Paul Portraz is not like most people. Since 2020, he has been rebuilding Land Rover Defender models for millions of kroner. A single car can take 3,000 hours.
Paul Portraz has a heart that beats for the Land Rover Defender. And preferably the real expensive part of the sale.
In fact, he is happy to charge $400,000 or 3 million Danish kroner for a single conversion. On the other hand, 3,000 hours can easily be spent on one conversion alone.
Portraz's company, Helderburg, is located on a former agricultural property in the US state of New York and, since its establishment in 2020, has exclusively converted English-imported Defenders.
And that's for some of the most expensive cars on the market. The price for one conversion can exceed 3 million Danish kroner. A quick look at Mobile.de reveals that the Defender starts at 4,000 euros or just under 30,000 kroner. A far cry from the prices in New York.
So what sets the Helderburg cars apart from all the other Defenders? According to Paul Portraz himself, it's all about the level of detail.
It's the small details that really stand out, he says. Door handles in aluminum. The cabin in Scottish leather, German wool and Italian alcantara. And especially an innovative braking system designed specifically for Helderburg's Land Rovers.
The system, which can be placed in cars, is another reason why it takes so long – and costs so much money – to complete a Helderburg.
Portraz, the man behind it all, has lived and breathed Land Rover almost his entire life. His passion for the British car brand was already founded in his father's workshop, where little Paul would go and look at the cars.
At an equally early age, Paul fell in love with the brand and dreamed of one day owning one of the cars himself. After a career in advertising, Paul Portraz began buying Defender models that others had restored.
But something must have stung him. Because the work was never good enough. So he started over. Yet it was only when he posted pictures of the converted cars on social media that the tenor fell.
People, they said, would actually buy the cars. Today, there are almost 200,000 users who follow the carmaker's Instagram profile.
The Helderburg people believe that the many hours and big money since 2020 have been spent on one thing – namely the perfect Land Rover Defender formula.
For customers who have the money, everything is included. Everything from mechanics to subcontractors, the leather in the cabin and the design of the cars.
After countless modifications and thousands of dollars spent, Paul has created the perfect formula of parts suppliers, mechanics, leather, fabrics and design for a true British classic. With a little American flair, it remains.