Niche Motoring: Wiesmann GT

By Feann Torr - 12/05/2005

The Wiesmann GT is a retro-styled sports coupe built in Germany that uses BMW underpinnings to provide an exclusive, evocative and very rapid mode of transport.

This GT is a triumph of small engineering firms that bring to market niche and low volume vehicles, and following the sale of the first BMW powered 6-cylinder Wiesmann-Roadster in 1993, the company now has a hard top version with beefier 8-cylinder power.

Wiesmann first showed a prototype of the GT coupe at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2003, and today it is a reality; a very retro-looking but technologically modern design.

Described by the European niche carmaker as "exceptionally out of the ordinary" the GT coupe was entered into the 24-hour Nürburgring race in 2004, and the telemetry gathered from this outing was crucial in finalising the car's design, which you can see now in the images.

The visually old-school coupe is devastatingly fast, powered by a 4.8-litre V8 supplied by BMW. It generates 270kW of power @ 6100rpm and maximum torque is 490Nm @ 3600rpm.

Not really remarkable on its own - the same engine powers models like the BMW X5 4.8is - it becomes a forceful mill when dumped in a lightweight chassis, and the Wiesmann coupe weighs just 1250kg.

With the 270kW power output and low overall weight, the niche German coupe can reach speeds of up to 280km/h and will dispatch the 0-100km/h sprint in 4.6 seconds, which is very rapid.

Much of the mechanical componentry of the Wiesmann GT is pulled from the much older Roadster, and the engine's power is tamed by a 6-speed manual gearbox, though the small German car company says that from October in 2005, it will offer BMW's SMG, or sequential manual gearbox.

Not sure whether it will be the older 6-speed or the 7-speed version from the M5, but either way it'll probably knock another tenth of a second of the coupe's 0-100km/h times.

Wiesmann Auto-Sport, which was founded in 1988 by brothers Martin and Friedhelm Wiesmann, state that the GT is the "success of our concept to create a synthesis of nostalgic design and ultra-modern technology" and it certainly looks very different to anything else you would normally see in day to day traffic.

The visual style emulates sports cars of the 1940s with big bulging eyes for headlights, a Jaguar-like grille, AC Cobra rear wheel arches and eye-catching wheels. The body panels are built from high-quality carbon fibre reinforced composite materials, while the frame that supports the suspension and body is made of aluminium, which keeps the weight down and torsional rigidity up.

Other features of the 4.8-litre V8-powered sports car from Dülmen in Germany include heavy duty brakes: 4-piston fixed calipers with 332mm rotors on the front axle, 328mm rotors for the rear axle. The Wiesmann GT measures 4.23 metres long, 1.85 metres wide and sits rather low to the ground, which allows it reach its top speed, measuring just 1.16 metres high.

Bold 20-inch alloy wheels are standard equipment, but Wiesmann can supply bigger wheels if need be. Just don't ask how much. The wheels were chosen for maximum grip, with big 245/35 ZR 20s on the front rims and bigger 275/30 ZR 20s for the rear rims.

Wiesmann is pretty serious about its cars, so much so that it even pays BMW engineers to ensure the quality of its workmanship and there's no denying the 2005 Wiesmann GT's head-turning power either, and more than that it's pretty quick too, and will give new Porsche 911 Carrera's a good run for their deutschmarks.

When you thought the likes of GM, Ford and Volkswagen had all but taken over the automotive world, buying up many of the smaller automakers and foisting their own philosophies and cost cutting measures onto them in order to boost shareholder profits, it's comforting to know that small companies like Wiesmann Auto-Sport still exist and still have a sincere passion and the enthusiasm to build drivers cars.