A rare and distinct BMW-powered Veritas cabriolet bodied by Spohn. Quietly hidden in Lee Roy Hartung collection for nearly 50 years and carefully preserved. An extraordinary interpretation of American Jet Age styling, built by one of Europe’s most adventurous coachbuilders.
The combination of Veritas and Spohn created some of the most distinct German sports cars of the period. Hermann Spohn Karosseriebau may be lesser known among traditional German coachbuilders, but their flamboyant designs are particularly memorable. Much of their earlier work focused on Maybach chassis, while later projects (through the 1950s) centered on customizing American cars belonging to US Servicemen stationed in Germany. Inspired by Harley Earl’s Motorama dream cars, Spohn interpreted American trends in a particularly extravagant manner, employing giant fins, vents, and layers of chrome trim. While most of Spohn’s production work with Veritas is relatively subdued, our featured car is one extraordinary exception. Chassis number 5089 started life as a standard Veritas SP90 cabriolet, purchased new by an unknown individual. Very early in its life, the car returned to Spohn, where it received extensive modifications to the customer’s wishes. They created an outlandish machine combining elements of the original design with over-the-top fins and jet-age styling cues inspired by the GM Le Sabre show car. Period press reports suggest turquoise as the original color, and photos show it with Cadillac-style sombrero hub caps, wide-whites, chrome rear wheel spats, and the distinct front end treatment with the near-horizontal faux grille and faired-in headlamps.
