Handmade Merc

WORDS Zama Nkosi

Usually associated with ultra high-strength, high-tech steel, we couldn’t help but crack a smile at this life-size beaded replica of the brand new Mercedes Benz C-Class. Of course, the fact that handmade continues to be a prevailing worldwide trend in luxury goods perfectly expresses our feelings about the car too!

The world is abuzz about the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which will be revealed to an eager South African public soon. And in the wake of a R2-billion upgrade to the Eastern Cape plant, Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) decided to commemorate the event in innovative style. 

To celebrate the new W205 C-Class, six craftsmen from the Eastern Cape created a life-sized replica from wire and beads. Initially 24 local craftsmen were invited to submit miniature replicas of the luxurious new car – which were then shown to Mercedes-Benz workers who voted for their favourites.

The six chosen artists – Teddy Mutasa, Khayalethu Nqono, Eddie Jange, Johnson Sithole, Busana Sibanda and Mzoxolo Makalima – then became an integral part of the Mercedes-Benz family. Every day for a month, the six clocked in like everyone else and worked tirelessly on the ambitious craft project.

“I was excited from the beginning of this initiative,” says team leaser Mzoxolo. “It was a challenging experience.” The talented bead worker adds that building the model made him think about his childhood. “I used to make wire cars just to play with them, but now there stands before me a resounding success and I am proud.”

In total the car took 232 hours, 11km of wire and 3 million beads to create – and just like the real W205 C-Class, it’s a stunning work of art!

Production on the actual W205 C-Class has also started in earnest at the Eastern Cape Mercedes-Benz plant. The luxury vehicles will be exported to Europe, Australia, Japan and other Asian markets.

Originally published on mblife.co.za