The Milivié 1 is a car that is instantly recognisable yet is a vehicle that has never been imagined. An iconic automobile that was created for the masses completely evolved into a machine for the very select few. Milivié is the brainchild of Jonathan Engler, an active, innovative artistic engineer with the vision to celebrate extinct German automotive icons and discreetly re-engineer them anew to unimaginable standards.
In a perfectly executed interpretation of contemporary nostalgia the Milivié team have pushed the envelope of restomod into a new area, executing a vehicle that challenges and delights on every level. A car of the people evolved into a pinnacle automotive experience. The Milivié 1 is a unique celebration of the world’s most loved vehicle. The intensely detailed vehicle delivers a fusion of everything the analogue driver desires blended with effortless integration of cutting-edge technology.
The Milivié 1 starts from a hand-selected donor 1303 model. Sourced by the Milivié team this vehicle provides a base for total evolution, with over a thousand hours of craftsmanship and engineering in each build – resulting in a car that shares little other than the metal monocoque section of body and the floorboards with the donor. Even these components are vastly modified from the original car. No element of the concept has been sacrificed in the development of a driving feel that is tactile, active and agile – whilst every single component has been enhanced with a spec list that rivals the ultimate performance classic. The chassis is enhanced to be an air-cooled autophile’s nirvana. The 2.28L flat four powertrain is precision-built for each car, tuned to the specific car’s use case and eventual environment. The Carrera 2-sourced ZF 4HP transmission is totally reworked to deliver the engaging, thrilling drive that will be the car’s signature. The body, at first glance seemingly unchanged, is elegantly and artfully crafted to produce a smoother, more contemporary silhouette that combines shared DNA with a unique stance. The interior echoes familiarity but welcomes modernity. This is a car that is endlessly absorbing in detail and thinking.
The concept for the car is as original as the execution. Founder Jonathan Engler had a longstanding desire to build his own car brand – but with a difference. Engler’s cars were always destined to be astonishingly detailed but he wanted to create a car that created a positive and relaxed social impression – so often witnessing the jealousy and negativity that could be attached to pinnacle vehicle ownership. This perspective allows Engler’s designs to combine a subtle and unobtrusive exterior appearance with a complete reappraisal of driver and passenger desires that blends an old school driving feel with cutting edge UI technology and contemporary comforts.
The interior of the vehicle is the centrepoint of Milivié’s uniquely respectful integration of contemporary UX and design into an athletic classic package. The vision for creating the interior design was to entirely replace the dominantly geometric and static design with a ground-up surface dynamic that elaborates on the beautifully intriguing exterior. Yet those shapes that are faithful to the original organic design base are the details characteristic to each generation of the donor vehicle’s history. The Milivié interior provokes a sense of what has gone before but is entirely unfamiliar. Building on the original design brief of a car which should exceed the average travel speed whilst comfortably carrying 4 passengers, the Milivie interior accommodation features four individual bucket seats with a ground up new center console between each seating row which incorporates wireless charging, 220V and USB/USBC charging. Driver information and control is managed by twin screens with in-house software. Information layout and access can be switched simply by swiping the designs which include a contemporary signature screen focused on representing essential information through dynamic shapes and colors, a classic layout mirroring early brand correct analog instruments and finally an extended data screen showing the readings of all sensors throughout the car in a text-based composition. The infotainment screen also displays an analog clock echoing the character of the 1200 OEM clocks. Using smart textile and sensor integration for non-screen interfaces throughout the car allows Milivié to create an interior that is historically respectful in the sense that there are virtually no buttons throughout the cabin with the essential controls being managed by the discrete and plain surface smart textile interfaces and stepless touch controls.
Each Milivié 1 is presented to the customer as a completely collaborative process, with an extensive concierge program that allows a truly bespoke experience. Every one of the 22 cars to be produced is individually tailored and set up for the future location and driving style of its owner.
First reservations for the Milivié 1 are now open with entry pricing for a commission starting at €570,000. The first car will be delivered in July 2023 with the production run to be completed and delivered May 2025.
