Uwe Ottmann founded the company Ottmann-Karosserie-Design in Wyk auf Föhr in 1958. Three years later, Ottmann went to the USA and worked as a coachbuilder at Chevrolet. At the beginning of the 1980s, he started producing replicated parts for collectors' vehicles in his home country, e.g. for the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, before he also began to build complete replica vehicles. An Ottmann 300 SL replica and a 300 SLR replica based on the 450 SL were created. Other models such as a replica AC Cobra and a Ferrari 250 GTO followed.