Caruna bodywork

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Carrosserie Caruna AG
legal form Corporation
founding 1965
resolution 2010
Seat Dietikon , Switzerland
management Erwin Schill
Branch Automobiles

The body shop Caruna AG was a Swiss Coachbuilder . "Caruna" stands for Ca rrosserien u nd N eu a nfertigungen.

description

Erwin Schill founded the company on March 8, 1965 in Spreitenbach in the canton of Aargau . It specialized in body modifications, but also produced a small number of its own vehicles. On November 21, 1991, Schill relocated to Dietikon in the canton of Zurich . Liquidation was applied for in 2007 and carried out in 2010.

Caruna Spider and Staccato

Caruna built two open vehicles in the 1970s. The first was the Spider, presented in 1974 on the floor pan of the VW-Porsche 914 , a rather bizarre roadster with optical borrowings from the then popular beach buggies .

1974–1976 the Caruna Staccato was built with a self-supporting body and Porsche 911 mechanics. Special features of this car were the retractable rear window, cornering lights and pop-up headlights. It was a little more reserved with a wedge-shaped profile . It was first exhibited in 1977 at the Geneva Motor Show; this was also the first presentation of the brand to an international audience.

Conversions

Two-door convertibles

At the end of the 1970s, Caruna offered convertible conversions for:

  • Datsun 180B SSS, delivered in 1977
  • Pontiac Firebird

Four-door convertibles

The intervention included extensive reinforcements. Such a conversion cost from CHF 100,000 - at that time almost the new price of a Rolls-Royce . In 1984, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands commissioned such a conversion of a Mercedes-Benz 380 SEL with an electro-hydraulically operated convertible top. The vehicle was the tenth of twelve that Caruna converted and is still part of the royal fleet to this day. It has recently been restored. Allegedly, the roof closes within 25 seconds.

Open Air Targa Coupé

For the Targa Coupés Caruna Open Air , the company assumed series-production Mercedes-Benz Coupés of the then current E- and S-Class. They received reinforcements in the roof and the floor pan to compensate for the interference with the self-supporting structure. Caruna also built water channels around the new roof openings and delivered the vehicle TÜV-tested and with sample reports. An Open Air Targa conversion cost from CHF 12,600 without a vehicle. The following were available:

The reverse principle, namely to put a fixed roof on a convertible instead of cutting open a coupé, was applied by Caruna in 1976 to a Targa coupé based on a Peugeot 504 V6 convertible . The rear window can also be removed here; In addition, the customer requested modifications to the radiator grille (which visually approximated the vehicle to a Lancia ) and double round Ferrari tail lights. This unique piece still exists.

From 1994 Caruna developed automatic sliding door drives and electric cassette running boards for minibuses. These products were successfully sold all over Switzerland.

literature

  • Rudolf Heitz (managing editor): Auto catalog 1985. Vereinigte Motor-Verlage GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart 1984.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b pantheonbasel.doc: exhibition catalog “Schweizer Carrossiers”. P. 26.
  2. ↑ a b moneyhouse (accessed June 24, 2017)
  3. ↑ Car catalog. No. 28. Vereinigte Motor-Verlage, Stuttgart 1984/85, pp. 136-137.
  4. ↑ a b allcarindex.com: Switzerland: Caruna Spider.
  5. ↑ allcarindex.com: Switzerland: Caruna Staccato.
  6. ↑ a b c d Mercedes-Benz Exotenforum: Brochures / Caruna Cabrio information.
  7. ↑ alopnik.com: Dutch Royal Family restores 1985 Mercedes 380 SEL Caruna.
  8. ↑ Zwischengas.com : An unusual Peugeot Special from Caruna.