last change: December 17th, 2001
Many people have mixed emotions when they see a funeral vehicle. However I think these are quite noteworthy cars, showcases of finesse of the coachbuilders who make them.
Shown below are several examples made by Pollmann in Bremen, probably Germany's most important maker of funeral vehicles.
A 1960 Ford Taunus 17m and a BMW 502.
Always rare: a Mercedes S-Class funeral car, here one of the early 70s.
Much more common were cars based on the Mercedes W 123 chassis,
although many of these were not as long as this example.
Another example of a very prestigious Mercedes S-Class hearse by Pollmann.
And again a more typical model, based on the mid-sized Mercedes W 124 series LWB chassis.
Rather futuristic flowing lines make this new E-Class Mercedes funeral car quite special.
A double cab version is available too.
Now let's think you are a funeral director who owns a previous generation Mercedes E-Class (W 124) hearse. You would like to have a new Mercedes E-Class hearse, but can't or don't want to afford it. Pollmann can help you, they will put a new E-Class front end on your old car! Et voilà: an old car with a new face!
For owners who want to pay a little less, Pollmann always offered converted Opels, like this 1992 Omega.
Probably even cheaper was this Ford Sierra.
And if you want "Vorsprung durch Technik", Audis are available, too.
This Volvo 245 features a rather bland design.
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Another German maker of hearses is Rappold. Unfortunately hardly any material about their conversions is available.
For the funeral director who seeks extra prestige, Rappold
offer this Mercedes E-Class hearse with an S-Class front end!
For funeral directors with a tight budget, Rappold also offer hearses like this (very sad looking) converted Mitsubishi L 300 van.
And another cheap alternative by Rappold: extended station wagons like this VW Passat. Mainly an extended bumper and a HUGE tailgate convert a basic wagon into a cheap hearse. Rappold call this Funébreak. Also available as Mercedes and Citroen wagons.
Closeup of the rear extension.
Here is Rappold's Citroen XM Funébreak.
A mid-80s Mercedes LWB by Rappold. 
Also mid-80s, Rappold Mercedes W 124 4-door SWB and LWB hearses.
In the mid 1980s it was possible to order this Opel Senator A2 hearse by Rappold at the local Opel dealer.
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Another German maker of funeral cars is Welsch.
From the mid-90s two Volvo 940 conversions. With high and low rooflines.
Ford Scorpio and Mercedes W-140 S-Class hearses by Welsch.
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These hearses called ABRA Silence, based on stretched VW Passats, are made by a German VW dealership, "Autohaus Braunschweig".
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Another German company, De Besta, offers these interesting Mercedes E-Class conversions.
Like this SDK Panorama.
And their biggest one, the SDLK Royal with 4 doors.
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And this lovely hearse is made by Stolle,
also from Germany. It's called La Linea.
From the 1980s, a Peugeot 505 hearse by Stolle.
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For funeral directors with a tight budget, GfS convert vans like this Hyundai H 200 into funeral cars. Other vans the convert are: Chrysler Voyager, Ford Windstar, VW Transporter, Mercedes Vito and Mitsubishi L 400.
They also offer "Vario Mobil", a removable, air tight box which fits into various vans (shown here with an older Chrysler Voyager). It can be removed in a matter of minutes, and the van is ready for the groceries and other things.
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Finally a Mercedes funeral car of the early 1950s by German coachbuilders Lueg. It appears that this car only exists in form of a black & white leaflet (courtesy of hearse specialist Ingo Marx), but has never been realized.
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Swiss coachbuilders Marbach were importer for this German hearse by Miesen,
based on an early 1960s Mercedes 190.
to European funeral cars
to British funeral cars
to US funeral cars, part 1
to US funeral cars, part 2
to Japanese funeral cars
to Australian funeral cars
