From startup garage to hypercar hall of fame with PAMO

They’re as rare as unicorns. And once they see the light of day, evidence of sightings quickly pops up on numerous Instagram accounts. When was the last time you saw a Koenigsegg Agera R ‘Zijin’, a Pagani Zonda S, a Bugatti Chiron or an – admittedly a little more common – Ferrari LaFerrari in the wild? And what if you wanted to buy one of these rare specimens? Well, there’s a not-so-secret place where it’s possible. Three friends – Martin Döring, Kevin Maurer and his brother Sören – founded PAMO GmbH at the end of 2017, specialising in super and hypercars.

A few weeks ago they moved into their newly built space with PAMO-Welt in Bodman-Ludwigshafen on Lake Constance. The A few weeks ago, they moved into their newly built space, PAMO-Welt, which is located in Bodman-Ludwigshafen on Lake Constance. The aspirations of the young trio not only include trading and servicing the world's most exclusive sports cars; Sören says it should also be a place of exchange, where you can meet other enthusiasts in the lounge for an espresso, swap ideas and be inspired. Art and the epicurean are also envisaged to become part of the PAMO world – with everything remaining approachable.

We’ve all heard the founding myths of Silicon Valley, where now-global companies like HP or Apple were humbly born in garages. At PAMO, the beginnings were very similar: the three founders worked under a residential building in a 50-square-metre office, next to which there was an underground car park that could hold a maximum of nine vehicles.

Manoeuvring the exclusive sports cars thus became a daily art form. As a result, a second hall was rented. But the more PAMO became established, the less this provisional solution proved to be practical. "Optimally at the start," says Sören, "and with a start-up capital of just 30,000 euro, a young entrepreneur learns to work cost-consciously."

The commitment of those first few years has paid off. Because in mid-March 2021, the vision of PAMO having a ‘world’ of its own was realised. Over a total area of 1,000 square metres, there’s now a bright and spacious 700-square-metre showroom for the treasures, 200 square metres reserved for the workshop and prep bays and 150 square metres for the offices. The new premises impresses with its stylish design, with the lounge set up in the middle of the vehicles on display. There’s also a photo studio with a light sail and turntable, and of course a kitchen for PAMO's culinary highlights and annual events.

When you first enter, a Ferrari F40 work of art hanging on the wall catches your eye, there to welcome customers and visitors. “We always have between 15 and 25 cars for sale. We specialise in supercars and hypercars.” The focus is on brands such as Koenigsegg, Porsche, McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Mercedes-Benz. PAMO focuses particularly strongly on Pagani, as they have established a good network there.

The fact that PAMO’s founders’ daring leap into self-employment – to the highest heights of the automotive industry – has succeeded is because they brought a lot of experience in addition to their passion. Döring has been working in the exclusive trade for over 10 years now and (essential for this business) has established an international network of collectors, enthusiasts and other dealers, and is well known in the scene. Maurer has also acquired expertise in the high-quality sports-car and supercar trade over the years, in the process meeting his future business partner, Döring.

Kevin’s brother Sören has an e-commerce background and is responsible for strategy, finance, project management and marketing. “Buying a car should be an experience that forms the basis of a partnership based on friendship. We’re young and dynamic and we want to appear bolder and more conspicuous than others,” he says. As an expert in digitisation, he sees that the trade in limited top-class sports cars is increasingly happening in parallel on online platforms.

"We radiate with our location in the three-country region of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, but 60% of our business takes place in more distant countries. However, nothing we can expect in the virtual future can probably compare to the sheer physical presence of a Koenigsegg Agera R ‘Zijin’ with 1,140hp, resplendent in purple and gold. There were 18 cars built, but this is the only example in this configuration. A unique one-off, only at PAMO.”

In addition to these unique sports cars, which, like a Ferrari 488 Pista or Bugatti Chiron Sport, are parked in the dream garage of many enthusiasts, all-inclusive service and customer support play a fundamental role. High-end processing, the best service, but also support with buying and selling, export, brokerage, collection and investment are part of the portfolio. And when customer vehicles need to be repaired or restored, the vehicles are of course picked up by PAMO and transported to the specialist.

Despite recent delivery bottlenecks and delays caused by the pandemic, business is very robust and stable. The interest in special vehicles does not seem to be waning and is even tending to increase, says Kevin.

Of course, PAMO’s founders are also planning a grand opening, which is expected to take place in late summer. But already at the end of June, an extraordinary tour to Barcelona will kick off from PAMO headquarters – and further trips together will follow.