Lorinser in the 80s, or Sportservice Lorinser as it was called back then, wasn't known for making very extravagant cars, at least not as extravagant as the cars made my contemporary tuners such as Styling-Garage, Gemballa and the likes. It must be said though that Lorinser did create some really interesting 500SEL conversions in the 1980s. Some of them were in their own way, really extreme. 

 

A very early Lorinser W126 Mercedes SE, modified arround 1980. It has the black grille which was a popular mod in the 70s and 80s. All chrome trim is blackened. The bodykit constists of a new front bumper without extra fog lights and new sideskirts. The rims are BBS ones.

 


 

This next car might have been done for a US or Arab customer, both which loved the white on white cars. This Lorinser 500SEL has none of the Lorinser bodywork (bumpers, skirts or bootlid spoilers) but it does have the 16" Lorinser wheels (this wheel type was simply called "Lorinser-wheel", because it was Lorinser's first inhouse designed rim) fitted. Other things worth mentioning are the white trunk-badge and Mercedes-star and all of the bumpers sprayed white, which was not available from Mercedes-Benz back in the days.

 

The interior is quite fancy as well: all white leather, though not on the dash and steering wheel which in my opinion doesn't look good. A centre console between the front seats with TV and Video plus picnic tables fitted in both passenger doors.

 


 

Another white Mercedes 500SEL by Lorinser, this time with all chrome parts left the way they were. The car is fitted with 16" BBS rims.

 

As we can see the car is right hand drive, so probably bought by a UK customer. The car has white leather upholstery, SEC seats in the back separated by a centre console. Between the front seats there's a TV, but in a different console as the car above, with no video installed. Picnic tables on this one as well.

 


 

 

This Lorinser W126 has less of the Arab-looks, with it's gray paintjob. It has the very 80s blackening of all the chrome trim arround the windows and door handles. The car has the full Lorinser bodykit fitted to US-bumpers, US-headlights (this might be a car for a US customer, but it was trendy in the 80s to fit US parts to euro cars) and BBS rims. Interesting is the special bonnet with integrated grille.

 

 


 

A nice study of the Lorinser body parts incuding the trunk with integrated spoiler, but without the wings to match as on the black/red car which can be found at the bottom of the page. A close look shows the car has the bonnet with This car has all chrome trim sprayed in the car's color. The car has Rials for shoes.

 


 

 

A very similar Mercedes 500SEL by Lorinser as the previous one. It has the Lorinser bodykit, a regular bonnet with a grille sprayed in the car's color, just as the all the other chrome parts. 

 

 


 

 

Something we hadn't seen yet in this gallery of Lorinser cars: the good old SEC-bonnet-on-SEL conversion. This pearl-white car was made for a German customer. White/black BBS rims, black chrome parts and an interesting red-brown interior with a roof console makes this a very interesting 500SEL.

 

 


 

A white 500SEL by Lorinser that shows a popular option in the 80s: the black grille. Obviously comes with the other chrome trim being blackened. This option wasn't just popular on white cars. 

 


 

This black Mercedes 500SEL is one that shows that Lorinser did do some quite extreme makeovers. It's fitted with a full Lorinser bodykit, including new rear wings and bootlid with integrated bootlid spoiler. It also has Lorinser's special hood, which has the grille seamlessly mounted on it. The car sits on the 16" Lorinser wheels.

 

But what makes this car stand apart from the rest of the bunch is it's paintjob: all black with red details, including trunk star, 500SEL logo and two stripes running acros the sides.

 

 


 

This is about as extreme you would see from Lorinser. A Mercedes 500SEL with a special Lorinser bodykit, the front bumper very different from the regular Lorinser ones, with four foglights, very similar to the SGS bumpers. What's very interesting also is the chrome trim that's all coated beige, including the Lorinser wheels. This whitening-treatment was also seen on some cars made by SGS. What's also interesting is the interior, light brown except for the custom dash and steering wheel which are upholstered in a lighter tan, which matches the trim of the exterior much better. Maybe this car wasn't finished at the time of the photoshoot. The car has the "Lorinser-style" logos on it, also seen on that black/red car. This might have been some special customization program from Lorinser?

 

 

 



Text: copyright Bram Corts 2009 - 2013

 

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