History

Karl Meier went independent with just 50 Marks of start-up capital. His ‘workshop’ was a wooden shed. Together with his sons, he breathed new life into seats from used Volkswagens, reupholstering them, painting their frames and sewing new covers. As the recycled seats became increasingly popular, he began to expand the company. 30 seamstresses were employed to manufacture the covers, producing enough for 15 Volkswagens every day. That is until the industry took hold of the idea and Meier could no longer compete. Rather than lamenting his fate, he turned his hand to new, innovative interior concepts. And with great success. Some of his developments were even integrated into the standard Beetle, including the accelerator pedal.

Finally it was official: Meier's shed-based operation became a company, KAMEI (KARL MEIER). The new firm initially specialised in interior accessories. Perhaps its most successful product was the famous Schlummerrolle or “slumber cushion,” which quickly became the standard safety headrest we know today.

Meier was unhappy with how tail-heavy the VW Beetle was, and how difficult it was to handle at higher speeds. His solution was the Tiefensteuer – an aerodynamic feature we now know as a spoiler. Outside the gates of the Geneva Motor Show, he tried to convince the manufacturers of his new invention. But to no avail – the original spoiler was put on ice. For the time being, at least.

“Where are we going to put it all?” was a common question amongst drivers in the 1950s. The ever-pragmatic Meier’s answer: “on the roof.” KAMEI developed a smooth protective cover with a roof rack, a device that would turn out to be the prototype for the modern roof box. Meier’s company was also treading new ground in terms of advertising. Volkswagen staff began coming back to their cars on the company site to find product information leaflets stuck to their windshields. The demand for the roof racks was overwhelming.

Over the years, KAMEI has also produced many innovative comfort products. The steering wheels of the 1960s were not particularly grippy, tended to pass on the vibrations of the vehicle and felt cold in the winter. To solve these problems, KAMEI developed the Avus and Avus Super steering wheel covers with wrap-around bands, cording, pores and 972 holes for ventilation. The Avus won fans all over the world. Everyone from racing drivers, rock ‘n’ roll greats and film stars to taxi drivers and your everyday car owner was driving with these new, cool and casual steering wheel covers. With more than 100 million produced since its launch, Avus is by far and away the world’s most successful steering wheel cover.

KAMEI opened its own shop on Kurfürstendamm, one of Berlin’s top commercial streets, in 1966. Here at the heart of the metropolis, the store sold KAMEI car accessories and a number of other automotive products – essentially making it one of the world’s first tuning shops.

Due to the success of the Avus steering wheel cover, KAMEI opened a new branch in Wittlich on the Mosel River in 1971. A further 25 people were recruited to join the 130 already working in Wolfsburg. KAMEI began to produce its now legendary bucket seats at the new site, as well as neck pillows with long backs and strong belts for complete adjustability, which would soon become the SK 2000 safety headrest.

Almost 20 years after company founder Karl Meier presented the first Beetle spoiler in Geneva in vain, its fortunes were finally changing. In the intervening period, aerodynamic features had become massively popular in motorsport, and demand for them was also rising in road vehicles. In 1972, KAMEI surprised the world with its front spoiler for the Beetle, which was soon followed by further models for cars such as the Opel Ascona, the Passat and of course the Golf. KAMEI was quickly starting to branch out from the interior to the exterior.

In 1975, a double decker bus was causing something of a stir in the pits at the Formula Vee racetracks. It was the mobile headquarters of the Formula Vee 1600 team, backed by Uwes Moden, Kern and Kamei. Its drivers included Prince Leopold of Bavaria (‘Poldi’ to his friends and fans) and a certain Keke Rosberg. The ‘Flying Finn’ ran his competitors into the ground, winning the ONS Championship and taking home the Castrol GTX trophy. Even years later in 1982 when he took the Formula 1 title, Keke’s helmet and overalls still bore the KAMEI logo at the German Grand Prix.

By now, KAMEI products were being exported to 40 different countries. In 1976, the ever-expanding company moved its headquarters to Wiesbaden, close to Frankfurt Airport. Its manufacturing volumes were growing, and in 1977, a new plant with state-of-the-art, largely computer-controlled equipment, opened on an industrial estate in Vorsfelde, Wolfsburg. This expansion continued across the pond. In order to meet the specific needs of the US market, which had also been taken in by the spoiler hype, KAMEI opened a manufacturing site in North Haven, Connecticut. However, this closed around a decade later.

By the late 1970s, KAMEI’s front and rear spoiler range covered a wide variety of models from a number of different manufacturers. All of the KAMEI spoilers underwent thorough wind tunnel tests at Volkswagen and, to a lesser extent, Daimler-Benz. The company was becoming more heavily involved in motorsport and was responsible for optimising the aerodynamics of touring cars. But these upgrades were also having an ecological impact. The air-resistance coefficient of the Audi Coupés it worked on reduced by seven percent, and the lift on the front axle by 38 percent. The experience the team gained was later integrated into their development of spoilers for road vehicles.

Although KAMEI had established itself at the IAA in Frankfurt early on, it didn't attend the prestigious Geneva Motor Show until 1982. The new X1 range, based on the Scirocco, Golf and Polo and presented in pearl-effect white on a white carpet, was met with international acclaim. Over the next few years, the X1 body kits for the Audi Coupé, BMW 3 series, Ford Escort and Opel Kadett were equally well-received. At the time, standard vehicles still had sufficient capacity for such comprehensive visual and aerodynamic tuning. The first and second generations of the Golf in particular benefitted from the X1 range, which thrilled car and engine specialists alike. Karl Meier, who celebrated his 75th birthday soon after the X1’s launch, was delighted. Inspiring people to enjoy cars was his life’s work.

In the late 1980s, KAMEI was commissioned by Opel to create a fully convertible vehicle based on the Kadett E Caravan. The resulting KAMEI Multicar was a hard top estate, pickup, van and cabriolet in one. The new concept was designed to appeal to a whole new consumer base. Other manufacturers were impressed with the Multicar. Many prototypes, including the VW Taro, were celebrated by the trade and public alike, but failed to gain traction due to excessive development and production costs and reservations regarding their marketing strategies. However, many details of the Multicar concept are still found in many brands’ standard SUVs and SAVs to this day.

The rise of the Avus steering wheel covers in the USA continued. In mid-1990, six new colours were released as the ‘Go Hollywood’ range, causing a major stir and generating new sales records in the US market. This surge only continued with the release of Willy Bogner’s film ‘Fire, Ice & Dynamite’, in which Walter Röhrl played the head of the KAMEI rally team. Drawing on the film’s success, KAMEI released a limited edition of 150 Golf ‘Fire & Ice’ cars with the ‘Dynamite by KAMEI’ equipment package.

At Automechanika 1998, KAMEI’s slogan was ‘Tradition with a Future’. As part of the concept, the company decided to show just how exciting a retro styling design could be by applying it to a New Beetle. One year later, it took the Beetster to the next level – a sporty, driveable, fun car prototype with roll bars, attachments made from coloured DUROKAM, leather bucket seats and mirror-shine BBS aluminium wheels. In 2001, it shook the Essen Motor Show again. The  two-seater Beetster II roadster stunned the audience with its new bar structure that also acted as a rail system for the tarpaulin.

One big step for a roof box. At Automechanika in Frankfurt, the world’s largest automotive accessory trade fair, KAMEI presented its revolutionary Oyster 450 roof box. The Oyster 450 elegantly combines design, functionality and safety with a 450 litre capacity. The ClickFix fast mounting system also drew in the crowds in Frankfurt. The innovative system raised the bar in terms of functionality and safety, whilst still being simple and quick to use.