Wiesmann founder gets back to business, announces Boldmen CR4 Roadster

German carmaker Wiesmann emerged in 1993, made around 1,700 retro-themed sports cars (watch the video for an example), and went insolvent in 2013. It is now returning to the market under a new name: Boldmen Automobile.

It is Friedhelm Wiesmann, one of the Wiesmann brothers, who initiated the comeback. He left the original company ten years ago, and has now decided to re-open it in Welden, Bavaria. Its first car will be a roadster model named the CR4.

The abbreviation stands for ‘Carbon Roadster, 400 horsepower’. The two-seater sports an all-carbon body with a foldable cloth top. It also sports some easily recognizable Wiesmann details, such as the radiator grille.

A three-liter six-pot turbo made by BMW toils under the hood in tandem with an eight-speed automatic transmission, driving it with 408 PS (402 hp / 300 kW) and 610 Nm (450 lb-ft) of torque.

Curiously enough, at 4,420 mm long, 1,930 mm wide and 1,280 mm tall, the car has nearly the same proportions, outlines, roof and doors as the G29 BMW Z4. Earlier Wiesmann models were also based on BMW cars, but the CR4 looks like it isn’t even trying to conceal the fact.

The car weighs in at roughly 1.5 metric tons (3,300 lbs) and sprints 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 3.9 seconds. It has a top speed of 250 km/h (155 miles per hour). The range-topping BMW Z4 M40i weighs 1.63 metric tons (3,594 lbs), uses the same engine and concludes the standard sprint in 4.5 seconds.

Prices start from €185,000, nearly tripling the €62,700 base price of the Z4 M40i.