A collector car is a special type of car that people keep because it's rare or has a lot of history, and they usually don't drive it every day.
Car
Land Defenders
The Land Rover Defender is a tough and sturdy vehicle designed for driving off the beaten path, like in the mountains or on rough roads. It has been around for a long time and is popular among people who love outdoor adventures. Recently, it has become a favorite among car collectors, which is why it's being talked about.
The Land Rover Defender is a tough, off-road vehicle that people love for its ability to handle rough terrains. Older models, especially those over 25 years old, are popular among collectors and can be modified or restored in unique ways.
A classic car is usually a vehicle that is at least 25 years old. People often collect them because they have special designs or histories, and they can be restored or changed to make them unique.
Car
Jaguar
Jaguar is a British car brand that makes luxury cars known for their beautiful designs and fast performance. They are often seen as high-end vehicles.
Singer takes old Porsche cars and makes them look and perform even better. They keep the classic style but add modern features to improve how the car drives and looks.
Left hand drive means the steering wheel is on the left side of the car, which is how most cars are set up in countries where people drive on the right side of the road.
Right hand drive means the steering wheel is on the right side of the car, which is how cars are set up in countries where people drive on the left side of the road.
Cylinder heads are parts of an engine that help control the flow of air and fuel into the engine and the exhaust gases out. They are important for how well the engine runs.
Intercoolers are parts that cool down the air that goes into the engine after it's been compressed. This helps the engine run better and more efficiently.
Performance parts are special upgrades you can add to a car to make it go faster or handle better. They help improve how the car performs on the road or track.
The suspension system is what helps keep the car smooth and stable while driving. It connects the car to the wheels and helps absorb bumps in the road.
'Numbers matching' means that the important parts of a car, like the engine, are the same ones that came with it when it was first made. This can make the car more valuable to collectors.
A 'restomod' is a classic car that has been updated with new parts to make it better to drive while still looking old-fashioned. It's a mix of old and new.
A 3.5 diesel engine is a type of engine that runs on diesel fuel and has a size of 3.5 liters. Diesel engines are often more efficient and provide more power for heavy vehicles.
A V8 conversion means changing the engine of a car to a V8 engine, which has eight cylinders and usually provides more power. People do this to make their cars faster and more powerful.
The 300 TDI is a type of diesel engine made by Land Rover. It's known for being strong and efficient, and it was used in their vehicles like the Defender.
A turbo diesel engine is a diesel engine that has a turbocharger, which helps it produce more power and run more efficiently. It's often used in bigger vehicles for better performance.
Diesel exhaust fluid is a special liquid that helps clean up the exhaust from diesel engines. It makes the engine produce less pollution, which is better for the environment.
The Hildeberg stance is a special way that some vehicles are designed to look and feel a certain way. It makes them stand out and gives them a unique style that you can recognize easily.
Focal is a brand from France that makes really good speakers and audio systems for cars. They are known for their quality and are often used in luxury vehicles.
Amplifiers are devices that make sound louder. They help speakers produce clear and powerful audio, which is important for a good listening experience in cars.
Leaf green is a special color that Porsche offered in 1972. It's a bright green that not many people chose for their cars back then.
LIVE
All right, welcome to another week of the Collect a Car podcast. A lot of fun stuff happening.
Just came back from Scottsdale where there's some really cool sales going on. I will recap
some of those in next week's podcast. And where am I going to be next? Well, actually, I'm kind of
staying in the office here for a little bit. I believe my next trip will actually be to Cavalino
Classic down in Boca Raton. So if you're going to be down there, be sure to check me out. Look me
up. I will be judging Ferraris. So where am I off to next? Next, I'm off to Boca Raton,
Florida for Cavalino Classic. It's moved locations for at least one year. So I'm looking forward
to seeing what's going on there. And I will be judging Ferraris. So if you're headed to the
show, please find me on the show field. And I'd love to catch up in person. And this is an exciting
episode because it's not about collector cars. It's about high end sports utility vehicles. So
very, very cool. Whenever I have these episodes that are about Land Rovers or Range Rovers,
they seem to do very well because a lot of you really like these. So before we get to the podcast,
please take a listen to my sponsors. They've always been very supportive, not only in the podcast,
but also the new launch of my book, The Enthusiast Guide to Collector Cars. Now that's coming out
hopefully May 1st. And you can go to the website in the description to order your own to be a part
of the launch. And you can also sign up for my newsletter where there's some behind the scene
stuff that's going on, not only around the book, but around the podcast as well as my travels.
So please take a listen to my sponsors and then we'll get to the interview.
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muscle. All right, welcome to the collector car podcast. Hey, it's Greg Stanley as always
looking forward to covering some cool stuff here today because I haven't done, you know,
I do a lot of collector cars, but I haven't done anything around defenders recently. So I'm very
excited about this episode. So I'd like to welcome Paul Potratz. How you doing, buddy?
Good, good. Thanks, Greg. How are you, sir? I'm very good. And you are doing something really
interesting that I'd like to dig into here. So if you would tell us a little about what you do
now specifically around Helderberg defenders and, you know, we can dig into it a little bit.
All right, so I think the really what when people ask me what exactly are we, and I consider a
self more of us more of a design house. And so we do a low volume and we do it's really a design led
development of the classic Land Rover Defender. So they're all 25 years old plus.
But we take a totally different direction than probably anybody else has ever heard or any of the
other people that are in the market. Now, I love this because I'm assuming now correct me if I'm
wrong here, but the reason you chose the defender, I did look on your website a little bit, you have
a love from a young age for defenders. But I would imagine this also because it's such a iconic and
timeless design, almost ageless, I would imagine, right? It's exactly how I really describe it as
timeless. And it goes back really deep, because my father was really drawn to anything that was
British. So I grew up with everything British. I mean, everything from his three speed bicycle that
I would ride on the back in the very comfortable seat when I, you know, barely walk to the point
that his boots, his clothing, the car. So growing up in his shop, it was often that I would see
Jaguars and Aston Martins and Range Rovers. I mean, that's the life that I grew up in. And so I don't
know if that's what really caused it, but I just love the British design, the British personality,
and just the way the Brits really put things together. I mean, we won't get into the other
part of the Brits stuff that we maybe don't like, but that's the part that we fixed.
Right, right. Yeah. And I know it is such an iconic design and not to draw a direct parallel,
but you think about Singer and their Porsches, you know, they picked the generation of Porsches
that they could make, you know, I guess build on that iconic design and make it their own from a
design performance engineering perspective. And it seems like you're doing something similar. So
tell us what is a Helderberg Defender and kind of like, what do you start with? You know, and what
do you, you know, walk us through that process of taking, you know, maybe the donor, you know,
sport ute and then what do you do to it to make it a Helderberg Defender? Right. Exactly. And I mean,
and that is a good way. I mean, a lot of our clients also own singers and they also add a
Helderberg or multiple Helderbergs, because it seems like they just can't invest in one.
But and that's the direction that we have taken. So we do start with, they have to be 25 years
older, older to be able to come into the country legally. That's the first point. But we're very
specific in the donors that we find. So we only work with original left hand drive. And a lot of
people think as a defender as a right hand drive. And that was the vast majority of the ones being
built. So I'm sourcing them from Italy, Poland, France, Germany, countries that are original
left hand drive. And I guess you could say that it's getting harder and harder to source those,
because they simply didn't make as many left hand drives as they did right hand drive.
So we source that, we bring that to our shop. Our shop is in fact in England. I mean, we went
there a number of years ago, because I used to build them stateside. And it just simply didn't
make sense for a number of different reasons. One, I was having to ship all the parts over,
because I spent a lot of time in England. And that's where I went, you know, my past life,
my past career, because cars were my stress relief, my hobby. But I would go there a lot and work with
craftsmen and design everything from cylinder heads to intercoolers to door hinges to exhaust
systems. I mean, the list goes on. And so I'm shipping all those parts over to build the trucks.
And then finding the guys that to put them together while they were good, they weren't great,
because they were used to Ford and Chevy and, you know, American cars. And a Defender is much,
much different. It's much more difficult, much more time consuming, because it has so many more parts.
And so I ended up moving operations over to England, because my best friend has a property
there. We built a shop 28,000 square feet and was fortunate that Land Rover, you know, when it was
bought by Tata Motors, they moved they moved defenders to Slovakia and left some displaced
workers, which gave us the opportunity to hire these craftsmen. That's what they grew up with.
That's what they've known. And even our painter came from Formula One Red Bull UK. So it was,
it just seemed like all the stars aligned for us to build there. But when we first started out,
I mean, we were doing the typical build process years ago, meaning that we were buying parts off
of the shelf. And we just kept on progressing and saying, all right, we need to mill this part,
or we need to find a shop that was supplying some type of a performance part for some type of
manufacture. And piece by piece, I mean, we've redone everything from body panels to cylinder heads,
exhaust system, suspension system, steering systems. And it makes it, we keep that iconic,
and also that collectible, collectible value. And but we keep the really the soul to it also.
So it's like a fine line. And that's what a Helderberg is. It's just a very refined classic
Land Rover that is still numbers matching and is brought right to the line of where it could
be considered a Resto mod, but it's not. Okay, no, that's great. Now, I haven't asked this yet,
but where does the name come from? The name simple enough. My previous life, I like to share my hobbies
and but I didn't want to share the hobbies where my employees would see it because they would want
to raise and I didn't want my clients to see it because they'd feel like they were paying me too
much. So I came up with the name and the name just seemed to resonate because I didn't want to use
my last name portraits. And so that was my alias social media profile to share, you know, everything
that I'm passionate about. So that's how it started. And I was never intending to start offering
my toys, my, you know, more or less on a mass market. But when COVID happened, it just something
magical happened. I mean, I, you know, I wasn't going to the office anymore as no one else was.
And I did a cross country road trip in one of one of my builds. And a friend of mine said,
you should really do this. You're more passionate about this than anything else I've seen. And I've
known you for 40 years. And that's how it really all started. And that's amazing. So how many
personal builds did you do before you explored it as a business?
I don't know an exact number, but I would say probably in the mid 40s. Oh my goodness. Wow.
Okay. And but the personal builds, I mean, the vast majority of those were was the classic
Land Rovers, but I was also doing classic Porsches, Alfa Romeo's. And so there's some of those design
elements that we did and really not design, but the performance elements that we did for,
you know, these really outlandish, no red line Porsches that we built. And it took some of those
elements and built them into the defenders. But yeah, I would say at least 35 of them were defenders.
And it was basically like a really bad addiction. And it's even worse now.
Well, at least you're making it into business now. So, you know, you can indulge. Hey, it's my
business, you know, well, that's the way I justified it to the wife. I mean, my wife always
laughs. Anytime I would go to get something, I'd always tell her how it was going to be an
investment. And she's like, all right, whatever. Well, I love everything you're doing with these
because I'm pulling up the Nixon commission right now. And this is absolutely stunning. Now, it
looks like you do offer, it comes with what a 3.5 diesel, but you do have a V8 conversion. Is that
right? In reality, in truth, yes, I offer the opportunity to talk to individuals about the
V8 conversion. But the chances of me taking a commission on like that is pretty slim because
I feel it's just silly. And for a number of different reasons. And but it allows me the
opportunity to educate someone and explain why the diesel is a superior engine. And I mean,
with the diesels, I have three different levels. I have their original 300 TDI 2.5 liter,
which way in Rover did. And then we have the 300 TDI 2.8 liter, which has our own custom
internals, where we've done crankshafts, we've done connecting rods and everything else that
takes it to a completely different level. And then we have what is we base it off of a turbo
diesel, which is a TD five five cylinder. And then that one has our own computer, our tuning,
our internals, everything on it is our exclusive design that makes all of these very drivable.
But you don't in all of those power plants were engineered for the defender. So you're not giving
up anything, you're just completely gaining everything. Because a lot of individuals, you
know, if you watch videos, you'll hear how they're underpowered and they're slow when it comes to
defenders. But that was by design, because they were built as farm trucks. So the whole idea was
to be able to put your calf in the back and haul it across the field, whether you're in whales or
whatever it was a work truck. So it was built exclusively for torque, not speed. But Range Rover,
which was known as the family vehicle, had the same exact engine. But the defender engine was
detuned. And the Range Rover was not so different purpose. And I think it really comes to the
difference. Do you want a mountain bike or a road bike if you do the same comparison?
And it's so that's what we've done is we've completely retuned everything from the engine,
the transmission, the transfer case, the front and rear differentials, all of that.
Wow, that's incredible. Yeah. And I know that, you know, once you experience a diesel the way
it's meant to be experienced, you really want to stay with that powertrain, correct?
Yeah. And the beauty of the diesel too, it's not like a modern day diesel where you have to use
the death fluid, the diesel exhaust fluid that you have to add. And you don't have any of those
inconveniences. Hence it's 25 years old plus. But you have all the modern elements, you know,
power. So you've got the torque, you've got the horsepower, you've got the drivability.
And with the diesel, you're getting 28 to 32 miles per gallon versus the V8, you get 8 to 10
miles per gallon. The diesel runs cooler, the gasoline runs hotter, and you feel the heat in
the cabin on the gasoline, you don't on the diesel. But I really look at it, do you want,
you know, a real Patek Philippe? Or do you want a fake replica Patek Philippe? And whenever you
put the, you know, a V8, a GM V8 in there, it's not real anymore. And I think a lot of individuals
don't understand that, but I grew up in that culture. And I remember my dad got a 911S. It was a
1969 911S. And it was all original. And that was one of my vehicles. I mean, it was a basket case.
And of course, what did I do? Whatever other teenager would do, I pulled the engine out
and went to the larger, the 3.2 liter. If I would have left that all original, that vehicle
will be worth a quarter of a million versus being worth 70,000. And people just don't seem to understand
that. But not just a collector value, but it's just what it was engineered for. And as my dad
always told me too, that, you know, I would always want to put bigger, bigger, bigger,
bigger into everything. And he said, well, anytime you go for the performance like that,
now you're creating something you're having to work on all the time. It's not going to be reliable.
Right. That's the truth. Yeah. Even though people think GM V8, oh, that's reliable. Well, no, it's not.
Well, I must say, I'm looking at some of your past bills and they're absolutely fantastic.
They're unbelievable. And it's so many different configurations, you know, four door, two door,
you got the truck bed, you've got the exterior outside roll cage. Walk me through the commission
process. So if someone would like to learn more, the description or the podcast link will be in
the description. But yeah, walk us through the commission process for one of these bills.
Yep. So what we do is we, we are, I guess you could say for lack of a better word, we limit the
production. So we do an interview process. First, we talk to the individual and we see
how are they going to use it? How, you know, how long do they plan on using it? How long do they
normally keep their vehicles? And as we go through that process, we decide, are they a good fit for
us or not? And then what are they do, you know, what do they want with it? So if they start asking
questions, can I get a push button start? Can I get retracting running boards? Can I get,
can I get, can I get the take or can I get a body kit? If they start asking those questions,
then I know purely they're not for us. Right. And there's plenty of builders out there that will do
that. And you know, I'm a big believer and just because we can do things doesn't mean we should,
that we should have restraint when we're doing a design. So it really starts with a conversation.
I want everyone to be a one of one. And as you look on the website, I think you can clearly see
that, that every build is unique. And that's what Helderberg's known for is a one of one commission.
And we talk through it and I work with them on design, whether they come here to, you know, one
of my properties, or we do it over the phone. But we talk about, you know, how many individuals are
in their family, how are they going to drive, what type of road trips, what type of, what appeals to
them, stylized colors. So we make it specifically unique for them, one of one. And then we start
with a 50% deposit that that holds in their build slot. And then we start, we'll start that process,
but it goes all the way down to just a bare frame. And then we build it back piece by piece. So
there's nothing that has not been touched in one of our builds. And the materials that go into our
builds, I mean, our, our leather, for example, comes directly from, directly from Scotland,
and it's tanned to order. So we're not pulling a bolt of leather off the shelf. They look at
various leathers, I've got, you know, a lot of different, you know, patina leathers and marbled
leathers and all kinds of stuff. So we order the leather, the Alcantara suede on the roof is from
Italy. So that's all that's done to order to the steering wheel is handmade. But it's made to the
thickness of whatever their glove size is. So it's the proper thickness. The seat frame is made
specifically to them, we have different designs. But it's so we get measurements to make sure that
it fits their, you know, their hamstrings, their torso, their shoulder blades, the center consoles
made specifically to them, the pedals are adjusted, the, the length of the shift rod, or if it's an
automatic transmission. So everything is done specific to the individual. And as we go through
the build process, we, you know, invite them to come visit our shop in England. So we're about an
hour and a half out northwest of London. And they just become part of the process. We don't
really talk about timelines, because this type of process really cannot be rushed. But generally,
it is a little over a year to as long as two years. Definitely, we've done some really unique
builds where we've got some really interesting interiors that's gone in that were private
builds that the client didn't want us to share it. That took three years. And yeah, so it can take
some time. And, and then it just starts to come together. And then it's completed. And then it
comes to, you know, generally, it comes to where I'm at in the Ozarks, or because I don't spend as
much time in New York, because it's too cold there. And I spend time with it. And I drive it,
I photograph it. And then the audio all gets installed here. Now, I notice there's quite
a array of colors that have you've had in the past. Have you ever said no to a color?
Absolutely. Yes. And it wasn't that I said no to a color, it was that I said no to a lack of a color.
Mm hmm. So I had an, I've had a couple individuals come to us and say, I want you to paint it raptor.
And I'm like, raptor, are you talking about linex, the finish that's in the back of a pickup truck,
so it doesn't get scratched? And he's like, yes, that's what I want. And I was like, we can't do
that. Yeah, because I am all about color. I mean, if anybody looks at the vehicles that I've had in
the past or the way I dress, it's all about color. And that's my in our colors. A lot of them are
custom mixed, actually the vast majority of them. And they're one of one. And we have generally not
always 100% one on one, but the client has the opportunity after the bespoke color that we'll
remove it from our list and we won't recreate it again. But I love color. I mean, I always wanted
to be a fashion designer when I was a young man. And it was all about color and patterns. And it's
the same thing on the interiors, too. Well, I was going to say, I can definitely tell that on the
interiors, because the leatherwork and on the interiors and the different types of, you know,
quilted leather, I don't know how you would say it, but or diamond cut leather, I mean, it's just
gorgeous in a lot of different colors in there. It looks like everything's covered in leather,
the dash and everything. It is. I'm not a fan of plastic. I talk about that in my videos. So
don't like plastic, like to have it covered up. And I like to cover it with a foam and then a
leather. And then we, of course, do the different quilted patterns, the quilted patterns, we can
do all different types of custom designs. And then we do the embroidery. So if someone has, for
example, let's say a dog that was their favorite dog or existing dog, we can embroider that into
the seat. And then, of course, you'll, in some of the trucks in the back, you'll see that we do
mahogany wood where we've reclaimed wood from a criss-craft boat and put mahogany wood in the
back in the cargo area. And then we do like an ambiance, a mood, lighting, LED lighting through
the cabin. But and the thing is, when you're looking at a Hildeberg from the outside, they all
are uniquely done. If you can see the consistency in every single design, an underlying consistency,
short of a body style, whether it has a roll cage or not, but it's known as the Hildeberg stance.
And that's a, the development process that we do with the chassis to be able to get that. And then
the axles and everything else. But I keep that core element. But after that, the sky is the limit
in what I want to do. So, because I, you know, clients do expect it to have that Hildeberg unique
look when it's sitting in the parking lot. And I hear this a lot of times on social media, they're
like, oh, I could tell exactly that was a Hildeberg. Yeah, absolutely. I can definitely see that. It
definitely is a, call it a signature style. I mean, the stance, because you can see it from a mile away,
very, very nice. And I love how you have different patterns in the seats. It's not just one size fits
all is purely customized for sure. Now, who gets to name the commission? Generally, I do.
But I always, you know, I offer it to the client, but a lot of times they want me to name it.
I'm a big poetry and history buff. So when I'm, and not only do I love to read poetry,
but I love to write poetry and I love to write. So generally, when I'm driving one of the vehicles,
a name comes to me and the name could have been the previous owner or the previous owner's dog
or a location where they lived or something in poetry. And then some of the names are purely
client driven. And so it's kind of a combination of the two. But yeah, each one has a unique name.
But I always say too, each one has a unique personality. And if somebody's not, either they
get it or they don't, they don't have to be a car person. But I think it's just, it's really,
it's either a get it or don't type of thing that each race unique and different. And I think that's,
you know, one of the things when we were building the Hildebergs that the clients are taking such
an active role. And with the process that we go through to make sure that it is the right fit for
the right client, that there simply is none on the secondary market. So it's just creating this
increased desirability to the point now that there's other builders and there's people that are
listing their trucks for sale and they're calling it a Hildeberg when it's clearly not. So we do a
lot of things, everything from the headlights to the trim on the ring, the rings of the lights
that has engraving on it to show that it's authentically a Hildeberg. Because I mean,
I mean, our prices went from not that much to where they are to this point. And anytime you
start doing that and there's the desirability, then of course, you'd have people wanting to
copy it. And we're seeing a lot of that right now. So yeah, absolutely. Stay busy.
Yeah. So you brought up a couple of things there. First off, what is the average price
point? I know it varies widely based on, I don't know about widely, but obviously based on, you
know, configuration, what's the approximate price point? Yeah. So generally, we started around
around $338,000 and this is general price. But anywhere from $338,000 to about $478,000 and then
configurations, additional configurations can drive it as high as $600,000.
Well, and it's really important what you just said because I won't say where, I won't say who,
I won't say why I went or how, but I was at a concor event and I go to a lot of those all across
the country and I saw someone selling, you know, kind of like a knockoff and it was a big price
point and the quality, it looked good from, you know, 20 feet, but all you had to do was just,
you know, take two seconds to look around and I just could not believe that that price point was
there considering what I was looking at, you know, and they're trying to pass it off as
something of this level when it clearly was not. So you really need to, you know, do your homework
and obviously go with a brand that's proven, you know, and that has the history like yours does.
And I really love, I'm just looking at some of the pictures here, the Marshall speaker,
you know, how often have you seen a Marshall speaker in any car like this or SUV, it's just,
that's a nice touch. Yeah, and it's fun doing those things like that and, you know,
our, what we have been doing now for the last, about last year right now, we work directly
with Focal, which Focal is known to be very high-end audio out of France and we needed a very
specific speaker combo that they make exclusively for us and that's where the clients, when they're
really doing their homework and researching and they start to dig in, they're like, oh wow,
this is, you know, exclusive to a Helderberg and we did even the same thing. So high-fidelity
audio is really important to me because I'm an audio buff, but even our amplifiers too are
handmade in Italy and then the audio system is tuned specifically to the cabin of the vehicle,
whether it's a two-door, four-door, soft top, whatever it may be, but it's all those little
touches and elements that make it complete and especially with the clients because we did one
recently called our equestrian edition, which meant we had to go out and find someone that
knows how to engrave, like a fine engraver that they can engrave a watch, you know, the mechanisms
of a watch or a gun, a shotgun or something like that, but it's, that's what keeps it exciting,
that it never gets stale and it's not like an assembly line either. Yeah, and I love the
steering wheel. The steering wheel is actually, it reminds me of the old Jag steering wheels,
you know, back in the 50s, just the quality, just that, you know, rich wood just absolutely looks
amazing. Now, why do you think vehicles like to Defender resonate so much with so many enthusiasts
for so many years? I think there's a few different factors and I think the one thing how our culture
has shifted away from coupes and sports cars and we're much more of an SUV society now and
so I think that's the one thing, being that it's an SUV, that's why people like it, but I think
the deeper meaning of why a Defender really resonates with everyone and that's what we talk
about. This is a lifestyle, we're not doing performance specs, we're building a lifestyle,
but I think part of it is we grew up watching, watching like National Geographic and Mutual
of Omaha and we would see a Land Rover in the wild and subconsciously I think with that Land Rover
that it evokes a sense of adventure and the more that we're being involved with AI and we don't
know what's real and what's not and driving a vehicle that we have to be careful that we
stay in the lanes, otherwise it's pestering us and I think that people just want that
analog experience and the sense of adventure even if they're just driving to the store that
it allows them to kind of escape from all the noise for a few minutes and I think that's why
it's made it so so popular and then just the utilitarian because you see a lot of individuals
now too that you know workwear clothing is really popular to have that more of that utilitarian
rugged look and the Defender fits so many aspects of it from utilitarian to feeling like you're in
an adventure and then ultimately that I think a lot of us are fighting to have that individuality
and who we are and how we look and how we appear and we just simply don't want a mass produced
vehicle that you can go to a dealership and anybody can buy that we want that individuality
and it's just timeless. I tell you what I can definitely tell the individual aspect of your
custom builds here when looking through the interior and one one interior really surprised me
in that it is cloth so tell me about that build. Harris Tweed so again where I'm just you know
love everything British and anytime I can pull something in that is authentically whether it's
British Scottish you know that's what I'm doing so client I met the client and he had a blazer on
and instantly I spotted and I was like oh you have a black watch Harris Tweed and he's like oh yeah
you know your fabrics and I was like of course I do and I was like why don't we do a Harris Tweed
interior we won't do black watch because it'd be too dark instead we'll do much more of a British
pattern that is looks much like a gentleman would wear if he is going out on a you know a shoot on
a drive and meaning pheasant hunting and he's like oh I love that idea can you do that and I was
like absolutely we can do that so we did the Harris Tweed and then I did an interesting
combo with the leather too and the leather that's in there is the same color as the leather that
they use on a shotgun case for a Holland and Holland. Oh wow wow that's very cool just stunning
just flipping through the pictures just absolutely stunning work you're doing there
now as I close I have two more questions one car related one not but is there a cool car in your
garage that is kind of like an enthusiast type car? Yeah I would say so there's probably a few
actually. What's the one that gets driven the most? The one I drive the most though really
is definitely my the name of its dragon which is it's a 130 which is a pickup truck
and it's in a very vibrant deep golden it's like a gold it's a it is a gold it's gold I drive that
the most and for the simple reason that I have a bad habit of sometimes getting on the phone not
paying attention and running over curbs or doing something like that so I don't drive my sports cars
as much anymore and just for the simple fact that if I run over a curb or a shopping cart it's not
a big deal in my 130 pickup truck because it's an absolute beast and honestly I do love seeing
everyone's smile because when I pull up people just come right to me and start asking questions
and I always love how polite they are and they always say do you mind if I take a picture
and then I'm always saying you want to sit in it let me take your picture so that's my favorite I
would say it's the 130 pickup truck okay you mentioned sports cars can you share one maybe a
Porsche that is in your garage I'm assuming there's a Porsche there somewhere oh yeah definitely so
yeah there definitely is my 1972 Porsche that I did it was a complete rust bucket so it's primarily
carbon fiber but it looks all original because it doesn't have the you know no body kits nothing
so it's a narrow body long hood of course and I did it in leaf green because leaf green was a color
that they offered Porsche did in 1972 however no one chose leaf green as a color they didn't feel
it was fitting for a Porsche but Mercedes had leaf green as a color and so did Jaguar and that was
their popular color on those two cars but it wasn't for a Porsche and I just love leaf green and I
just feel like at the time was color and of course my interior is custom that we did so yeah
and it's that's one that I drive in the rallies okay turns heads oh I bet I bet it does well
actually I I didn't realize this but I do have another question for you before I get to the
non-car one tell us about the events that you do I notice that you are all over the place with some
in-person events but then you also have an opportunity for an event to maybe come to a
business event I don't know tell me a little bit about that yeah so we do a number of events so
our clients it's it's interesting that are well and that's one of the reasons for the selection
process with individuals is you know I'm it's interesting that they're always like-minded
almost almost always but they are like-minded we have the same interests the same passions and
they're very passionate about the vehicle it becomes a family member so what we do is we go to
different clients homes because as you can imagine they have very nice homes and we'll go to the home
and their their Helderberg will be on display and I generally take two more and then it's a private
invite so it's by invitation only that individuals can come out and see see the various Helderbergs
so those are the events that we do all over the country and then we also do events where we go to
car clubs where all these car clubs are popping up all across the country but it's a club where
individuals can store their their vehicle but it's also a social club where people go there and
they have dinner and lunch and smoke cigars and watch football games so we go to those type of
events so again it's all like-minded and so we have those elements and then of course we go to
events that are about wildlife conservation and so that's kind of our events but I love getting out
because I mean I just love meeting all the individuals and so we do quite a bit so in
coming up we actually you know we have a number of different cities that we're going to be in
yeah that's incredible that's really great and the link to all of this will be in the
description of the podcast but tell us what is your website website is helderberg.com and a lot
of end of it it's kind of sometimes it's hard to spell but it's h-e-l-d-e-r-b-u-r-g.com that's
awesome well my last question is is tell me about the two dogs behind you I believe it's two dogs
oh yeah Lucy loves to sleep in the chair that's the princess so she's in a lot of the videos with me
and then Leo back here he's rarely in the videos he's getting too old he can't jump in and out of
the trucks but they're my Italian mastids how fitting now Lucy looked up when you said her name
or she did she thinks we're going for a ride now well that's awesome all right before I close is
there anything else you would like to mention anything cool happening in your world that is
either related to or not related to uh sport youths yeah I think the biggest thing is we I just wrote
a book because one of the things that I always have clients telling me when after they get the
heldenberg is how it's changed their life and the sense that they're able to put their phone down
they're able to go for a drive and they just have conversation with their spouse now so it's a much
more it's a grounding experience to them that they really enjoy to kind of stop the hustle and
that was really why I decided to launch the company and share it because that experience
that I've had where I've done trips with my wife and it meant more than anything else so
it really came down to a philosophy and therefore I wrote a book that's on amazon now and it's called
the gentleman's guide to an intentional life which is it's it's essentially it's a modern
philosophy at meaning ritual and a well-made life wow that's awesome how long has the book been out
now came out yesterday actually so I just came out here not long and uh so yeah and I just kind of
felt like it was time I mean because this was a a book that I started to write about five years ago
so I pulled all my journals and sent my journals out to uh the gal that works with me and I said
can you transcribe this and she said yeah so three months later she had it transcribed because uh I
loved to write in a fountain pen and that's how I wrote the book was in a fountain pen well
congratulations I know that writing a book is a big undertaking and uh to actually get it out there
for people to enjoy is a really big step um most of the folks who listen to my podcast know I have
a book coming out in April called the enthusiast guide to collect your cars so I've been on a
similar journey different subject but similar journey so I can really appreciate what you've
gone through and uh getting that out there yeah it was a relief it definitely was and I
I think I've actually inspired a couple clients that they're saying they're going to write a book
now so I'm going to keep on pushing them to be able to do that that's awesome and I'll put the
link to the book on Amazon in the description as well so Paul again thank you for being on the
you
About this episode
Paul Potratz, founder of Helderberg Defenders, shares insights into his unique approach to customizing classic Land Rover Defenders. The episode explores the design philosophy behind Helderberg, emphasizing bespoke builds that combine timeless aesthetics with modern engineering. Paul discusses sourcing original left-hand drive Defenders, the meticulous customization process, and the importance of maintaining the vehicle's soul. He also touches on the significance of individuality in the automotive world and how his builds evoke a sense of adventure. Listeners will appreciate the blend of passion, craftsmanship, and personal stories that define Helderberg Defenders.
In this episode, I sit down with the founder of Helderburg Defenders to go deep into what truly sets these Defenders apart: uncompromising build quality, craftsmanship, and an almost obsessive attention to detail.
We talk about what it takes to elevate a Land Rover Defender beyond restoration and into the realm of a truly bespoke machine—where every component, material choice, and finish is intentional. From chassis and suspension upgrades to interiors that feel more like a tailored suit than a truck, Helderburg Defenders are built to be driven, admired, and endured.
This conversation covers:
The philosophy behind building Defenders the right way
Why quality, durability, and engineering discipline matter more than trends
How Helderburg balances authenticity with modern performance and reliability
What separates a true high-end Defender build from the rest of the market
If you care about craftsmanship, long-term ownership, and vehicles built with integrity rather than shortcuts, this episode is a must-listen.
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Do you need help buying or selling your collector car? Contact Greg directly at [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]. I know, that's a lot of emails but I answer them all...eventually:)
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And as always, huge thanks to RM Sotheby's for their continual support and for making so many of these automotive dreams possible.
Listen to the "Octane FM: Shift, Rev, Repeat" album on Spotify!
Stay connected with The Collector Car Podcast—find us on our Website, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or reach out to Greg directly via email.
Join RM Sotheby's Car Specialist Greg Stanley as he brings over 25 years of experience and keen market analysis to the world of collector cars. Each week, Greg dives into market trends, interviews industry experts, and shares insights—with a little fun along the way. New episodes drop every Thursday and are available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Learn more at www.TheCollectorCarPodcast.com or email Greg at [email protected].
