Dannenhauer & Stauss, Coachbuilding workshop in Stuttgart, Germany.
Dannenhauer & Stauss was a coachbuilding workshop in Stuttgart that created sports cars using Volkswagen chassis and components from dealers throughout Europe. The handmade construction involved shaping metal sheets on templates, with doors manufactured separately in a pressing facility.
The company was founded in 1950 by Gottfried Dannenhauer and Kurt Stauss, producing approximately 100 convertibles based on the Volkswagen Beetle through 1957. This establishment came during Germany's rapid reconstruction period when small craft workshops were re-emerging across the country.
The workshop embodied the resurgence of German automotive craftsmanship following the war, with workers returning to hands-on trades that had nearly disappeared. This small operation showed how local builders could customize vehicles to match personal preferences rather than mass-produced designs.
A visit offers insight into handcraft manufacturing techniques that have largely disappeared today. The small workshop demonstrates how personalized car building operated under limited production conditions.
Each Sportkabriolett from this workshop featured a split-windscreen design that immediately distinguished these cars from others on the road. This signature detail remained consistent across all production years and became the brand's most recognizable feature.
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