Colani (make of car)

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Colani
Colani
Colani
interior

Colani was a German car brand in the 1960s.

Brand history

Automobiles designed by Luigi Colani were marketed under the brand name Colani . Production ran from 1964 to 1968 and took place at Canadur GmbH in Berlin . A total of around 360 copies were made.

vehicles

The Colani GT is a kit car . To the floor pan of a Volkswagen Beetle a body made was plastic mounted. The two-seaters were available as both a coupe and a roadster .

The body consists of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GRP) on the basis of polyester resin ("Vestopal" from the Hüls chemical works). This material is very light and easy to care for. The weight saving is considerable. The car manufacturer Heinz Kühle had difficulties with the procurement of VW chassis. The then CEO of VW, Heinrich Nordhoff , prevented new Beetle chassis from being supplied to small manufacturers. So Canadur, like Rometsch and other manufacturers of special VW bodies, had to acquire complete Beetles on the used car market and sell the superfluous bodies to car insurers, for example.

The three parts (passenger cell, front and engine hood) of the plastic body were placed on the ( platform frame with axles , engine and gearbox). The ready-to-drive Colani GT weighed 550 kg, around 170 kg less than a Beetle. There are no doors, and a plastic roof with hinged doors, a foldable fabric top and a transparent plexiglass dome that could be folded back to get in and out were available.

"With this concept, Colani anticipated the principle of fun cars, which the automotive industry would only take up decades later."

literature

  • Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 , Colani chapter.
  • George Nick Georgano (Editor-in-Chief): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile, Volume 1, A – F. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , (English).
  • Thomas Braun: Durchgeboxt - The great encyclopedia of small series and self-made vehicles based on VW Beetles and buses. With many Porsche examples. Delius Klasing / Schneider Media, Bielefeld 2018, ISBN 978-3-667-11444-0 , p. 188: "Colani GT (D)", table of contents.
  • Alexander Fritz: Colani GT. A VW with a Berlin nose. Hollinek, Purkersdorf 2018, ISBN 978-3-85119-375-6 , table of contents.

Web links

Commons : Colani  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Thomas Braun: durchgeboxt: The great encyclopedia of small series and self-made on VW Beetle and bus basis . Schneider Media, 2018, ISBN 978-3-667-11444-0 , pp. 188 ( Colani GT (D)).
  2. ↑ Gerti Draxler: GT body kit for VW Beetle 1200. In: Dorotheum , May 18, 2010.