Words by Tony Matthews
Photos by Tony and Carmen Matthews with Ronald Veth
As with every show that is going over more than one day, you have smaller meetings on the side organised by people, who are in our eyes having a pulling power that exceeds those of others. At our recent visit to the Wörthersee meeting, there was such an individual who goes by the name of Mario Mattick and he does love amongst other cars, all things Porsche just like his mind-blowing extreme custom Cayman that you see right here.
We saw absolute gems of the VW, air cooled and water cooled scene alike but two cars just stood out like the crown jewel in a kings crown. Mario’s 2007 Porsche Cayman S and his friend Marus with his equality incredible Porsche Panamera also featured in this very issue…. I was perplexed and could not believe my eyes. Amongst moderately and subtle modified cars, as is fashion at present, his Cayman S stood out with heavy exterior modifications.
Most people would not tackle any big modifications like his for fear to get it wrong, especially on a Porsche but Mario really got every bit of it right. The reason why the Porsches exterior still looks every bit as curvy as its original form, might be that for every Kevlar part a form was pre-built which means none of it is laminated. Talk about putting in the work and it was thanks to his friend David and Form And Function to provide the skills, with Mario injecting his creative flare for the overall look of the car. All in it took Mario (plus friends and helpers) the best of five months continuous work to provide what was one of the most talked about cars at Worthersee along his friend Marcus’s Porsche.
We are not surprised that he got it right though considering the now 31 year old technical artist and wheel designer who owns his own company: RAD48 is a massive fan of the Jap Scene, where everything can go very right or very wrong. He knows that the right mixture counts and therefore combines his ideas with the best of the know how out there.
Mario’s interest into cars started over ten years ago, thanks to his father and close friends. Over times as his finances grew, that’s where he got heavily involved into the scene. When asked why Porsche he answers very professionally: We at RAD48 needed a car that could grab people’s attention and take centre stage for people to notice that these wheels just stand out on any car and are not necessarily only looking good on one vehicle type.
Finding a good balance to give a strong impression seems to be part of Mario as much as it is of his company, which in the long run will benefit his customers.
RAD48 was created out of love to the wheel. He did exploit every wheel previously on the market, or so he felt and therefore thought that creating his own according to his own ideas and desires does make sense. Daring to take the step however was only taken thanks to Rene Schmidt (Messer Wheels) who seemed to give a little notch out of the door (so to say) otherwise Mario would drive OEM wheels to today.
We always love seeing good cars taking front stage and so we were curious if this was a one off. Well, though he was very shy to say more, we at least know that there is more to come from his side with new created wheels and new cars in collaboration with ‘Dumped Suspension’ (Marcus Prosch) and ‘Form and Function’ (David Fröhlich).
Well guys, wherever we are, you know we will be there to get a shoot and few good hours with you.
Technical Specification
Porsche Cayman S 2007
Bodywork: All Kevlar parts pre-built in form so no laminating was necessary – ideas and creation by Mario himself and David Fröhlich of ‘Form and Function’, Wing and ducktail self built
Chassis: has G-Point Performance made in Switzerland, HP drivetech with Accuair e-level drive
Wheels: RAD48 BR Front 10×20 ET 20 / rear 12,5×21 ET -3
Exhaust system: by M&M exhaust (Cup System)
Colour: own creation
