Even though Wiesmann, the German company from Dulmen, was famous across the world, it couldn't sell enough cars to stay in business. As a result, the fancy gecko-shaped factory closed its doors for good in 2014.
However, Wiesmann co-founder Friedhelm Wiesmann says that his baby was bought by a couple of British investors. Who is it - Ariel, Aston Martin or McLaren? Nope, not even close. All we know is somebody called... Berry is the one who purchased the firm, planning to re-start production in 2016.
According to German magazine Automobil Produktion, we're dealing with an Indian-born millionaire by the name of Roheen Berry, who founded a software company called Contec Global. A purchasing price of between 7 and 10 million euros has already been agreed upon.
Roheen and Sahir Berry, his brother, apparently contacted Wiesmann as early as 2012. At the time, they wanted RHD conversions that could be sold in India and England. But due to the fact that the Dulmen automaker went bankrupt a year later, that never happened.
While we know the investors want to restart production, we don't yet know what they will make. Most likely, they are going to start with the GT MF4-CS, a hardcore car that was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in 2013. Costing a whopping €193,000, this swan song packed a 420 horsepower V8 and had a curb weight of only 1,350 kg (2,976 lbs).
While 0 to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds seemed impressive at that time, the game has moved on in recent years. BMW's latest M3 and M4 models are faster thanks in part to a new twin-turbo 3.0-liter engine.
BMW doesn't even make the engine used by the MF4 series anymore. But it does produce a mightier version of the one in the Wiesmann GT MF5. We're talking about the S63 V8, which makes 575 PS as opposed to "just" 555 PS back in the old days. But the best MF5 models cost as much as €300,000, and we wonder if anybody would pay that much for an awkward looking sportscar with an engine from the X5 M. After all, McLaren has that oh-so-new 570S that goes like a dragster.
According to German magazine Automobil Produktion, we're dealing with an Indian-born millionaire by the name of Roheen Berry, who founded a software company called Contec Global. A purchasing price of between 7 and 10 million euros has already been agreed upon.
Roheen and Sahir Berry, his brother, apparently contacted Wiesmann as early as 2012. At the time, they wanted RHD conversions that could be sold in India and England. But due to the fact that the Dulmen automaker went bankrupt a year later, that never happened.
While we know the investors want to restart production, we don't yet know what they will make. Most likely, they are going to start with the GT MF4-CS, a hardcore car that was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in 2013. Costing a whopping €193,000, this swan song packed a 420 horsepower V8 and had a curb weight of only 1,350 kg (2,976 lbs).
While 0 to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds seemed impressive at that time, the game has moved on in recent years. BMW's latest M3 and M4 models are faster thanks in part to a new twin-turbo 3.0-liter engine.
BMW doesn't even make the engine used by the MF4 series anymore. But it does produce a mightier version of the one in the Wiesmann GT MF5. We're talking about the S63 V8, which makes 575 PS as opposed to "just" 555 PS back in the old days. But the best MF5 models cost as much as €300,000, and we wonder if anybody would pay that much for an awkward looking sportscar with an engine from the X5 M. After all, McLaren has that oh-so-new 570S that goes like a dragster.