Volkswagen LT50 Niesmann & Bischoff Clou Trend 650 F

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The prestigious One
 
German dictionaries mention as a synonym for the word “Clou” the terms “important event” and “highlight”. Espacially the latter was most probably on the mind of the Niesmann managers as they presented their camping superstructure with the type designation 570 E to the public in 1981.

 

Aim of the back-then still under the name Niesmann operating company was to produce a camping superstructure, which was compatible for the chassis of a Mercedes-Benz minivan or for other similar chassis of other manufacturers. With high attention to the details, great attention to meet customer demands and numerous other ideas the managers of the renamed company Niesmann + Bischoff Clou Produktionsgesellschaft mbH proved to have the knack for the right. However, the well-equipped vehicle came at a considerable sales price. With an well-equipped interior you had to put the impressive sum of 140,000 Deutschmark on the desk of the dealer to get your Volkswagen LT 50 with Clou-Alkhoven-Motorhome superstructure. With this sales price the camper ranked among the upper-class motorhomes available in Germany at that time. A seemingly endless appearing supersturcture was fitted to the VW chassis, which did not only provid enough space, but also enjoyed a good reputation in beeing a very stable desgin. The engine was a standard diesel engine of the VW LT range with 102 hp. Theoretically this seemed to be a suitable motoraziation for the camper but in practice it became appearent that the heavy superstructure massively drained on the performance of the engine.

 

But since the performance is not the top priority within the camping scene; top priority is the camping superstructure and its level of comfort; you might not feel like the King of the Roads but definitely like the King of the Campers. With this motto the Clou won the hearts of the people travelling by motorhomes.