Our Porsche workshop, ran by a race driver and seasoned artisan Vytas Bilinskas, is one of a kind. While officially Stuttgart Clinique is operational since 2007, the story behind its foundation goes back decades before that.
It All Began With A Vintage Mercedes
Back when Vytas was just a small child, his father, serving as the vice-chairman of a vintage automobile club Rieduva at the time, made the decision to sell his then prestigious and expensive “Zhiguli” vehicle and buy an old, non-working Mercedes-Benz from a law enforcement capitan in Leningrad with a purpose to restore it.
The car was indeed in terrible shape, and thus many people, including the chairman of the automobile club, thought it was a horrendous idea. However, despite all the dissuasion, Vytas’ father decided to follow his passion and purchased the old German vehicle. Thee and a half years and countless hours of work later, the car was brought back to life and successfully sold back to Stuttgart, where it belonged. That’s how the name Stuttgart Clinique was born 40 years later.
As a child, Vytas absorbed his father’s love for cars. Seeing his dad’s enthusiasm and dedication in the garage and often joining him, Vytas grew up in an environment where he learned new things about automobiles every day. On top of that, they often went to car shows together, where the father was respected, and the son was surrounded by car enthusiasts.
Scooter Workshop In The Kitchen And Early Experiences
Vytas Bilinskas deconstructed and fixed his first ever engine when he was just twelve years old, in his family’s home kitchen: when his older brother’s scooter failed to start, Vytas offered his help, and, since it was winter and they didn’t have a garage to work in, their mother invited Vytas to work inside.
The next big project Vytas took up was an old motorbike (manufactured in 1951) that he received as a Christmas gift. It was old and dysfunctional, but through dedicated work the young enthusiast managed to fix it and take it to the streets.
The first actual car that Vytas shared with his brother was an old Moskvitch 414, which previously belonged to their father. As Vytas recollects, that spectacular piece of machinery broke down all the time and was less-than-convenient to use every day. However, fixing it over and over again was good practice, and Vytas considers himself lucky to have learned the craft during the time when being a mechanic wasn’t just a hobby – it was a chore.
It is safe to say that Vytas’ early experiences with vehicles weren’t that elegant. Since his family didn’t own a garage, it was often the case that Vytas had to borrow workshop space from his friends. At times, his garage was his own backyard.
Juggling Passion For Racing And Work
Vytas started working in vehicle maintenance centers when he was 20, and he never felt out of place. Having spent most of his career in official Opel, Nissan and Audi workshops, Vytas learned much more than just fixing most severely damaged cars. He learned how to manage teams, lead projects and recognize what’s most important for car owners that come to him for help.
However, it is a huge mistake to ignore the other, no less important part of Vytas Bilinskas’ life. Back when he was just a teenager, Vytas participated in his first drag race, where he took first place with a gas-powered BMW. Other brightest moments in Vytas’ racing timeline include first place in a national rallying event and a third position (in his class, fourth in total) in the 1000 km race of 2006.
The last two years of his career – right before opening his own car studio – Vytas spent working with specialists at a performance vehicle workshop called Ground Zero.
The Birth Of Stuttgart Clinique
While Vytas never complained about working in big car maintenance centers, eventually it started to limit the racer’s ambitions. It was Vytas’ childhood dream to have a workshop of his own, where he could work on his personal projects, too.
At first, Stuttgart Clinique was established in rental space, but it was quickly decided that owning the working space would be much more practical and liberating. Thus, the decision was made to build a hangar, where the workshop would be moved.
Being a true craftsman, Vytas accepted the challenge to build the hangar entirely on his own. He did so in less than a year. Soon after, the hangar was accompanied by a house, where Vytas currently lives with his family.
Today, Stuttgart Clinique is one of the most renowned performance car workshops in Lithuania. Here, you and your vehicle will be greeted with open arms, and your problems solved. Clinique’s services include:
Restoration of vintage models. We love the classics, and we know you do, too.
Assistance with purchasing perfomance cars. One has to be careful when buying a car. However, few people realise that buying a sports car requires much more thorough research and testing. An expert’s opinion can help you save tens of thousands of euros.
Car storage and maintenance. It can be tricky to keep your sports cars in shape during off-season. Vytas and the team will take take care of that for you.
Project cars. We’ll make your wildest dreams come true.