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Wiesmann closes its doors, probably forever

German sports car maker Wiesmann has reportedly closed its doors for good, having ceased manufacturing, engineering and maintenance operations on March 31.


Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf quotes an employee of the specialty German sports car maker, who said of Wiesmann: "the factory, the maintenance shop - everything is closed".

The embattled company applied for insolvency in August, but filed to have that application dismissed in November due to the "abolition of the insolvency reasons". In mid-December Wiesmann announced it had found an investor and wanted to recommence its insolvency filing, but things appear to have taken a turn south since then with several suppliers and contractors claiming to be owed various sums by Wiesmann.

Wiesmann was founded in 1988 by Martin and Friedhelm Wiesmann in Dulmen, Germany. It started out producing hardtops for convertibles before beginning production of retro-styled coupes and convertibles with fibreglass bodies in 1993. The company ran into trouble when its ambitious expansion plans floundered during the height of 2009's global financial crisis when the market for 70,000-plus euro ($104,000) sports cars shrank rapidly.

The company employed 125 people at its height; now there are just six, and they are expected to be gone by the end of 2014.

Wiesmann unveiled the GT MF4-CS (pictured above) at the 2013 Geneva motor show. Created to celebrate the company's 25th anniversary, the GT MF4-CS was intended to be a limited edition of 25 units retailing for around 190,000 euro ($283,000). Under the car's long bonnet was a 309kW/400Nm 4.0-litre V8 hooked up to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Tipping the scales at 1350kg, the GT MF4-CS claimed to race from 0-100km/h in 4.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 293km/h.

During its lifetime Wiesmann produced about 1700 cars, with each taking around 350 hours to build. As all Wiesmann models featured high-performance engines and transmissions supplied by BMW, Wiesmann owners are able to go to BMW dealers for servicing and maintenance.

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