Bilstein

August Bilsteins                                                                                                                                                                          Hans Bilstein



Innovative inventions

In the 1950s, the company which would later become the success story it is today recognized the possibilities that were to be found in the discovery of the Frenchman Bourcier de Carbon. The oscillation researcher had discovered that the gas contained in every oil at a proportion of up to ten percent is bonded under sustained pressure. This scientific finding was to revolutionize shock absorber technology. The BILSTEIN engineers in Ennepetal used the French discovery to develop a production process without which automotive technology would be unthinkable to this day: the manufacture of the monotube gas pressure shock absorber. The introduction of the first monotube gas pressure shock absorber to a Mercedes-Benz series vehicle in 1957 by BILSTEIN, the former “fittings and jack manufacturer”, is still regarded as a significant contribution to active driving safety to this day. Ever since, monotube gas pressure shock absorbers developed and tested by BILSTEIN have found their way in top BILSTEIN quality into virtually all leading, performance-orientated car marques, from the Bugatti Veyron and Lamborghini Gallardo to the Porsche models 911, Boxster and Cayman. The list of the vehicles that benefit from BILSTEIN products in OE or series production or as replacement parts is long and is in no way complete after names such as Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lotus, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Subaru and Volkswagen have been mentioned.

Comprehensive product portfolio

BILSTEIN combines original equipment and motorsport development with aftermarket and tuning competence in a very special way. This can be seen by the wide range of quality suspensions for series installation to tuning and professional motorsport applications. It is not only original equipment know-how that flows into the shock absorbers but also the relentless attention to detail, which is expressed in the intensive road tests to ensure the optimum coordination of the shock absorbers. In addition to development and manufacturing competence “Made in Germany”, the BILSTEIN road test is a unique ace of trumps as a quality guarantee that every sport and coilover suspension has been put to the acid test in a road test at the company’s own test circuit in Papenburg or at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Uncompromising quality and top performance are the goal of every BILSTEIN application.