Load carrier
04/28/2025
They exude adventure, give even sports cars - such as the Ferrari 212 Inter Europa Berlinetta (1953) at the 2022 Mille Miglia - a certain utility value and even offer a kind of security. No, neither active nor passive, but the security of not having to leave your shopping at Ikea or Obi behind: Roof racks. Even as a child, I loved these additional racks on the roofs of cars. When my father mounted a rack, it often promised an adventure to come: new furniture, skiing or camping vacations awaited us - or something similar.
In the past, it wasn't usually for fun: the new carrier on the Beetle sometimes gave away the owner's impending offspring
But many craftsmen also had a roof rack, even on the Granada station wagon, for example for the ladder. And in the case of the VW Beetle, the freshly fitted roof rack was often an unmistakable sign that the young owners were about to have children. After all, where else but on the roof should you have put the baby carriage in the VW, or at least its undercarriage? And if there wasn't enough money for an upgrade to a proper family car, then a carrier would have to do. In my case, as I was told first-hand by my father, after the Beetle with a carrier (for my sister's baby carriage) it was a Simca 1100 Break, without a roof rack.
My oldest memory of a roof rack: Autobianchi Primula from Mebetoys
On the toy cars of my childhood, the roof racks were mostly found on rally cars. I remember an Autobianchi Primula with a carrier and oil drums on the roof. I think it was from Mebetoys. The little Fiat 1500 from Matchbox also had a roof rack, one integrated directly into the casting. And even the first Playmobil car from 1977 came with one as standard. The treasure chest from the pirate ship could be rescued from the robbers on it.
THE sensation in my nursery in 1977: Playmobil car with roof rack!
Roof racks still fascinate me. Although I've never bought one, I've found several - yes, I've actually found them on the roadside to take away; probably a Swiss phenomenon in the land of waste stamps - or received them as gifts with cars. The most spectacular was certainly the "gallery" that came with a Citroën DSuper (with a 5-speed gearbox, but not a DSuper 5 - I'll explain that another time). In the 1960s and 1970s, a company from Biel (BE) produced streamlined aluminum supports that could be mounted on the car without gutters using side brackets. It looked very sexy. Incidentally, the car was a gift from former circus director Dominik Gasser Senior of Circus Gasser Olympia. Unfortunately, this DSuper could only be used as a parts carrier.
In contrast to the saloon, the roof gallery was standard on the ID Break
Another roof rack is still lying around in my workshop. I once bought this one on an auction platform as being suitable for a VW Transporter. When I picked it up, it turned out that it couldn't possibly fit on the bus. As it is an original AMAG accessory - the logo is even embossed on the fasteners - it is probably for the Passat Variant B1. I didn't have to pay anything, but I was still allowed to take it with me. It could still be picked up from me...
It can also carry a carrier from time to time
Yes, even a Jaguar is not spared the need to carry a carrier. Maybe I wouldn't mount a roof tent on it - the pavilion of the XJ12 seems too flimsy for that - but the thing is great for camping for the cool box and furniture or for transporting a tent pavilion to a car meeting.
