Heiner H. Rankl founded Lorenz & Rankl GmbH & Co. Fahrzeugbau KG together with Friedrich Peter Lorenz in Wolfratshausen near Munich in 1985. The plan was to produce convertibles based on high-quality series vehicles.

Lorenz & Rankl initially created a replica of the AC Cobra from which the L&R Silver Falcon was developed with components from Mercedes-Benz, including the 5.0-liter V8 engine of the MG 500 SEL. The top speed was 250 km/h.

In 1987, L&R offered a special version of the Mercedes-Benz 190E, equipped with a KKK exhaust gas turbocharger. The 190 Turbo reached a speed of almost 230 km/h. A four-door cabriolet was also created on the basis of a Mercedes-Benz 560 SEL. iIts roof could be opened at the touch of a button by electro-hydraulics. Other Mercedes modifications followed, and a number of Ferraris were also converted into convertibles, including numerous examples of the 308, 328, 400, 412 and 512 models.