Body designer Erdmann & Rossi is back

110 years after it was born, the long-established Berlin brand has been given a new lease of life

Berlin, 1 December 2016 – The renowned German body designer for luxury automobiles, Erdmann & Rossi, is back after a period of more than 60 years. Body builders around the world can now recreate Erdmann & Rossi models under licence.

The licensor is Automobile Erdmann & Rossi Licensing Services KG, based at Berlin Kurfürstendamm. Selected body builders can acquire the right to put original replicas of Erdmann & Rossi bodies on historical chassis. The company is deliberately focusing on recreating models that were lost during the war and post-war period. All vehicles are supplied with a detailed certificate to document the quality features and vehicle’s development history. The first licensed vehicle has already been sold.

“Erdmann & Rossi is an important part of German automotive history. I am delighted that we have been able to work with our licensing partners to give a luxury Berlin brand with long-standing tradition a new lease of life”, explains Managing Director Dr Arthur Waldenberger. “We see a trend towards individual historical luxury vehicles around the world. With our help, our partners can create expertly crafted, high-quality originals. Our goal is to re-establish Erdmann & Rossi as a brand for connoisseurs in the luxury segment”.

About Erdmann & Rossi

In 1906, historic Erdmann & Rossi began specialising in the modification and construction of bodies for the era’s luxury automobile manufacturers, including Mercedes, Minerva and Hispano-Suiza. International high nobility, show stars, politicians and industrialists all ordered their vehicles from Erdmann & Rossi. After 1918, the company expanded its range of bodies for vehicles such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Maybach, Horch, Bugatti and BMW.

In the 1930s, Erdmann & Rossi was the official representative of Rolls-Royce and Bentley for Germany and had become firmly established as one of the world’s leading body builders, becoming something of a legend and highly regarded for the design and perfection of its bodies. The company played a significant role in the German touring car style of the time, and played with art deco influences, as well as Bauhaus styles. Under head designer Johannes Beeskow, Erdmann & Rossi began experimenting with streamlining as early as the early 1930s. The highly avant-garde shapes for the time impressed customers. By the end of the 1930s, streamliners had become a global trend.

The production facilities of Erdmann & Rossi in Berlin Halensee were severely damaged during bombardment in 1943, and the idea of continuing production of luxury bodies was unthinkable. In 1949, Erdmann & Rossi produced a final body based on a Maybach chassis. The company then decided to cease body construction owing to a shrunken market for individual luxury bodies.

Since 2011, the “Erdmann & Rossi” brand has been protected in various countries. More than 60 years after constructing its final luxury body, Automobile Erdmann & Rossi KG now has a fresh start.

For further information, please visit www.erdmann-rossi.com.

Contact person

Dr. Arthur Waldenberger
Automobile Erdmann & Rossi
Licensing Services GmbH & Co. KG
Kurfürstendamm 45
10719 Berlin
Tel.  +49 (30) – 88 921 70 50

Mail: info@erdmann-rossi.com
www.erdmann-rossi.com