Wiesmann History
Source: Wiesmann Auto Sportst the end of 1988, after the death of the great role model Enzo Ferrari, an euphoria swept across Germany: many enterprises in the automobile industry wanted to create a niche sports car and copy the great Ferrari. We too, Martin and Friedhelm Wiesmann, were enthusiastic about this idea and set out to turn it into something tangible.Almost nobody has survived this courageous step financially. They were either defeated by the hurdles set up by the German Technical Inspection Agency TÜV, by the financing aspect or by the large companies' veto, who only in exceptional cases allow small vehicle manufacturers to make use of their technology. Often, the awareness for market requirements was that much blinded by one's own dreams, that his products were simply not marketable.
We at Wiesmann Auto-Sport have recognised the dangers in good time and have also developed other marketable products (e.g. hardtops), which on the one hand ensured the economic survival of our company and on the other hand earned us the necessary respect of big industry, which in the end lead to a supply contract for drive technology between BMW AG and Wiesmann Auto-Sport:
The Wiesmann roadster using BMW technology was born.
Development
In 1985, we, the Wiesmann Brothers Martin Wiesmann (graduate engineer) and Friedhelm Wiesmann (bachelor of commerce), started to make our youthful dream come true: to design a tailor-made car that we had developed ourselves. From the experience we had gained over the years, we developed exclusiveness per se in the automobile scene: the Wiesmann roadster.
Nothing has been left to chance with this car: high-quality materials and sound workmanship have always been and still are an absolute must. Every single Wiesmann roadster is manufactured by hand in our production shops in Dülmen. Everything from the body shell to the interior – exactly in accordance with the wishes and fancies of the respective customer. The galvanized space frame of extreme torsional stiffness is aluminium cladded and has been provided with an additional lateral impact protection. The body is manufactured from high-quality glass fibre reinforced composite material. The in-line six-cylinder engines are supplied by BMW and make for a beefy display of power – vigorous, not to be ignored and incredibly direct. A symphony in 6 cylinders.
In May 1993, the first Wiesmann-Roadster built on customer order has left our manufactory in Dülmen. This exclusive sports car has been continuously refined and provided with ultramodern technology, so that after now 300 cars that have been built, a quality of workmanship has been achieved that is unparalleled among comparable small series manufacturers. Today, a choice of two strong engines is available.
One can tell that the formula-one experience of Bilstein and Eibach have been brought to bear in the development of the chassis. We have been able to do the trick of enabling even normal road-users to control high transverse acceleration and traction forces.
The car 'sticks to the road like a gecko to the wall ' –
entirely in keeping with the company logo.
