What If Famous Porsche Customizer bb-Auto Worked On Some Everyday Fords Like The Maverick?

As Jason mentioned yesterday, the Autopian’s partner company Galpin Motors has begun a relationship with the famous German design and customizing firm, bb-Auto. Founded by Ranier Buchmann in 1973, bb-Auto has a great history of innovations and is likely best known for their work on Porsches and Mercedes.

In stock form, these tend to be cars that I admire for their understated presence, so you can imagine that I’m a bit ambivalent about heavily modified examples. However, the cars that were customized by Buchmann in the seventies and eighties are a different story. With most custom creations of this ilk, you can almost smell the fiberglass fumes from just looking at the pictures of them. On the other hand, the cars from bb-Auto were typically well-resolved enough that you’d be forgiven for mistaking them for factory specials.

Consider, for example, the “slantnose” 911 conversions of the 80s from other aftermarket practitioners that seemed painfully kit-car like, not to mention the fact that a 911 just looks all wrong without visible lights. Buchmann’s spin on the slantnose concept solved that issue by installing actual 928 exposed headlamps into handcrafted steel fenders.

A side scoop sounds like a gaudy addition until you see how Buchmann formed the thing rather seamlessly into the flanks of the car. Ah, and don’t get me started on those deep-dish bb-Auto wheels; the whole thing looks at once aggressive while still restrained, like Schwarzenegger of thirty years ago in a tailored suit.

A notchbacked 928 with T-tops doesn’t sound like a great idea on paper, but the end result appears to be something that actually left the Porsche factory. Check out the stereo components sideways on the “T” bar facing the driver; bb-Auto was great at doing over-the-top but making it look so integrated.

Buchmann’s work with this Mercedes 500SEC seems like a sort of restrained AMG treatment until you notice some odd seam lines. Dear Lord: it’s a retractable hardtop decades before that became a thing. Look at how the “C” pillars drop down into the sides while the roof slides back to nest in the trunk lid spoiler.

As intriguing as this custom work on high-end cars was, the Autopian staff seemed most intrigued by the work bb-Auto did on more run-of-the-mill cars. Volkswagens seemed to get the lion’s share of Buchmann’s work, including these gumdrop-colored Golfs. The photo below makes it look like they were dredged from the sea:

Check out this sub-Golf-sized Polo with wheel flares and custom interior covered in special fabric, dozens of speakers, and a digital gauge cluster (another bb-Auto innovation):

With Galpin’s current tie-in to bb-Auto, is it possible that we could see some everyman cars getting this treatment? We have to take a look, right?

It’s Not Like You Can Make A Pinto Worse

If Galpin offered such custom options for cars bought by K-Mart shoppers versus those who visit the Gucci store, it wouldn’t be the first time by any means.  In the early seventies, Galpin Ford created several specially modified versions of everyday Ford products, fully street-legal and covered-by-warranty custom cars for the Average Joe to enjoy.

The Mustang II was a sales hit when released in 1974, but many enthusiasts were turned off by what they saw as an affront to the legacy of this pony car. One rather objectional part of the Mustang II might have been the rather upright and almost formal front-end treatment. Galpin offered a solution in the form of a softly angled new fiberglass nose cone that still used the factory bumper and even repositioned the OEM turn signals from the original grille.

Named the “Mustang Major,” most of the unknown number sold were also complimented by custom paint treatments for a semi-bespoke look that made you stand out from the 400,000 other Mustang IIs sold in the first year. It also appears that Galpin only offered these as completed cars; you couldn’t just buy the nose parts and build your own questionable-quality conversion.

Controversial and lowly as the Pinto might seem now, it was a strong seller; Galpin’s 1974 “Pinto Pacer” (before AMC used the name) gave this ubiquitous compact a unique look with a sloping front end treatment that covered the original grille like a knight’s helmet and even had translucent amber trim for the existing turn signals to shine through.

Whether you like this redesign or not, there were certainly fans of this restyle in Dearborn. Three years later, the factory facelifted nose of 1977 bore a striking resemblance to the Galpin nose cone. Sure, it could have been coincidence, but…

With Galpin’s current tie-in to bb-Auto, as well as their legacy of high-quality mods to high-production cars, can you imagine the retro-cool modifications that could be done to some of Dearborn’s finest offerings?

Buchmann and Boeckmann

Back in the day, Pintos and Mustang IIs drove off of Galpin’s lot in record numbers. What cars are equivalent smashes today? Almost certainly the Ford Maverick truck-for-non-truck-people is tops on the list, so we’ll apply some quasi-retro bb-Auto treatment to that sales juggernaut.

Jason in particular has never been much of a fan of the Maverick’s front end; I think he feels that it’s too “trucklike” and even appears to some degree like two separate, only partially related grills above one another. We’ll ditch the existing nose and add a new, more Mustang-like one that could even use headlamp units from the Galpin body shop parts department. Naturally, we’ll lower the thing to within inches of the pavement, add ground effects, fender flares, and those delicious deep-dish bb-Auto wheels.

The rails along the side of the bed that wrap over the roof can serve another purpose: I can see adding removable or sliding glass roof panels that could nest into the angled part of the rails.

Covered taillight sides, a new rear pan with more Mustang bits, and a modified tailgate complete the look in back. My guess is the that interior would feature many, many speakers and integrated tablet holders for the rear seat passengers. You can see it’s a big change from the stock Maverick:

How about some higher-end but still accessible models? Here I’ve taken a 2024 Lincoln Aviator and done the full bb-Auto cosmetic surgery:

Similar work in back with thinner taillights and a new bumper and diffuser that blend into the flares for the enormous wheels and tires:

Now dubbed the “bb-Auto Altair”, you can barely recognize the original car. The idea is to make something that looks almost entirely all-new and tailored to the buyer’s preferences, and that buyer doesn’t necessarily have to be a hedge fund manager.

BB 4 U N Me?

In the malaise era, Porsche didn’t offer a targa-topped Turbo, and there was no big Benz convertible. Buchmann’s bb-Auto was doing more than just making custom cars: they were providing buyers with factory-quality examples of what the factory didn’t offer, but really should have.

Besides Porsches, it sounds like machines from Range Rovers and other such brands that are sold at dealerships within the Galpin family will also be recipients of this kind of work, and I’m looking forward to seeing them. Still, Range Rovers are already somewhat exclusive; why not show some love to some underrated and not-as-stratospherically-priced cars? Ranier Buchmann proved that a lime green Volkswagen with twenty speakers inside can be cooler than some “prestige” cars. Can’t he do it again?