Improving on a respected manufacturer's original designs is usually a futile exercise, particularly in the realm of Mercedes-Benz. This certainly hasn't deterred design houses from Italy and beyond from sawing the coachwork off various MB models and installing their own interpretation of style, elegance and gravitas.

Predictably, the results have ranged from the exceptional - the Pininfarina 230SL - to the altogether abysmal. Based on our selection of one-offs below, the Italians don't always get it quite right and occasionally the pen goes horribly wrong.

Please enjoy our look at some provocative interpretations of MB icons.

This disaster looks suspiciously like the Rolls Camargue of 1975 (and Ford's 1965 Galaxy).
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Maybach may be dead but the Exelero is still a stunner. read more...