By destroying a fake Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing, seized by German customs officials, Mercedes Classic Center wants the world to take notice they won’t tolerate copy cats. The  legendary gullwing model has been trademarked by Daimler AG. It goes beyond the use of logos and trademarks. If you make a car that even looks remotely like the 300 SL, they’ll come after you.

This poor replica was made by a German company based on the W 198 series. It had a fibreglass body weighing precisely 148 kilograms. Seeing as Daimler’s beef is only about the unlawful body, they first separated it from the chassis, and then put it in a  compressor that smashed it into small pieces using over 30 tonnes of pressure.

The excessive force was used to show Daimler’s firm line against violation of their rights.

Original Mercedes 300 SL models are these days among the most coveted and most expensive classic cars. It was launched on the market in 1954 as a coupe with distinctive gullwing doors. In 1999, an international panel of judges voted it ‘sports car of the century’. The body of the 300 SL has been under copyright protection for a number of decades.