Full view body

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Mercedes-Benz 300d (W 189): Daimler-Benz described the structure of its model presented in 1957 as a “full-view body”, as a hardtop sedan and with large curved windows at the front and rear, a typical representative of this type of body in two respects.

Full-view body is a term from automotive technology , more precisely from body construction , and was used in the 1950s and 1960s to describe specially designed vehicle bodies . It is not clearly defined; In a broader sense, it is about body structures with particularly large windows for improved all-round visibility and a lighter interior; in a more narrow sense, it is a German-language synonym for the body types hardtop and faux convertible . For current vehicles, however, the term full-view body is no longer used because this type of body design is no longer common, primarily because of today's requirements for crash safety and rollover protection.

Terminology and origin of the term

In the field of passenger cars, there is the alternative term full view body and the full view sedan and full view coupé as subgroups ; sometimes the alternative spellings are full-view body and full-view sedan (with a hyphen ). In many cases, there is only talk of full-view panes that are above-average high and wide and, in particular, do not have an annoying central bar; Such was common for decades, as long as the windshield was formed from two flat panes arranged at an angle to one another and rear windows also consisted of two or three flat or only slightly curved elements.

In the field of commercial vehicles , the terms full-view cab / full-view body exist, for example, for trucks , tractors , forklifts , excavators and crane trucks / gantry cranes , and the full-view body / full-view body for buses .

The terms full-view cabin and full-view cockpit for models with particularly good visibility have existed in aircraft construction , especially in combat aircraft , since the 1930s . In passenger car construction, there were similar concepts in terms of design and designation in a few vehicles from France and Italy from 1926.

Terms and definitions

As is often the case in the field of body construction, there are no binding definitions of the term full-view body and its modifications; also, in practice, no completely uniform use of the term has emerged.

In a broader sense, specialist book authors and journalists use the term and its modifications when there are certain typical body features such as a large, one-piece, often curved windscreen, narrow A- and B-pillars or a large, multi-part or curved rear window, often with wide panoramic windows .

Occasionally, advertising copywriters consciously used the term full-view body to give a new vehicle model a particularly progressive image . The term and its modifications were also used in connection with experimental vehicles and design studies.

In addition to this broad understanding of the term, efforts were made to define the term more narrowly and clearly. DIN 70011 “Superstructures for passenger cars - names and terms” of the German Institute for Standardization , Motor Vehicle Standards Committee, has existed since March 1959 . As a recommendation, it defines the full-view limousine for what was then West Germany including West Berlin under section 7 and the “normal” limousine under section 6 . Both have in common the structure as a “closed passenger car” with “4 or more seats” and “2 or 4 doors”. For the “full view limousine”, however, the following is also required: “4 side windows with frames that can be completely retracted (pivoting windows in the front doors do not need to be retractable) and without central pillars between the side windows”. For the normal “sedan”, however, it says: “4 or more side windows, with fixed frames and central pillars between the side windows”.

Following this, the term full view body , especially the full view sedan , was and is sometimes used as a German-language synonym for the body types hardtop (in the sense of hardtop sedan and hardtop coupé ) and faux convertible , which are characterized by the same features. So it says in Dr. Gabler's traffic dictionary :

"Faux-Cabriolet (French = false convertible), passenger cars with a fixed roof, but without a central side post; The term 'full view limousine' is often used in Germany. "

A Japanese-English-German specialist dictionary from 1984 also translates the hardtop body design with full-view sedan .

However, the understanding of full-view limousine in the narrow sense of the Anglicism hardtop has ultimately not fully established itself in West Germany or in other German-speaking countries.

The term full view body in contemporary publications

Examples of passenger cars with a full-view body from GDR production

The IFA F9 from 1954: "full view body" with a larger, one-piece, curved windshield and a larger, one-piece rear window
  • The IFA F9 before 1954

  • Even with a smaller, two-part windshield with a central bar

  • Even with a smaller, two-part rear window

The term full view body appeared in the GDR in 1954 in connection with the revised body of the IFA F9 . The two-door sedan built in Eisenach , Thuringia , now had a larger, undivided rear window in addition to a continuous, curved front window. With reference to the "curved windshield", in some cases also an originally "two-part, full-width rear window made of safety glass ", several reports already spoke of a "full view limousine" in 1953.

The successor to the F9 , the four-door sedan Wartburg 311 from 1956, was also attested that its pontoon body with one-piece, curved windows at the front and rear offered “full visibility”.

Examples of passenger cars with a full-view body from German production

Large windows and thin roof pillars, therefore sometimes classified as “full-view body”: The body of the Opel Kadett A, built from 1962 .

In the Federal Republic of Germany , Daimler-Benz AG in Stuttgart used the term full-view body from 1957 for the new Mercedes-Benz 300d . Characteristic of the hardtop sedan with large window areas were the lack of a B-pillar (at least in the normal versions without partition ), the elimination of window frames at the four doors, the opportunity every six side windows (except for the small vent windows on the front doors ), as well as the large, arched panoramic rear window. As an advantage of this full-view body, the company cited "increased traffic safety" and that it "gives the passenger the convenience of the closed and open car".

Other publications also adopted the term full-view body in connection with the Mercedes-Benz 300d . With reference to contemporary sources, the so-called “Adenauer-Mercedes” is sometimes also referred to as a “ post-free full-view body with frameless doors and fully retractable side windows”.

In the case of the Mercedes-Benz W 108 sedan series presented in 1965, Daimler-Benz AG also spoke of "full-view glazing made of safety glass" with a "17% larger windshield", and of "full-view glazing" also for the 250 SE models, for example Coupé and convertible .

As early as 1955, according to the vehicle manufacturer Messerschmitt AG, its cabin scooter model KR 200 offered a “full view body hood with a panoramic windshield”.

With the new Opel Kapitän P from model year 1958, a four-door sedan, the newspaper Die Zeit explicitly mentioned “full-view panoramic windows front and rear” as a novelty.

The Opel Kadett A presented in 1962 was also certified as having a "full-view body"; For the Mercedes-Benz 230 SL “Pagoda” with a hardtop attached from 1963, it is noted that “the full view that the Coupe offers (...) is a new contribution to the 'built-in traffic safety' account”.

Examples of passenger cars with a full-view body from other European countries

Two-door hardtop sedan with large windows, sometimes referred to as a “full view sedan”: Hillman Minx Californian from 1955, British production.
Presented in 1957 as a “full view coupé ” and only a few copies built in Switzerland: Porsche 356 Beutler Special Coupé .

The body of the British Hillman Minx Californian from 1955 ( called Hillman Californian in the source ), a small two-door hardtop sedan, was referred to as a "full-view sedan"; it was described as a "modern disguised vehicle" with "large front, side and large, three-part, curved rear windows".

In the spring of 1957, the Swiss body construction company Beutler from Thun presented a two-door notchback vehicle with four full-size seats based on the Porsche 356 A , which was advertised as a "full view coupé" and rated as elegant.

In the case of the British Humber Hawk limousine (saloon) from 1959, special mention was made of “huge full-view panoramic windows front and rear”.

In the four-door sedan version of the French Peugeot 404 , it was emphasized that the “full-view glazing of the self-supporting all-steel body (...) makes the interior of the car particularly bright”.

In the case of the Italian Fiat 124 Sport Spider from 1967, the magazine Der Spiegel spoke of a “full-view folding top”, particularly because of the rear, fully retractable side windows and a large rear window.

The British hardtop coupé Jaguar XJ 6 C from 1975 is also associated with the term “full view” body.

The term full view body in recent publications

The closed version of the FMR Tg 500 , which was sometimes referred to as the “Plexiglas full view coupé”.

To this day, the term full-view body and its variants is occasionally used, especially in relation to passenger cars from the 1950s and 1960s. On the other hand, apart from individual hardtop models, it was not used in later vehicles, as large one-piece front and rear windows had become the automotive standard in the 1970s and later worldwide and the eye-catching panoramic windows had gone out of fashion.

The closed versions of the three-wheeled Messerschmitt / FMR cabin scooter and its four-wheeled version, the FMR Tg 500 , were repeatedly referred to as the “Plexiglas full-view coupe” even after their production ended.

For the Mercedes-Benz 300d , the term “full-view body” was repeatedly taken up in publications in later years, as was the case with the IFA F9 .

With reference to the Opel Olympia Rekord P from the 1957 model year, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its introduction in 2007 , Opel spoke in retrospect of a "new" ... "full-view panoramic windshield" that "protrudes far into the side".

Several sources recalled the front and rear “full-view panoramic windows” of the Opel Kapitän P from 1958 on the occasion of the anniversary “75 years of the Opel Kapitän ”, alongside Opel itself, for example, the Stern magazine and the Internet portal T-online.de .

On the occasion of a special show at the 2013 International Motor Show in Frankfurt am Main, the Opel Kapitän L from 1963 was once again referred to as the “full-view panoramic windshield” and “angled panoramic rear window”, which “resulted in excellent all-round visibility ”So that the“ only slightly arched roof appears to float over the large glass surfaces ”.

Body concepts from abroad that are similar in design and design

The Lumineuse models from Voisin from 1926

Voisin C7 Berline Lumineuse from 1926, conceptually an early forerunner of the full view body

As early as the mid-1920s, the designer Gabriel Voisin was designing lightweight, closed bodies for the Voisin passenger cars manufactured in his company based on the Lumineuse concept. The studied architect , who was successful as a manufacturer of self-designed aircraft before the First World War , constructed a vehicle body whose side and rear windows were unusually large for the conditions at the time and whose roof pillars were comparatively narrow. In addition, the side windows, designed as horizontal sliding windows , along with the frame, could be removed from various vehicles . Voisin called his concept “Lumineuse”, in German : “light” or “bright”.

Between around 1926 and 1932, Avions Voisin equipped various vehicle models with these two- and four-door factory bodies of the Lumineuse type , which were available with different four- and six-cylinder engines, such as the Voisin C7 , C11 , C14 and C23 . Many celebrities appreciated the decidedly strict and angular-looking structures, including the architect Le Corbusier , a close friend of Voisin, as well as Rudolph Valentino , Maurice Chevalier and Josephine Baker .

While practical reasons were paramount in the later concept of the full-view body, for Voisin, aesthetic considerations were in the foreground with the Lumineuse models .

The Vutotal and Vistotal concepts since 1935

Bugatti Type 57 Labourdette Coach Profilée from 1936 with Vutotal front window without A-pillars

From 1935 until production was discontinued in 1939, the Parisian bodywork company Labourdette used the Vutotal concept. On chassis from Bugatti , Delahaye , Renault and Rolls-Royce , among others , sensational bodies were created in open and closed designs, which managed without any A-pillars that obstruct the view. The name Vutotal arose from the French words "vue totale", in German: "whole view".

Labourdette had the development of the French engineer Joseph Vigroux patented. The core element was a special windshield made of particularly thick, specially hardened glass, manufactured by Compagnie de Saint-Gobain . It consisted either of a large flat disc element across the entire width or two flat elements that were slightly angled to each other and glued in the middle without a web. The heavy windshield, which is expensive to manufacture, rested in a rail in the body in front of the dashboard, which effectively extended the bulkhead upwards.

In common with the full-view body, the aim was to improve visibility for the driver and passengers and to dispense with an annoying center bar in the windshield. The French concept, however, was limited to optimizing the windscreen and its surround and continued to use flat rather than curved windows.

A continuation after 1945 was the Vistotal concept . Saint-Gobain had acquired the manufacturing rights in 1939 and passed them on to the Italian company Vetro Italiano di Sicurezza (VIS), which is affiliated with him, based in Milan . In the inter-war period, the body-building company Castagna , which was also located there, had dressed numerous luxury vehicles. From then on, Castagna used the concept , now known as Vistotal , until production was discontinued in 1954 for several sensational one-offs based on Alfa Romeo , Cisitalia and Fiat . The designation Vistotal was derived from the abbreviation VIS and the Italian words “vista totale”, in German again: “whole view”.

A further developed, structurally similar principle without A-pillars, now with curved panes, was also used by the design studies

The Granluce and Grand'vue models from Fiat from model year 1953

Fiat 1900 B Coupé Granluce , an Italian variant of the full-view body

The Turin- based automobile manufacturer Fiat also dealt early on with vehicle models that had particularly large windows. These had the additional designation Granluce in Italy , the addition Grand Light in the English-speaking area and Grand'vue in the rest of the language area . The Italian and French terms in German mean something like "large (out) view", the Italian and English also mean "large window / large window opening". The concept corresponded to that of the full view body.

Specifically, there were hardtop coupés based on the Fiat 1900 with a panoramic rear window

  • 1900 Coupé Granluce (1952 to 1954),
  • 1900 A Coupé Granluce (1954 to 1956) and
  • 1900 B Coupé Granluce (1956 to 1958) and

the hardtop sedan 1900 B Granluce as the second sedan version (1957 to 1958).

There was also a Fiat 1200 Granluce

  • a four-door sedan (1957 to 1960) with “window areas” that were “greatly enlarged” compared to the cheaper parallel model 1100/103 D , and
  • the two-seater sports convertible 1200 Granluce Transformabile (1957 to 1959) with a large panoramic windscreen.

For the 1962 model year, the 2 + 2-seater Granluce 750 coupé based on the Fiat 600 D was added to the official Fiat delivery program, which was built at Carrozzeria Viotti in Turin.

literature

  • Hans Trzebiatowsky: The motor vehicles and their maintenance, a teaching and reference book for motor vehicle craftsmen, motor vehicle electricians, for repair workshops, master courses, technical and driving schools. 10th edition Fachbuchverlag Pfanneberg , Gießen 1961, pages 7, 489, 496 (cited as an unchanged reprint , Heel Verlag (Edition Oldtimer Markt ), Königswinter 2005, ISBN 978-3-89880-498-1 ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans Trzebiatowsky: The motor vehicles and their maintenance, a textbook and reference book for motor vehicle craftsmen, motor vehicle electricians, for repair shops, master courses, technical and driving schools. 10th edition Fachbuchverlag Pfanneberg , Gießen 1961, page 7
  2. ↑ Hans Trzebiatowsky: The motor vehicles and their maintenance, a textbook and reference book for motor vehicle craftsmen, motor vehicle electricians, for repair shops, master courses, technical and driving schools. 10th edition Fachbuchverlag Pfanneberg , Gießen 1961, pages 489 and 496
  3. ↑ Patent dossier for a full-view body with sun and glare protection, especially for road and rail vehicles from 1959 at the Swiss Federal Office of Intellectual Property, Swiss patent documents from the Canton of Zurich (1888 to approx. 1978) , accessed on October 20, 2015
  4. ↑ Fundamentals of Agricultural Engineering , VDI-Verlag , Volume 28, 1978, page 125
  5. ^ Motor calendar of the GDR , Military Publishing House of the German Democratic Republic, 1988, page 26
  6. ^ German Agricultural Society (FRG), DLG-Mitteilungen , DLG-Verlag, Volume 92, 1977, page 1092; Volume 104, Issues 1-12, 1989, page 544
  7. ^ Agriculture Switzerland (magazine), Volume 5, 1992, pages 24 and 370
  8. ^ Der Tiefbau (journal), Volume 15, 1973, page 59
  9. ↑ Technisches Zentralblatt, Mechanical Engineering Department , 1956, page 1493
  10. ↑ Hansa, weekly published central organ for shipping, shipbuilding, port (magazine) , volume 120, 1983, page 302
  11. ↑ Jürgen Koop, Hans-Otto Hanover, Fritz Mechtold, Berthold Heinke, Sicherheit bei Kranen , Springer-Verlag , 2013, page 21
  12. ↑ Saurer - Frontlenker - Car with 26 seats and "full view body" (special / attachment body from Seitz & Co. AG , Kreuzlingen): AR - Automobil Revue (Swiss magazine), newspaper No. 22/1949 of May 11, 1949, page 12 and 19/1951 of April 18, 1951, page 30
  13. ↑ Roderich Cescotti, Combat Airplanes and Reconnaissance: Development, Production, Use and Contemporary History from 1935 to Today , Bernard & Graefe, 1989, pages 64 and 216 ff.
  14. ^ Metall (magazine), Metall-Verlag GmbH, Volume 9, 1955, page 334
  15. ↑ a b Achim Gaier, Personenwagen in der DDR , Volume 1, RM-Buch- und Medienvertrieb, 2000, page 65
  16. ↑ Du (Swiss Journal) , Volume 14, Verlag Conzett & Huber, 1954, page 63
  17. ↑ Karl Kerker, The importance of lending in the export business in terms of sales policy , page 153
  18. ↑ Halwart Schrader , Automobile in Germany 1950–1970 in the reporting of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung for Germany , Heel Verlag, 1988, page 32
  19. ↑ This is the case with the Mercedes-Benz 300d according to Mercedes-Benz Classic Magazine , issue 1/2012, page 18
  20. ↑ So with the Ford XP 500 with "full view structure": European traffic. European transport. Transport européen (magazine), volumes 2–4, 1954, page 183 (English)
  21. ↑ Reproduced for example in the FAKRA manual - standards for motor vehicle construction, Beuth Verlag GmbH, 1969, page 28 and Frank P. Freudenberg, Auto A – Z, Franz Schneider Verlag , Munich / Vienna, 1979, ISBN 3-505 07958-8 , Page 207
  22. ↑ Walter Linden (editor), Dr. Gabler's Verkehrslexikon , 2013, page 480
  23. ↑ Japanese-English-German Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering , 和 ・ 英 ・ 独 機械 術語 大 辞典, 増 補 版, 和 英 独 機械 術語 大 辞典 編纂 委員会, pages 377, 1175 (there with the spelling Vollsicht-Limousine ) and 1378
  24. ↑ Eberhard Kittler , DDR-Automobil-Klassiker , Volume 2, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart, 2003, pages 47 and 48
  25. ^ ATZ Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift , Verlag Franck, Volume 55, 1953, page 312
  26. ↑ The website wiki.w311.info with a picture gallery of the IFA F9 (311) prototype , accessed on October 12, 2015
  27. ↑ Illustrierter Motorsport (magazine), 3rd volume, issue No. 17 (second September issue 1953), trade journal of the motor racing section of the German Democratic Republic, Sportverlag Berlin , 1953, report on motor vehicles at the Leipzig autumn fair (including a photo report for IFA-F8 -Cabriolet with special body and for the IFA F9 full-view sedan)
  28. ↑ Das Auto (magazine), issue 20, 1953, Auto Show des Ostens in Leipzig (including the IFA F9 as a full-view limousine with a large, two-part rear window)
  29. ↑ KFT Motor Vehicle Technology , February 1956 edition, reproduced here
  30. ↑ Daimler-Benz AG , Corporation Annual Reports to Shareholders , 1957, page 15
  31. ↑ Daimler-Benz AG , company announcement, in: Baden-Württemberg (year book), Baden-Württembergische Verlagsanstalt, 1959, page 57
  32. ↑ Press photo from Daimler-Benz AG on the Mercedes-Benz 300d with explanations on the website daimler.com ( memento from October 13, 2015 in the archive.today web archive ), accessed on October 12, 2015
  33. ↑ Comprehensive website on the Mercedes-Benz 300d , especially the Pullman convertible , built in 1960, by Pope Johannes XXIII , accessed on October 12, 2015
  34. ^ ATZ, Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift , Verlag Franck, Volume 59, 1957, pages 328 and 329
  35. ↑ Technisches Zentralblatt, Mechanical Engineering Department , 1958, page 1306
  36. ↑ Website of a vehicle company specializing in the Mercedes-Benz 300d ( memento from August 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on October 12, 2015
  37. ↑ Website of a rental company specializing in the Mercedes-Benz 300d ( memento from January 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on October 12, 2015
  38. ↑ Jürgen Zöllter , in: Die Welt (newspaper), Open Luxury for the Chancellor , May 20, 2007
  39. ↑ dpa / gms, in: Schwäbische Zeitung , Die Karosse des Kanzlers , May 29, 2003
  40. ^ ADAC Motorwelt (magazine) No. 9 from September 1, 1957, page 494/1957
  41. ↑ hwb, in: Hamburger Abendblatt (newspaper), The new Mercedes program , August 9, 1957
  42. ↑ Philipp Deppe, Rolling Splendor: Mercedes-Benz 300 to 300d (W 186 II to W 189), 1951–1962 , August 27, 2011 , accessed on October 12, 2015
  43. ^ Contemporary description of the work on the portal sterntwiete.mparschau.de , accessed on October 12, 2015
  44. ↑ Contemporary Work description on the portal zwischengas.com , accessed on 12 October 2015
  45. ↑ reproduction of a work published on the portal zwischengas.com , accessed on 12 October 2015
  46. ↑ A. B., in: Die Zeit (newspaper), Der neue Opel Kapitän , June 19, 1958, online version available here , accessed on October 12, 2015
  47. ^ ATZ, Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift , Verlag Franck, Volume 64, 1962, page 282
  48. ^ Forum of the Free World (magazine), Verlag Freie Welt, Volume 5, 1963, page 268
  49. ↑ Technisches Zentralblatt, Mechanical Engineering Department , 1955, page 1471
  50. ^ Roger Gloor, All cars of the 50s - 1945–1960 , Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart, 2007, ISBN 978-3-613-02808-1 , pages 288, 399
  51. ↑ Private website for the Porsche 356 with reference to the Beutler full view coupé from 1957 , accessed on October 12, 2015
  52. ↑ Du (Swiss Journal), Volume 19, Issues 1-6, Verlag Conzett & Huber, 1959, page 9
  53. ↑ Technisches Zentralblatt, Mechanical Engineering Department , 1961, page 385
  54. ^ Rudolf Augstein , Der Spiegel (magazine), Volume 21, Issues 24–27, Spiegel-Verlag, 1967, page 129
  55. ↑ Alf Cremers, in: Auto motor und sport , The gentle British way - Jaguar XJ 6 C in the driving report , July 18, 2011, reproduced here
  56. ↑ Hans Christoph Graf von Seherr-Thoss , Die deutsche Automobilindustrie , Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt , 1979, page 450
  57. ↑ In a similar sense: Stadtarchiv Rosenheim, Fritz Fend and his “Flitzer” , accessed on October 12, 2015
  58. ^ Michael Wiedmeier, Helmut Schattenkirchner, Mercedes-Benz 300: Myth in four generations; classic - fashionable - functional - powerful , WKP Agency for Visual Communication, 2004, pages 57, 62, 152
  59. ↑ Opel Media Germany , press release: Dream car for everyone - The Opel Olympia Rekord P1 turns 50 , August 2, 2007 , accessed on October 12, 2015
  60. ↑ Opel Media Germany , press release: On a long journey - 75 years of Opel Kapitän , April 29, 2013 , accessed on October 12, 2015
  61. ↑ Stern.de , Take Me With You - 75 Years of Opel Kapitän , May 22, 2013 , accessed on October 12, 2015
  62. ↑ Marcel Sommer, T-Online , Opel Kapitän - The climbers dreamed of him in Germany during the Adenauer era , May 23, 2013 , accessed on October 12, 2015
  63. ↑ Opel Media Germany , press release: Opel Monza GSE shines at the IAA special show "The Stars of 1983" , September 3, 2013 , accessed on October 12, 2015
  64. ↑ Auction catalog for the Voisin C7 Berline Lumineuse shown above from 1926 on the website of the Bonhams auction house on the occasion of an auction in 2009 , accessed on October 29, 2015 (English)
  65. ↑ Daniel Vaughan on the website conceptcarz.com with articles from December 2008 and April 2014 on the automobile manufacturer Voisin and the Lumineuse concept , accessed on October 29, 2015 (English)
  66. ↑ a b c The history of the Vutotal and Vistotal concepts on the fiatclub.nl website , accessed on October 16, 2015 (Dutch)
  67. ↑ Compilation of post-war vehicles from the coachbuilder Castagna on the private Polish website oldtimer.400.pl , accessed on October 16, 2015
  68. ^ Roger Gloor, All Cars of the 50s - 1945–1960 , Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart, 1st edition 2007, ISBN 978-3-613-02808-1 , pages 150 to 153
  69. ^ Roger Gloor, All Cars of the 60s , Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart, 1st edition 2006, ISBN 978-3-613-02649-0 , page 397