the regional head of the Indonesian Motor Association (IMI) in Bali who is known for his luxury car collection that includes a Ferrari and a Lamborghini.

What are recreated cars?

Recreated cars are replicas of vintage car models built from scratch, following the original car’s blueprint and technical specifications. Every component of the car is built to match the original, from the exterior to the interior.

But the process of recreating a classic model is not necessarily restricted to producing an exact copy, and improvements can be made to the original’s design and performance. This is the case with the recreated Aston Martin DB4 GT built by Zagato 2021.

“We recreate cars that have not been in production for over 30 years because [their designs] are no longer protected by copyright. We mostly get the cars’ blueprints from internet forums,” said Muhammad Rizal Wicaksono of Tuksedo Studio.

Modifying: Pudji Handoko said that his experience as an architect has helped him to understand the blueprints of the car that he is going to recreate. (Personal Collection/Courtesy of Pudji Handoko) (Personal Collection/Courtesy of Pudji Handoko)

Wahyu Pamungkas, the founder of Yumos Garage in Semarang, Central Java, also takes a similar approach.

The law they are referring to is the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of December 2015, specifically Section 24405 on “Treatment of Low-Volume Manufacturers”, which enabled small manufacturers to create and sell replica cars.

In short, Section 24405 states that “replica manufacturers can build up to 325 vehicles each year in the US, they are able to sell up to 5,000 worldwide annually”, defining “replica cars” as “vehicles that resemble other cars produced 25 years ago or more”.

“If we recreate a car that is currently in production, there is a possibility that we might be sued by certain companies. Aside from that, esthetically, it would not be very pleasing,” Wahyu said.

Passion and hard work

It takes passion to recreate a vintage car, as the whole process is extremely complicated and can take up to one year. This means one shop can produce roughly 10 to 12 recreated cars every year.

To rebuild a car, auto mechanics must first source a compatible engine. For example, most recreated Porsches use engines taken from Volkswagen (VW) cars because of their similar components.

“I’m currently trying to focus on recreating Porsche cars since I’m very familiar with Volkswagens,” said Wahyu, who has been modifying cars since 1998.

Meanwhile, Tuksedo Studio is currently recreating a BMW 507 that was produced between 1956 and 1959, as well as the Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing. Each replica uses a “donor engine” of the same brand.

An exact copy: Pudji explains that a recreation car is an exact copy of a car through its original blueprint. Pudji and his team have built various car, including the red Porsche 356 A Coupe. (Personal Collection/Courtesy of Pudji Handoko) (Personal Collection/Courtesy of Pudji Handoko)

So while they might not cost as much as a genuine vintage car, recreated cars still carry a hefty price tag of above Rp 1 billion ($69,550).

“The most challenging is to create a Ferrari, because we have to find a donor engine from Ferrari. From our research, we have to get a donor engine from Ferrari California,” said Tuksedo’s Muhammad.

To avoid technical and potential legal problems, Muhammad and Yumos’ Wahyu both try to find donor cars that have the complete paperwork and a good engine.

Because of the complicated process, Tuksedo founder Pudji has also tried to make his studio as comfortable as possible. Sometimes, he has a live band playing to accompany his workers.

“I’m trying to put myself in their shoes. I used to work like them before I had my own studio,” said Pudji, laughing.

“I plan to only recreate five cars of every model I’ve made before,” he continued, adding that some people had signed up to be on the waiting list for 2023-2024.

The makers of recreated cars consider themselves as artisans, and are fond of meeting new people with a similar passion for vintage cars.

Pudji said he felt appreciated by the local and foreign tourists who visited his studio to watch the process of rebuilding a car from a wooden buck – a full-scale wooden model of a car’s bodywork – to a fully assembled and painted car that can drive.

“I really hope that one day, recreated car collectors will notice that Indonesian builders of recreated cars are amazing artisans too,” said Wahyu.