Body beautiful?

Ok, so we all know beauty is in the eye of the beholder – but Frankfurt styling house bb certainly pushed the boundaries of taste in the mid-‘80s with their Breadvan Polo and Mk2 Golf. So go on, tell us what you think about these mad Euro-look creations…

Gunter Artz from Hannover-based Autohaus Nordstadt was one of the first to pioneer the Euro look back in the 1970s, with the likes of Kamei taking things a step further by making available a whole raft of good quality bolt-on body panels to instantly spruce up the look of various VWs. Zender, BBS and a host of others then followed suit with their own blend of accessory-based customising, allowing owners with a decent socket set to instantly transform an otherwise mundane Dub into something altogether more exotic.

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Today, of course, madly body-kitted cars can look a bit naff and for that reason they are largely laughed at by the scene queens – which is a shame really given their importance in terms of VW tweaking history. Especially as the accessories were manufactured by top drawer German firms, many of which had their roots in motorsport, and the parts were officially available from VW dealerships…

The next logical step for those wanting to stand out from the crowd, but not always in a good way to be honest, was to go to a professional styling house. While the Italian’s were the masters of creating some of the most futuristic creations, the Germans were a tad more down to earth – and one of the most notable names involved with customising VWs several decades ago was an outfit called bb – based in Frankfurt.

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Formed in the mid-1970s by brothers Rainer and Dieter Buchmann, much of their early work was done on Porsche 911s with a Turbo Targa model grabbing the headlines in 1978 and a 928 Cabrio and 928-fronted 911 Targa causing just as much of a stir a few years later. Quality was the key to these projects, as was sympathy to the original when it came to finish and detail, and for this reason most of the bodywork remodeling was done using sheet steel, not plastic.

As well as transforming the exterior look, the Buchmann brothers also started to develop ultra modern dashboards, exploiting the latest in micro technology and digital displays. Remember, this was in the era of Sinclair ZX80s – so they were really treading new ground at the time. Indeed, so forward thinking was the firm that Blaupunkt entered into a collaboration to develop an integrated in-car sound system.

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While the Porsche projects undoubtedly had their merits, bb’s work on the Mk2 Golf (above) and Polo Breadvan (below) was arguably less pleasing on the eye. In fact, they were bordering on the bizarre. While the Mk2 looked like a fake Rallye with its bulging arches, the Polo, well – frankly it just looked silly.

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There were two models of the bb Polo, the Prisma (later renamed the Carat) and the Paris. The former was meant to appeal to the futuristic, technically minded younger buyer, while the Paris was angled towards elegance and classy understatement. To set them apart, the Carat featured a totally digital dash and distinctive geometrically prismatic exterior body styling, while the approach for the Paris was far more chic.

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Both models shared a sophisticated Blaupunkt 4×15 watt stereo system which included no fewer than 16 speakers. Meanwhile, body-wise, special paintwork appeared to change colour depending on the viewing angle, accompanied by front, rear and side skirts as well as colour coded Pirelli wheels. The price of the Paris when new? A cool 42,000DM no less – roughly £26,500. And that was in 1983!

It’s thought the vast majority were sold to Saudi Arabia although we’re aware of a Polo Paris model selling on German eBay in 2012, a car that reportedly belonged to one of bb’s founders. Sadly, we don’t have a record of what it sold for.

Pointless it may have been, but in terms of rarity value bb’s Dub creations are right up there. What’s more their cars mark a period of Euro styling history that while we’re perhaps not particularly proud of, shouldn’t be forgotten…

Ian

The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage

 

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