In 1961, a young Johannes P. Paulussen began to dream of building a car of his own design. Born of modest means, it was the only way he could attain something like the cars he fell in love with as a teenager. His father, a carpenter had told him, "If you want to have such a car, you will have to build it yourself." He took that advice to heart.  |
| The Beradino's general arrangement |
By 1967, he had finished primary school and enrolled in an Automotive Technology program at the Technical University in Aachen, Germany. It was during this time that Beradino began to take shape. Paulussen designed a bespoke tubular steel chassis and created a buck for the car's fiberglass bodywork in wood and plaster.
While the styling was inspired by Italian classics, the drivetrain would be sourced from an air-cooled Porsche 911. This motor would be mounted in the traditional manner, at the rear of the car, but the shape of the body would not betray this. The name of his dream car was inspired by a western he happened to watch, one Saturday evening in 1968. An actor in the cast was named John Beradino, a name that stood out in Paulusson's mind.
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| The Beradino scale model, with its creator (via Motor Talk Deutschland) |
The car has a very distinctive design, featuring elements from cars like the Ferrari 250GTO, Ford GT-40, and Alfa Romeo Canguro blended in a tasteful manner. Its proportions suggest a front engine GT, despite its true packaging. Of particular interest is the car's trio of roof configurations. These being a fastback, notch-back with decklid, and full roadster. These car be switched within a matter of minutes.
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| The Beradino's various configurations; roadster, notch-back, and fastback |
After 7000 hours of work, the car was complete and certified per the German TUV as road-worthy. Paulussen's dream was made real and he drove the car regularly until 1992. As he went, he continuously developed and modified the car, but the responsibilities of his teaching career and family prompted him to put the car in storage for 17 years.
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| The Beradino's Porsche 911 is mounted in its traditional location |
It was not until 2009 that the Beradino was taken out of mothballs and a ground-up restoration was initiated. Two years and 3,000 man hours later, the Beradino had been given life once more. To date, the car has made the rounds of classic car shows like Essen, Goodwood, and Castle Classic Days where it won "Best Prototype" in 2011.
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| The Beradino, in profile |
In recent years, Paulussen has contemplated producing more examples of the Beradino and has sought the assistance of investors towards that aim. Time will tell if this new dream can come to fruition. Given that most people never get beyond pencil and paper with such ambitions, I wouldn't count him out, having already built such an outstanding car.
Video:
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More images:
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| The Beradino at the Techno Classica exhibit |
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| The Beradino at Techno Classica |
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| The Beradino's 3 configurations |
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| The Beradino in profile |
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| The Beradino in Salsburg |
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| The Beradino's secondary engine instrumentation |
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| The Beradino in profile |
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| The Beradino at speed |
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| The Beradino in roadster configuration |
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| The Beradino as a notch-back |
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| The Beradino, at rear |
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| The Beradino is a rolling sculpture |
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| The Beradino, in motion |
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| The Beradino has very low-slung proportions |
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| The Beradino, in a rear 3/4 view |
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| The Beradino, head on |
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| The Beradino on display |
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| The Beradino in roadster configuration |
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| The Beradino's creator, signing his artwork |
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| The Beradino chassis, in progress |
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| The Beradino molds being pulled |
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| The Beradino, under construction |
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| The Beradino dashboard |
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| The Beradino interior |
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| The Beradino's final plan-view drawing |
So glad I found you site! Very cool stuff and this one is a great looking car, let me tell you. Congrats on the work!
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