bb car

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bb GmbH & Co Auto KG
legal form Limited partnership
founding 1973 (as bb Auto Exklusiv Service KG )
resolution 1986
Reason for dissolution insolvency
Seat Frankfurt am Main , Germany
management Rainer Buchmann
Number of employees
  • 16 (1979)
  • 40
Branch Vehicle tuning , automobile manufacturers
Website www.bb-frankfurt.com

bb Rainbow Porsche Turbo Targa
Rainer Buchmann, 2014
bb Magic Top Mercedes-Benz
bb VW Polo Paris

The bb GmbH & Co KG car was in Frankfurt -based tuner of automobiles. In addition to the tuning area, the company also produced at least one independent vehicle. In individual publications, the company is shortened to bb , b + b , B + B or Buchmann . In the 1970s and 1980s, bb mainly revised models from Porsche , Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen . The focus was on body tuning. The bb cars were mostly one-offs, the specific design of which was based on customer requirements. In the 1970s and 1980s bb became famous with spectacular production vehicles "that were far ahead of their time". However, the company was unable to maintain its position on the market over the long term. In 1986 it was dissolved due to bankruptcy. 28 years later - in 2014 - company founder Rainer Buchmann began to re-establish the bb brand .

Company history

bb was founded in 1973 as bb Auto Exklusiv Service KG and represented by Rainer Buchmann, who is described in some publications as a former mechanical engineering , business administration and psychology student.

Exclusive conversions

Since 1973 bb has modified Porsche models at the customer's request. Initially, the company limited itself to upgrading the interior of the car individually and offering special paintwork. The offer included leather upholstery; individual copies are said to have been provided with gold-plated dashboards. In 1976 bb installed the complete Porsche 930 ("911 Turbo") drive technology in a Porsche 911 SC Targa and reinforced the Targa body with a steel cross member under the dashboard and in the area of ​​the rear passenger compartment. It was not, as described in many publications, a conversion of the coupé into a Targa. Such a conversion would not have been technically possible, as the Targa and Coupé are different bodies that cannot be converted to the other design. bb painted the converted vehicle in the rainbow colors of the instant camera manufacturer Polaroid . Polaroid exhibited the car that has become known as the “Rainbow Porsche” at Photokina 1976 on its stand.

bb Flatnose Porsche

From 1976 bb expanded the range to include body modifications. The conversions were done by hand; a plumber employed by bb made the sheet metal parts individually. One of the company's specialties was the synthesis of various Porsche body concepts in a single model. In particular, a sports car called Flatnose Porsche became known , which was technically based on the Porsche 930 ("911 Turbo"), but had a flat front end based on the Porsche 928 and had the roof section of the 911 Targa (including the rear panoramic window). This model first appeared in 1977 and was manufactured in larger numbers in the following years. Cabriolet and Targa versions of the Porsche 928 were also created.

Buchmann also dealt with products from VW. VW Polo and Golf models in particular were modified here, with the changes affecting the body and interior.

In 1979 there were 16 employees in the company.

At the beginning of the 1980s, bb also accepted orders for the redesign of Mercedes-Benz vehicles. These included, among other things, convertible versions for the coupés of the S-Class at the time , with ten cars also being produced with a movable metal roof (“Magic Top”). Particularly noticeable was a red painted Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman, which was converted with free-standing fenders in the style of the 1930s. bb extended the wheelbase by 70 cm and increased the track width by 30 cm. The client for the one-off was the Saudi Arabian King Khalid ibn Abd al-Aziz .

At the beginning of the 1980s, the company was renamed . The company name was now bb GmbH & Co Auto KG .

Motor vehicle production

The company was also active in the production of independent vehicles. One source describes it as a manufacturer of sports cars and tuning , i.e. sports car manufacturers and tuning companies. In 1978 Buchmann hired the former Porsche employee Eberhard Schulz . The “dream car” CW 311 was built on the basis of the preparatory work by Schulz . Other sources confirm the production of this car by bb Buchmann. At that time it was one of the most streamlined and fastest sports cars in the world with a top speed of over 300 km / h.

Technical innovations

Buchmann has had its own development center since the late 1970s, in which - unusual for the industry - some technical innovations were designed. This included car electronics in the broader sense, such as a central locking system operated with an infrared transmitter , distance warning systems for parking and digital dashboards . The digital driver information system "Dinfos", presented at the International Motor Show in 1979, was divided into three areas and displayed the most important data such as speed and mileage in the middle, while secondary values ​​were normally displayed in the two areas on the side, as long as there was no dangerous incident such as Loss of oil pressure or risk of black ice were temporarily visualized in the main panel. Long before metallic paints were introduced into series production, Buchmann painted ten VW Golfs with Iriodin pearlescent paints developed for him by Merck in 1978 . In 1980 Buchmann presented the “futuro” safety motorcycle. In addition to a full aerodynamic fairing, the prototype had a safety chassis that was innovative for the time. In 1983 Buchmann registered a patent for a multifunction steering wheel and a talking cockpit.

Media coverage

The press received the developments of bb with interest. In spring 1977, the Rainbow Porsche appeared for the first time on the front page of auto motor und sport . The same magazine, but also Road & Track from the USA showed the CW 311 on the cover. Playboy , Der Spiegel , Stern , sport auto and the magazine hobby devoted several-page articles to bb products.

Clever actions, such as a trip for journalists from Frankfurt to Paris carried out together with Vogue magazine , ensured bb a high media presence.

Bankruptcy 1986

In the mid-1980s, sales at Buchmann fell as well as in the entire tuning industry. The decline in the US dollar rate affected both US customers and customers from the Middle East. In the spring of 1986 bb went bankrupt. Shortly before, vehicle sales had been expanded to include Japan. At peak times, Buchmann had over 40 employees. After his company went bankrupt, Rainer Buchmann worked as a management consultant for a long time.

New start 2014

Rainer Buchmann at the unveiling of the bb Moonracer Porsche

In September 2014, Rainer Buchmann started a comeback in the automotive industry in Frankfurt am Main. Buchmann presented the "bb Moonracer", a reinterpretation of the rainbow turbo targa from 1976 based on a 1980 Porsche Targa. The power of the air-cooled six-cylinder boxer turbo engine has been increased to 330 hp (243 kW). A tablet computer in the center console and a removable glass roof are part of the vehicle's equipment.

Patents

Movie and TV

Both the bb Turbo Targa and the CW 311 made an appearance in the film Car-napping - ordered - stolen - delivered in 1980.

Participation in motor shows

bb was repeatedly represented with a booth at renowned automobile exhibitions, including at the following events:

literature

  • Gerold Lingnau : bb - Rainer Buchmann. Innovation, design, emotion. Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2014, ISBN 978-3-86852-938-8 .
  • Peter Vann, Dirk Maxeiner: The most beautiful cars in the world. 2nd Edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-87943-964-8 , pp. 108-124.

Web links

Commons : bb Auto Exclusive Service  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Marián Šuman-Hreblay: Automobile Manufacturers Worldwide Registry. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, London 2000, ISBN 0-7864-0972-X , p. 53. (English)
  2. ↑ a b c d e Klaus Freund (editor-in-chief): Auto catalog 1982. Vereinigte Motor-Verlage, Stuttgart 1981, p. 30.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Rudolf Heitz (managing editor): Auto catalog 1983. Vereinigte Motor-Verlage, Stuttgart 1982, p. 30.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Peter Vann, Dirk Maxeiner: The most beautiful cars in the world. 2nd Edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-87943-964-8 , p. 108 ff.
  5. ↑ a b c Rudolf Heitz (managing editor): Auto catalog 1984. Vereinigte Motor-Verlage, Stuttgart 1983, p. 30.
  6. ↑ Oldtimer Markt, issue 11/2014, p. 8.
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Where it goes. An outsider company is presenting at the motor show in Frankfurt what the large corporations do not yet have to offer: electronic fittings that display automatically . In: Der Spiegel . No. 37 , 1979, pp. 257-258 ( online ).
  8. ^ Image of the Mercedes-Benz 600 revised by bb , accessed on September 26, 2014.
  9. ↑ sport auto : racing and sports car catalog 1979. Vereinigte Motor-Verlage, Stuttgart 1979. p. 103.
  10. ↑ a b Friedbert Weber: It all started with the “Rainbow Targa”. In: auto-presse.de. September 18, 2014, accessed on November 16, 2014 : "Almost three decades after leaving the car business, Rainer Buchmann has now reported back with a bang."
  11. ^ A b Rudolf Heitz (managing editor): Auto catalog 1985. Vereinigte Motor-Verlage, Stuttgart 1984, pp. 12-16.
  12. ↑ Remote control for the car . In: Der Spiegel . No. 9 , 1982 ( online ).
  13. ↑ a b Jochen Remmert: The fashion designer among the car tuners is designing again. Rainer Buchmann has rebuilt his spectacular rainbow Porsche. And the car tuner is also taking orders again . In: FAZ , December 20, 2014, Wirtschaft, p. 37.
  14. ↑ Have a good flight . In: Der Spiegel . No. 36 , 1980, pp. 233-234 ( online ).
  15. ↑ auto motor und sport , issue 3/1977
  16. ↑ Historical press articles on bb-frankfurt.de ( Memento from November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ); accessed on November 14, 2014
  17. ↑ Buchmann cars are now also available in Japan . In: Auto Motor und Sport , issue 17/1985, p. 150
  18. ↑ Stefan Schlagenhaufer: Tuning Guru Buchmann back! In: Bild (Frankfurt edition). September 19, 2014, accessed November 16, 2014 .
  19. ↑ Roger Gloor: All Cars of the 70s. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-613-02440-3 , p. 399.
  20. ^ Rudolf Heitz (editor-in-chief): Auto Katalog 1986. Vereinigte Motor-Verlage, Stuttgart 1985, p. 16.
  21. ↑ Great story . auto-und-modell.de; Retrieved November 18, 2014
  22. ^ Klaus Ackermann: Extravagant vehicles. Design under the sign of the rainbow . In: Offenburg Post , September 20, 2014.
  23. ↑ Bruno von Rotz: Zwischengas: bb and Rainer Buchmann - talented salesman, motivator and visionary . November 10, 2014 (book review).