Carosserie Gläser - the convertible builder from Dresden

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Carosserie Gläser - the convertible builder from Dresden

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Created on May 1, 1975

Text:

Dr. Gerhard Mirsching

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

27

Martin Schatzmann

2

Vesa Eskola

1

Tim Scott - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

1

Bonhams

1

Karissa Hosek - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

1

Archiv Classic Data

1

Wolfram Hamann

1

Josh Sweeney - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

1

Christian Jenny

1

Audi Pressedienst

1

Wolfgang Spitzbarth

1

Archiv

4

43

Porsche 356 Cabriolet Gläser (1952) - at the Concours d'Elégance Schloss Bensberg Classics 2016

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Audi front (1936) - Built by Karosserie Gläser in Dresden

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Audi SS/20/100 (1930) - with Gläser bodywork - Classic Gala Schwetzingen 2021

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Horch 830 Sport Cabriolet (1934) - with bodywork by Gläser from Dresden

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Horch 780 B Sportcabriolet by Gläser (1934) - as lot 275 at the RM/Sotheby's Amelia Island auction on March 6/7, 2020

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Horch 780 Gläser Cabriolet (1934) - at the Concours d'Elegance "Jewels in the Park" at Schloss Dyck - Class C "Extraordinay for Presentation" (C10)

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Packard Eight All-Weather Cabriolet by Gläser (1934) - as lot 240 at the RM/Sotheby's Amelia Island auction on March 6/7, 2020

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Horch 780 B Cabriolet glasses (1934) - as lot 105 at the Bonhams Quail Lodge auction on August 24, 2018

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Horch 853 A Sport Cabriolet (1939) - Bodywork by Gläser (Dresden) - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2020

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Adler 2.5 liter Type 10 (1938) - with a unique body by Gläser - Classic Expo Salzburg 2019

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Wanderer W 23 Cabriolet (1939) - with a body by Gläser (Dresden) - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2020

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Wanderer W 22 C (1934) - only 2010 chassis were bodied by Gläser as a two-door convertible - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2021

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Steyr 220 Gläser Roadster (1938) - 2nd place in the "European Classic - Grand Touring" category - Pebble Beach 2012 (J2-06)

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Steyr 220 Gläser Roadster (1938) - being the second to cross the wooden bridge is an honor - Pebble Beach 2012 (J2-06)

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Steyr 220 Gläser Roadster (1938) - beautiful convertible from Austria - Pebble Beach 2012 (J2-06)

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Audi front 225 glasses convertible from 1935 - Oldtimer museum "Zylinderhaus"

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Steyr 220 Sport Cabriolet (1938) - with bodywork by Gläser Dresden

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Steyr 220 Sport Cabriolet (1938) - with bodywork by Gläser, closed roof

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Steyr 220 Sport Cabriolet (1938) - View of the interior of the Gläser Cabriolet

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Horch 930 V Gläser Special Roadster (1937) - offered as lot 041 at the Klassikstadt Autumn Auction on October 13, 2012

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Horch 855 Special Roadster (1935) - three units were built between 1935 and 1979, bodywork by Heinrich Gläser in Dresden - at Retro Classics Stuttgart 2013

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Audi front 225 luxury glasses 4-window convertible (1936) - Price on request - Classic Expo Salzburg 2019

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Horch 830 BK Cabriolet (1934) - with bodywork by Gläser from Dresden (Techno Classica 2013)

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Opel Super 6 "Gläser" Cabriolet (1937) - Interior of the Gläser Cabriolet (Techno Classica 2013)

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Horch 930 V Sportroadster (1937) - with V8 engine and 82 hp, 30 units built, body Heinrich Gläser, Dresden - at Retro Classics Stuttgart 2013

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Horch 830 BK Cabriolet (1934) - Interior of the one-off by Gläser (Techno Classica 2013)

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Ford Eifel Gläser Roadster (1937) - at the Techno Classica 2014

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Ford Eifel Gläser Cabriolet (1937) - with four-cylinder engine and 34 hp - Bremen Classic Motorshow 2020

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Fiat-NSU 508 C Cabriolet Gläser (1939) - Body built by Gläser Dresden, part of an Italian collection - Auto e Moto d'Epoca 2018

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Opel Super 6 "Gläser" Cabriolet (1937) - special body from the Gläser factory with fully retractable soft top and harmonious lines (Techno Classica 2013)

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Horch 853 Cabriolet glasses (1938) - as lot 156 at the RM/Sotheby's Paris auction 2017

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Audi 225 Luxus-Cabriolet Gläser (1937) - elegant convertible for the wealthy - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2017

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Audi Front 225 Gläser Cabriolet (1935) - open elegance for the whole family - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2017

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Opel Super 6 Gläser Cabriolet (1937) - with mother-in-law's seat - Classic Gala Schwetzingen 2017

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Opel Super 6 Gläser Cabriolet (1937) - 2473 cm3, 55 hp, 120 km/h fast - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2017

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Ford Eifel Cabriolet Gläser (1936) - on the well-stocked Ford Club stand (Retro Classics Cologne 2017)

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Ford Eifel Gläser Cabriolet (1936) - elegance from Cologne (technology) and Dresden (bodywork) (Retro Classics Cologne 2017)

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Stoewer Arkona Coupé (1940) - with bodywork by Gläser, with the lines of the Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2018

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An IFA-F9 with GLÄSER convertible body in the Chemnitz Vehicle Museum

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Porsche 356 Cabriolet Gläser (1952) - at the Concours d'Elégance Schloss Bensberg Classics 2016

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Porsche 356 Cabriolet Gläser (1952) - at the Concours d'Elégance Schloss Bensberg Classics 2016

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Porsche 356 Cabriolet Gläser (1952) - at the Concours d'Elégance Schloss Bensberg Classics 2016

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Excerpt from a Gläser brochure from the 1930s

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Summary

Almost 120 years ago, the Dresden-based company Heinrich Gläser built its first automobile, Wilhelm Maybach's pioneering Mercedes. It was no coincidence that the company was at the forefront of the still young automobile industry; after all, the company founded in 1894 had supplied the ruling dynasty with carriages and sleighs as the "Royal Saxon Court Carriage Builder". Throughout its existence, the noble Gläser company had to struggle with the adversities of the early twentieth century, surviving the early death of the company founder as well as both world wars and even putting hoods on the Porsche 356... This article tells the story of one of the most important German manufacturers of sporty and elegant coachwork and shows some of the cars in pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

The first automobile body
Sheet metal over wooden skeletons
Convertible with hardtop
Innovations
Moving with the times
A new beginning
Another war and Porsche Cabriolet bodies

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The Heinrich Gläser company was founded in Dresden in 1864. Heinrich Gläser - born in 1831, died in 1902 - was a saddler by trade. Originally, the company manufactured carriages and sleighs; its customers included the Saxon court. Gläser was the "Royal Saxon Court Carriage Builder", a fact that was later reflected in the company logo. The small business was located in Rampische Straße in Dresden. The shells made by other craftsmen - today we would call them "subcontractors" - were upholstered and painted there. The business in Rampische Straße would later remain the "finishing shop".One of the manufacturers of the shells was Friedrich August Emil Heuer, a blacksmith and carriage builder, who had been running an independent craft business with his brother in Radeberg, a small town near Dresden, since 1885.

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