Wiesmann Roadster
Dlmen is a sleepy little village, a stark contrast to modern German industrial centers even though it's literally a stone's throw from Dusseldorf. What's noteworthy is it's home to Wiesmann Auto-Sport, which late in 2002 celebrated the building of its 300th production vehicle, a seductive little concoction called the Wiesmann Roadster. Combining a modern chassis with a classically styled fiberglass body and powered by a BMW six, the Wiesmann Roadster is an appealing alternative to mainstream sports cars. If you're thinking that you're looking at a German Panoz, you wouldn't be far off the mark. I prefer to think of it as a modern interpretation of the classic 289 Cobra.
I first saw the Wiesmann Roadster in the BBS booth at this year's Geneva show and talked at length with one of the firm's founding brothers, Friedheim Wiesmann, about getting some seat time. He was more than happy to oblige. What wasn't entirely expected was the sophisticated refinement of the final product and its ability to generate maximum smiles per mile.
The Wiesmann facility is what you might expect from a specialty car builder-a single large building dedicated to the fabrication of new vehicles that also doubles as a service center for its previously built cars; several were in the shop receiving upgrades and updates on the day of my visit. The Roadsters are custom built for each individual customer, and during my tour of the facility I saw two frames under construction; a sewing shop where leather was being stitched; a fiberglass facility where the body panels were in various stages of completion; and the final assembly area where several other vehicles were nearing completion.
At Wiesmann Auto-Sport, you're looking at a real car company, albeit small, that builds or fabricates virtually the entire car, except for its BMW drivetrain components. (The second founding brother, Martin, is involved on the engineering side, while a third brother, not involved here, owns Dlmen's local BMW dealership, specializing in ragtops and performance upgrades.)
Having almost every aspect of the building process in-house allows potential buyers to commission a truly one-off Roadster to their exact specifications. Wiesmann started series production of the Roadster in 1993 and now builds approximately 50 cars per year, and it also builds a line of hardtops for a variety of Audi, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Mercedes and Volvo models, leveraging its expertise in fiberglass fabrication.
Handed the keys, I immediately set out, with the top down, for the closest no-limits section of the autobahn. Within 10 minutes I was getting comfortable at more than 150 mph. While the sensation of speed is certainly apparent, especially with the top down, the Roadster felt tight and well composed with a minimum of buffeting in the cabin. As I put the hammer down, and as the tach and speedo climbed, the song of the 337 M-powered horses provided an intoxicating melody, one familiar to those who own an M3.