Black Baron

German-born designer, engineer and architect Rolf Menke established Systema España Black Baron at Altea in Alicante in 1994. He first developed the Dreamster as his personal interpretation of a traditional two-seat open sports car, then began customer production in 1996 under the Black Baron marque. The compact original measured approximately 3.40 metres long and 1.62 metres wide. Its polyester-sandwich body used separate fenders formed in aluminum or, unusually, wood, and normally sat over Volkswagen Beetle-derived chassis and air-cooled 1.3- or 1.5-litre flat-four mechanicals. More powerful Volkswagen Golf inline-four installations were also offered, with sources quoting up to 150 PS. Every car was built to order and could be individualized with comfort equipment. The marque presented a substantially restyled, more futuristic second generation in 2003, marketed as the Dreamster Evo while retaining Volkswagen Group power. Late sales material quoted a starting price of €39,900 and roughly one year from order confirmation to delivery. Surviving production figures are irreconcilable: a 1997 report said about fifteen were made annually, while a later account claimed only five cars in total. The catalog therefore does not turn either estimate into a false precise total. Published operating spans also range from 1994–97 to 1994–2008. The original company website was still captured in 2011, but the strongest directory evidence ends manufacture in 2008; 1994–2008 is retained as the marque chronology, with series production explicitly beginning in 1996. The entire recoverable range consists of the original Dreamster and its 2003 Evo generation. Volkswagen engine, chassis, fender and customer-equipment choices are configurations rather than separate Black Baron models, and the unrelated Macco Motors motorcycle named Black Baron is excluded.

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