
18/10/2025
The CEO mocked a humble mechanic: “Fix this engine and I'll marry you”… and he did it
The boardroom on the 50th floor of Automotive Mendoza was fraught with tension as CEO Isabel Mendoza, heiress to a €2 billion empire, faced the biggest failure of her career: a revolutionary engine that no engineer had ever managed to make work.
In her glass and steel office overlooking Madrid, 12 of Europe's top engineers were gathered, having worked unsuccessfully on the prototype for six months.
Isabel, 29 and known for her arrogance, was about to lose a €500 million contract with SEAT when a janitor knocked on the door. It was Carlos Ruiz, 32, a disgraced former Formula 1 mechanic who now cleaned offices to make ends meet.
Just by looking at the engine, he said, “Ma'am, I know what the problem is.”
Isabel burst into mocking laughter and, in front of all the executives, issued the riskiest challenge of her life:
“If you can fix this engine that 12 engineers couldn't, I'll marry you.”
Silence fell over the room.
Carlos looked her straight in the eyes and replied, “I accept.”
What happened in the following hours would not only change the fate of the company, but also the lives of two people whom fate had decided to test in the most unexpected way.
The 50th floor of the Automotive Mendoza skyscraper dominated the Madrid skyline as a symbol of Spanish industrial power.
Behind the glass walls of the most prestigious office, Isabel Mendoza, the 29-year-old third-generation CEO, gazed with growing frustration at the engine that threatened to destroy the empire her grandfather had built.
Six months earlier, Automotive Mendoza had signed the most important contract in its history: to supply SEAT with a revolutionary hybrid engine for a limited-edition hypercar. €500 million was at stake.
A figure that would have permanently consolidated the company's position among the world leaders in automotive technology.
The project seemed perfect on paper. The research and development team had designed a powertrain that combined a traditional B1 engine with a state-of-the-art electrical system.
Simulations showed extraordinary performance: 100 horsepower, near-zero emissions, and unprecedented energy efficiency. But the reality was very different.
The prototype stubbornly refused to function properly. Each attempt to start it ended with abnormal vibrations, unexplained overheating, and a metallic noise that made the technicians shudder