Martin Freund's Coupé
~ [PMO 200]
Martin Freund's Sebring Replica was built originally for Tom Coulthard from the car which John Sprinzel drove on the Classic Marathon in 1991 with Willy Cave as navigator. It had been converted from an Old English White Mark II Sprite re-imported from the USA by Dave Matthews. A Mark 1 rear section was fitted together with a Sebring bonnet and works-style hardtop. The car was never actually registered PMO 200 in the UK, Sprinzel borrowing the number from his sister's Volvo for the Marathon. In fact he got stopped by the police on the way to Dover but being "Lucky John" he managed to talk his way out of that little problem. Tom subsequently had the car rebuilt by Roger Ludgate as a W & P Coupé when it was repainted red. It was later sold abroad and is has been owned by Martin Freund in Austria, for a number of years.
Martin encountered big family problems when he bought the car back in 2004. He had gone with a friend to view a Porsche 911 which his friend was thinking of buying from a restorer by the name of Armin Eigelsreiter. They were shown around his workshops where Martin first set eyes on the red PMO. He says that for two reasons he really didn't want to buy a car: firstly historic cars are a subject to be avoided at home. His wife had issued an order "Sell some cars but under no circumstances buy any more". Secondly he already had in his garage a Healey Silverstone which he drives every year in the Ennstal Classic, one of the most popular events for historic cars in Austria. The restorer explained that he had agreed a sale of the car but, despite paying a deposit, the buyer had not paid the balance. He urgently needed to sell the car. Martin drove home a little depressed "Such a car, but such a restriction!". He called Mr Eigelsreiter and says maybe he would buy the car. Two weeks later, on a Saturday morning he got up early and prepared a fine breakfast for his wife. Half an hour later she was convinced that this car is a necessity for the family garage! So, early that afternoon, the family of Martin and his wife and two children went off to buy the Sebring. Martin told the family that he would sell his Porsche 356 but now he had a problem with his daughter, Anna. She told him he could not sell the car because he gave it to her when she was 4 years old. The next problem was Max who recalled that I gave him the Mercedes 230SL when he was 3! However thanks to his wife he got his "Absolution". Now, he says, he has to work harder to give much more time to his family.
Martin at the Aspern Revival in 2008, - and Karl Pu.