Makellos Classics
One of the youngest and brightest stars in the Porsche specialist stratosphere, Total 911 shows you around Makellos Classics
Take a look around the burgeoning Porsche classic specialists turning up the heat in sunny Socal
The name ‘Makellos Classics’ should not be alien to regular readers of this magazine. A few of the company’s cars have featured prominently in Total 911 over the past year, including a one-owner 1969T, a low-miles 993 Carrera S and, of course, the excellent SC safari cover star from issue 174. But away from the feature 911s, what else do we know about this Socal specialist in Porsche?
We’ll start with the name itself. “Makellos is a German word which simply means ‘flawless’,” owner Matt Kenyon says with a smile as he shows us around the company’s expansive workshops in Escondido, a small city outside of San Diego. A high standard is clearly ingrained within the company ethos, this evident in the quality of cars we’ve featured in recent months. Being a classic Porsche specialist there are all manner of air-cooled 911s frequently found at Makellos, but the dominant era is the long-bonnet cars. The showroom today is a case in point: a stunning 1973.5 T Targa in vibrant Chartreuse green sits next to that aforementioned 1969T in Polo red, with a 1972 ‘oil flapper’ T in Tangerine also close by. A 1973 ‘RS tribute’ hot rod underlines the dexterity of the company’s stock. The impressive colourways, plus the remarkable condition of each car, makes the place feel like a time warp right back to the late 1960s and early 1970s. This is because each of the company’s restoration project cars are completely disassembled and pieced back together bolt by bolt in what Matt describes as ‘a perfectly immaculate revival’. “These high-end beauties are luxurious, timeless and our personal masterpieces,” he says.
The finish on each Porsche is quite simply sublime, and opening their doors reveals a ‘new car’ smell inside. Most impressively, aside from the hot-rod cars, all are bang on for original factory specification. Now this is the sort of specialist we like to associate ourselves with.
So how did the Makellos story start? “Really, my dad is to blame,” laughs Matt. “I’d just finished school and it’s fair to say my natural path was to join the family business. However, my dad has always collected low-mileage classic cars, the majority of them being Porsche, and he asked me to help sell some of them. We did that, but then he started buying more classic Porsche, so I said ‘Dad, we need to do something here!’. I applied for my dealer’s licence and before we knew it Makellos was up and running.”
That was back in 2012 and the company has enjoyed almost exponential expansion since, both in terms of business and the personnel associated with it. “We added some renowned staff to our
personnel who had built up good reputations within the local Porsche community, and it meant we could expand our own business by developing a service and then a restoration arm on top of the sales side of things,” Matt says as we promptly enter the Makellos workshops. There are no less than four ramps in use, all with a delectable classic lifted high into the sky, from a freshly painted 964 Targa having a completely new suspension installed to a hot-rod 930 Turbo undergoing some gearbox checks, all by a team of factorytrained master technicians whose passion for the brand is clear.
It’s a substantial operation, made all the more impressive when you realise the business is just six years old. This is still a young enterprise, much like Matt himself, who’s just 30 years of age. So how does it feel running a classic Porsche dealership when most of the cars are, in fact, older than he is? “It’s something I get asked a lot,” says the charismatic young entrepreneur, clearly amused at the question. “The thing is I’ve always taken an interest in the older cars, again thanks to my dad, and I’ve learned a hell of a lot since going into business, either through my own research or thanks to the knowledge of my staff.”
This investment in a renowned workforce means Makellos has quickly established itself as the go-to business for classic Porsche sales, service and restoration in the wider Socal region, providing a full service for all manner of owners from those championing daily drivers to parties interested in collector-grade 911s. Matt also says more and more cars are coming in for personalised work, which is something the business enjoys facilitating: “Many of the guys who work here have a Porsche themselves, so we know these are not just cars – they’re a way of life. That’s helped with passing on our knowledge and expertise in regards to upgrades and modifications to customers, and we’ve hand built cars to reflect their own personal taste as a result.”
This greater emphasis on high-end personalisation projects has brought stellar results, most notable of which is the safari car from issue 174, which claimed the prize of ‘best car’ for the popular MOMO Road to Rennsport Reunion last year. “It’s been fun to build the personalised cars but as a business we’ve had a clear goal, and we just want to open our customers’ eyes as to what’s possible. So long as it can be done to our usual high standards we’re absolutely the guys to do it, whether it be restoration or personalisation.” What’s the plan for the future? “We simply want to be the best,” says Matt, reminding us of both the name and nature of his enterprise. We leave Makellos supremely impressed by what we’ve seen. Clearly run by enthusiasts and built on core values of trust and transparency, the place has the feel of a business that’s been going for years. That it’s just six years old is remarkable but, much like Porsche itself, such class and dedication to the task is what makes Makellos truly stand out from the rest.
“These high-end beauties are luxurious, timeless and our personal masterpieces”