Most people get in their cars to get somewhere quickly. Paul Potratz gets in cars to slow things down.
Potratz, a Memphis native now based in Ozark, is the founder of Helderburg, the luxury design and engineering house that specializes in custom, handcrafted restorations of the classic, British-built Land Rover Defender. His interest in the Defenders stems from a youth spent in his father’s car repair and restoration shop — where he once dreamed of becoming a fashion designer — and after building and selling three companies, Potratz has merged his car and design interests into a high-end vehicle-building business.
With a price tag ranging between $288,000 and $406,000, the Helderburg iteration of the Defender is a product for people who prioritize luxury and leisure.
And Potratz is serious about the leisure part.
“The vibe that I want to create is slowing down. Don’t be in a hurry,” he says. “We go for a drive and we’re not trying to get to a destination.” Potratz, who founded Helderburg in 2019, designs each restoration and rebuild. The vehicles are put together at his property in England — a practical arrangement as the necessary parts are overseas — and completed at Potratz’s Haldenmere estate in northwest Arkansas, where he lives with his wife Christy.
“This is where they get photographed and videoed and audio goes in, and then the clients come in” to enjoy a bit of that Natural State magic, says Potratz, whose clients include car enthusiasts, celebrities and execs like a recent visit from the president of AutoZone. “[He] and his wife, they flew in. He drove his truck, he spent a couple of days with me, we drove the Ozarks and everybody that comes, they absolutely love it.”
The Land Rover was introduced in 1948 to satisfy the British government’s desire for a tough utility truck that could be used on farms and in rural areas. Simple and functional, it featured a ladder-frame chassis, weight-saving aluminum body, four-wheel drive and a 1.6-liter, inline-four engine.
The later models eventually came to be known as Defenders until, in 2016, Land Rover announced it was ceasing production of the model because of new manufacturing regulations.
In 2020, India’s Tata Motors, Land Rover’s current owner, announced a new Defender model that is a modern take on the classic design.
Since the original Defenders are in finite supply, each Helderburg is a rare and valued vehicle.
“The beauty of handmade, in my opinion, is it’s not perfect,” Potratz says. “It has someone’s character to it. It has their own design cue to it. It’s not perfection. It’s got the little things that say this is not mass-produced, and I enjoy that. I appreciate that.”
Potratz touts the Helderburgs as something the Defenders would look like today if still being made by the original designers. More than a restoration or restomod, his team seeks to preserve the features like original engine blocks that make them unique while improving the comfort and performance expected in modern driving, as well as hosting adventurous getaways in luxe locales across the world designed to deliver the top-shelf driving experience.
It takes more than 3,000 hours, or around two years, to produce one Defender — the paint jobs alone take close to 400 — and every client gets an official certificate of registry from the English government. No matter how singular and rare each Defender is, Potratz consistently maintains he is not just selling a vehicle, he is also selling a life-affirming experience.
“I always thought they were cool growing up in my dad’s shop in Memphis, and I just loved how they were different,” Potratz says of the Defenders. “But when I would go drive it, just the emotions that you would get out of it — and I mean, some people get it and some people absolutely don’t get it because they just look at transportation as point A to point B.”
Potratz buys the old Defenders where he can find them, mostly on farms and wineries throughout Europe. Each one is at least 25 years old with original left-hand drive.
“I could easily go buy a right-hand drive, or I could easily go buy a replica,” Potratz says, “but I was very intentional in doing my homework and understanding exactly what makes an authentic classic Land Rover Defender one that I can use in the States, which means it has to be a left-hand drive, it has to have a specific VIN configuration, it has to be authentic.”
Whether a buyer test-driving a Defender is a 24-year-old cryptocurrency baron or a 70-year-old entrepreneur with a succession plan, Potratz recommends rolling down the window, easing back and enjoying the trip. For him, a ride is a form of meditation, and Potratz hopes that, along with the individually crafted accessories and details, he is providing the same kind of soothing experience for his clients.
“That’s what I hear more of when we’re bringing clients in. They’re telling me about experiences that they had in the past or experiences they want to have that they’ve never had,” Potratz says. “And those experiences have nothing to do with horsepower. It’s about slowing down, being present, kind of just being more aware, is what it really is versus how fast can we go.”
Before Helderburg, Potratz founded a marketing agency, software development firm and multi-family real estate holding company. The road to Helderburg began when Potratz bought his first custom Defender and simply set out to explore.
He commissioned his second Defender, which Potratz says was unsatisfactory, basically a kit car that he sold for a loss. Potratz then decided to build his own, consulting with engineers and parts suppliers who were around when the Defenders were still being built in the United Kingdom.
Soon people began asking Potratz to build Defenders for them, and he did. Helderburg (the name chosen because of its European-sounding ring), was born in the quiet that came during the COVID-19 panic and in the aftermath of Potratz selling his businesses.
After traveling more than 200 days annually for work, staying put at Haldenmere, purchased two years ago, was appealing.
“It’s pretty magical,” Potratz says, “because the way the property sits, I’m sitting right here and I’ve got the Boston Mountains to the left, where I have a big picture window in front of me where I’m at right now, and I can see the mountains go all the way across.”
Fittingly, it was a drive that brought Potratz to Arkansas. While living in New York, he discovered his love for the state when he visited the Ozarks for the Porsche Overcrest Rally.
“We drove probably 3,000 miles just through the Ozark Mountains and hit the different towns, and that was the first time I ever went to Arkansas,” Potratz says.
The roads winding through the mountains and the friendliness of the local people were enough to lead Potratz to immediately make an offer when he and Christy laid eyes on their future home via a chance online listing. At Haldenmere, Potratz enjoys reading, walking the property with his dogs, tending his horses, enjoying the porch swing and sitting by the lake.
As lifestyles go, it’s a lot like taking a leisurely drive.
“It’s about slowing down and being part of nature and feeling like you’re on an expedition,” he says. “It’s not about how fast can you get down the highway.”