Wiesmann (company)

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Wiesmann Sports Cars GmbH

logo
legal form Company with limited liability
founding 1988 (as Wiesmann GmbH )
Seat Dülmen , North Rhine-Westphalia
management Roheen Berry (Managing Director)
Branch Automobile manufacturer
Website www.wiesmann.com

Wiesmann is an automobile production company founded in 1988 in Dülmen in Westphalia . Under the leadership of the brothers Friedhelm and Martin Wiesmann, Wiesmann GmbH produced hardtops for convertibles from 1988 , and its own roadster series models from 1993 . After bankruptcy in 2014, Wiesmann was taken over by British investors Roheen and Sahir Berry in 2016. Roheen Berry is the managing director of the current Wiesmann Sports Cars GmbH .

history

The company was founded in 1988 by the brothers Friedhelm and Martin Wiesmann, whose parents owned a car dealership in Dülmen. The brothers pursued the idea of ​​building a classic roadster with the image of German quality work. After the initial production of hardtops, the first series model, the Roadster MF30, was manufactured in 1993 as an open two-seater with a folding roof and 231 hp engine output. The following MF3 had higher performance values ​​with the same chassis. After twelve years of building exclusively open vehicles, a closed model was presented for the first time at the IAA in 2003 , the GT MF4 as a coupé with two seats. Further model variants followed in the following years.

Wiesmann company building with roof construction in gecko shape 2010

In October 2007 the company completely moved to its newly built location within Dülmen. The roof of the new glass company building was essentially built from a striking wooden frame in the form of an oversized gecko , whose tail protrudes over the roof. The gecko as the logo of the Wiesmann vehicles is intended to symbolize that the cars “stick to the street like geckos to the wall”.

In spring 2012 Friedhelm Wiesmann withdrew from the operational business of the sports car manufacturer and became head of the Wiesmann Alps base in Munich. Martin Wiesmann left the company in July 2012. Rolf Haferkamp became the new managing director. From 1988 to 2013, Wiesmann GmbH produced around 1,600 sports cars.

The gecko, logo of the Wiesmann vehicles

On August 14, 2013, the management asked the District Court Münster a bankruptcy procedure . On November 28, 2013, the management applied for the bankruptcy proceedings to be discontinued due to the fact that the reason for insolvency ceased to exist. On January 10, 2014, the creditors rejected the restructuring plan, which provided for the conversion of the company, which had previously been run as a GmbH, into a stock corporation. On Monday, January 20, 2014, the Wiesmann creditors met again to consult. After a four-hour consultation, they arranged for the liquidator to initiate the liquidation . On Monday, May 5, 2014, the auction was brought to a close, in which the objects of the bankruptcy estate had previously been auctioned. On December 2, 2015, the creditors' meeting decided to approve the financial investors Roheen and Sahir Berry from London to take over the company for EUR 5.7 million. They announced that they would continue to build sports cars at the Dülmen location and market them internationally under the name Wiesmann Automotive GmbH . For this purpose, an amount in the double-digit millions is to be invested in development and location.

Since 2013, Martin Wiesmann and a team of former Wiesmann employees have been offering various repair and service work for Wiesmann vehicles as Speed ​​& Moments-Sportwagen GmbH in Münster.

The takeover was finally completed in February 2016. The investors acquired the characteristic company building in the shape of a gecko, the trademark rights and the production company. The new managing director Mario Spitzner was responsible for marketing and sales at the sports car manufacturer Mercedes-AMG from 1990 to 2014 , then as Chief Marketing Officer for the Italian sportswear company Dainese . At the beginning of 2018, Spitzner left the company.

Models

The Wiesmann models were named MF after the first names of the company founders ; the number behind them provides information about the body and engine variants.

Roadster MF30

Wiesmann MF Roadster with classic spoked wheels

The MF30 is the first series model produced by Wiesmann and is one of the classic roadsters , making it an open two-seater with a folding roof . The chassis consists of a hot-dip galvanized tubular steel frame lined with aluminum , the body of a glass fiber reinforced composite material. The engine is the in-line six-cylinder M54B30 from BMW with 2979 cm 3 and a rated output of 170 kW (231 hp). The top speed is 230 km / h, acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h in 5.9 s. The vehicle is 3.86 m long, 1.75 m wide and 1.16 m high and has an empty mass of 1080 kg.

Roadster MF3

Wiesmann Roadster MF3

The MF3 has the same chassis as the MF30 and is its further development with a larger and more powerful engine variant. The six-cylinder in-line engines S50B32 and S54 come from the M3 models of the E36 and E46 from BMW. The engines with a displacement of 3.2 liters produce 236 kW (321 hp) or 252 kW (343 hp). Acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h is 6.0 or 4.9 s, and the top speed is 251 or 255 km / h. The dimensions correspond to those of the MF30 model, but the vehicle is now around 100 kg heavier at 1180 kg. The S50B32 was installed with a 5-speed manual transmission until 2001, from 2001 this was replaced by the more powerful S54 with a 6-speed manual transmission.

GT MF4

Wiesmann GT MF4

After twelve years of building exclusively open vehicles, a closed model was presented for the first time at the IAA in 2003 . The GT MF4 is a coupé with two seats that differed from the roadsters in terms of design, frame and engine. The GT was developed on the basis of the special model "Wiesmann-Renn-GT". The chassis is an aluminum monocoque weighing only 110 kg , the body is made of fiberglass-reinforced composite material. In the first few years, the V8 engine N62B48 from BMW with a displacement of 4799 cm³ and a nominal output of 270 kW (367 hp) was used as the engine. The top speed is 290 km / h, acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h is 4.6 s. From 2010 the Wiesmann GT MF4 was delivered with a BMW V8 biturbo (300 kW / 407 PS) which is also used in the 750i / 650i / 550i. This means that the sports car can reach a top speed of 291 km / h and accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h in 4.6 s. The vehicle weighs just 1385 kg and is 4.23 m long, 1.85 m wide and 1.19 m high.

GT MF4-S

Wiesmann Roadster MF4-S

From 2010 the GT MF4-S was offered with a larger engine. This corresponds to the engine of the Roadster MF4-S, it has 420 HP and a displacement of 3999 cm 3 . The car takes 4.4 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h. It also differs in the exterior design: the indicators on the front are now integrated into the low beam, on the front it has a spoiler lip and on the rear the car now has an extendable wing. In combination with the S-motor there is a 7-speed double clutch transmission (DKG). The GT MF4-S weighs 1310 kg, making it 75 kg lighter than the GT MF4.

GT MF5

Wiesmann GT MF5

At the 2007 IAA, the GT MF5 was presented with the five-liter V10 engine (S85) and 373 kW (507 hp) known from the M5 and M6 at the time. Today it has the BMW V8 twin-turbo engine with a displacement of 4.4 liters and a rated output of 408 kW (555 hp). For the GT MF5 there was an automated seven-speed manual transmission (SMG) from the M5 and M6 with paddles.

Roadster MF5

The Roadster MF5 is the "open version" of the GT MF5. It has the V8 twin-turbo engine known from the BMW X5 M and BMW X6 M with a displacement of 4.4 liters and a rated output of 408 kW (555 hp) (N63) . It takes 3.9 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h.

At the beginning of production there was a "limited" edition, which was based on the legendary BMW 5 liter V10 engine (S85) from the M5 (E60) and M6 (E63) before it was replaced by the V8 twin-turbo engine (N63 ) were replaced after BMW stopped production. Originally 35 units of the V10 version were planned, of which only 33 were built in the end.

Roadster MF4

The Roadster MF4 was presented at the Geneva Motor Show 2009 and was initially equipped with a BMW V8 engine from the GT MF4. Cubic capacity (4799 cm 3 ) and rated power (270 kW, 367 PS) are identical to this, as are the resulting values ​​for the acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h (4.6 s) and the top speed (290 km / h) . The vehicle is 4.24 m long, 1.88 m wide and 1.23 m high and has an unladen weight of 1316 kg.

From the end of 2010 the Roadster MF4 was delivered with a BMW V8 biturbo (300 kW / 407 PS), which was known from the 750i / 650i / 550i. This enables the sports car to reach a top speed of 291 km / h and an acceleration of 0-100 km / h in 4.6 s. The curb weight is 1390 kg.

It was also produced as a more powerful variant, the MF4-S, with only 3999 cm 3 and a nominal output of 309 kW (420 hp). Its acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h is 4.1 s and the top speed is 300 km / h. In combination with the S-motor there is a seven-speed double clutch transmission (DKG). The dimensions correspond to those of the basic model, but the empty weight is only 1310 kg.

Design study Wiesmann Spyder

Design study of the Wiesmann Spyder

Wiesmann showed the design study of the Wiesmann Spyder at the Geneva Motor Show 2012 . The Wiesmann Spyder is powered by a 309 kW (420 hp) engine from the BMW M3. The vehicle accelerates to 100 km / h in less than four seconds and reaches a top speed of 290 km / h.

Web links

Commons : Wiesmann  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Spiegel online from August 14, 2013: Sports car manufacturer from Dülmen: Wiesmann files for bankruptcy
  2. ↑ Wiesmann GmbH press release ( Memento of the original dated December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. dated November 28, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wiesmann.com
  3. ↑ mhu: Wiesmann insolvency: creditors refuse restart. spiegelonline, January 10, 2014, accessed on January 13, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Markus Michalak: The end for Wiesmann: Insolvency administrator prepares to break up the Dülmen-based car maker. www.business-on.de Internet portal, January 21, 2014
  5. ↑ Markus Michalak: Automanufaktur-Insolvenz: Wiesmann remains auctioned. www.business-on.de Internet portal, May 6, 2014
  6. ↑ British investors save car manufacturers: battle for Wiesmann decided. Archived from the original on February 12, 2016 ; accessed on December 2, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Speed ​​& torques. In: www.drehzahlundmomente.de. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Production before restart: Wiesmann takeover is perfect. Retrieved April 18, 2016 .
  9. ↑ Uli Baumann: Wiesmann Comeback: New models with new technology and new materials. http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de , February 8, 2017
  10. ^ Benny O .: Wiesmann comeback: Mario Spitzner becomes managing director. http://www.bimmertoday.de , October 5, 2016
  11. ↑ Dülmener Zeitung, June 15, 2018
  12. ↑ Wiesmann website
  13. ↑ The pure driving pleasure. In: Auto Bild , March 1, 2011.

Coordinates: 51 ° 50 ′ 39.8 ″  N , 7 ° 17 ′ 29.4 ″  E