Update 11/2/19: these units are now available to order. There are many happy new owners! Scroll to the end.
I spotted some teaser pics of the updated Blaupunkt Bremen from Evo-Sales in Hamburg on Instagram last week. Details and images are thin on the ground right now, but I thought it was worth a share all the same.
Finding a period radio for a classic car has become an expensive business in recent years, with original Blaupunkt head units particularly pricey to source. I had a nice Blaupunkt Toronto SQR46 on the shelf for my 1981 Porsche 924 Turbo, but it turned out to have no sound. I sold it on eBay and bought a fairly plain Sony unit with DAB and iPhone hookup instead.
I rarely if ever listen to music in the car these days, so what’s in the dash is not a big issue for me most of the time. When I do want to listen to something, my main priorities would be to have DAB radio for BBC 6Music and the ability to stream from the Worldwide FM app on my iPhone. Currently, I run a double-DIN Kenwood DMX-7017DABS with Apple Car Play in the CR-V to handle that or the factory Subaru (Kenwood) integrated audio in my BP5 Outback streams iPhone apps through a mini-jack hookup.
Both sound well through a custom amplifier/speaker setup, but neither is single DIN size or suitable for an old 944 or 911. The new Bremen seems to have my simple needs covered in single DIN size straight out of the box and with a retro look that will suit anyone running a late ’80s or ’90s Porsche.
Matthias Wagner at EVO-Sales tells me that there are no actual pics of the unit installed in a dashboard as yet, but the unit is so reminiscent of Blaupunkts of old that anyone my sort of age will have no problem imagining what it might look like in situ. The styling is super period and all used within the rights to Blaupunkt production, sales and marketing for car, marine and caravan applications held by Evo-Sales since February 2016.
To make it even more attractive for Porsche folks, the head unit is expected to retail at just €449/£400 when it launches later this year. This makes the updated Blaupunkt Bremen SQR46 a much nicer price than the Porsche Classic radio with sat nav, which current retails at £1,000 or so here in the UK. I prefer to use a separate GPS or Google Maps on my iPhone and that should be easily doable with this unit. All things considered, the Bremen is well placed to be a strong contender in the ‘classic retrofit’ market.
Specs are below: headline items include Bluetooth, DAB, USB in and 4 pre-outs with 4×50 native power for those who do not run external amplification.
Radio
• CODEM IV High-End Tuner
• Integrierter DAB/DAB+ Tuner
• DAB Band III/L-Band
• Service Link (DAB-DAB, DAB-FM, DAB-DAB-FM)
• Diensteauswahl nach Ensembles
• RDS (AF, CT, EON, PS, PTY, REG, TA, TP)
• Travelstore
• Comfort Browsing
Bluetooth
• Bluetooth 2.0 mit EDR für Freisprechen und Audiostreaming
• Profile: HFP, PBAP, A2DP, AVRCP, SPP
• Integriertes Mikrofon und Anschluss für externes Mikrofon
Media Player
• Wiedergabeformat: MP3, WMA
• Wählbare Anzeige Modi (ID3-Tags, Ordner, Datei)
Datenträger
• USB 2.0
• SDHC (bis zu 32 GB), SD, MMC
Eingänge
• Front USB (Standard A-Typ)
• SDHC/SD-Kartenslot
• Front Aux-In
• Eingang Steuerung-Lenkradfernbedienung
Equalizer
• Sound Presets (Rock, Pop, Klassik)
• X-Bass
• 3-Band-semi-parametrisch
Verstärker
• 4-Kanal Preamp-Out
• 4 x 50 Watt max. Leistung
Update February 2019: now available for pre-order
I received an email from Matthias at Blaupunkt advising me that these units were now available to pre-order. He has sent no other information other than this so do not shoot the messenger!
Dear Ferdinand,
The BREMEN SQR 46 DAB has passed the long-term test very well. The devices are now being produced and will be delivered in March / April 2019. If interested persons want to pre-reserve then here: info@car-akustik.de best regards,
Matthias Wagner / Blaupunkt Car-MULTIMEDIA
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Hi John,
Great article and just what I’ve been after so will likely buy one of these when they are on sale.
Best regards
Paul
Hi Paul, glad it was useful. I have had some good feedback on the piece: our classic Porsche tribe is clearly responding as hoped. The creator is a man of few words but, as long as this does what it claims, it should be a great hit. Enjoy it when it arrives!
Would certainly be interested in buying this. Please post more info when you can
Great to see a head unit so “period correct” but with all the modern toys!
Must see if I can find that SQR49 I had stashed for the E30 M3 I never bought.
Could you post an update in the comments when this becomes available?
Best thing would be to keep in touch with the manufacturer. Given how hard it was to get information from them, I’m not sure they want to tell anyone! But yes, will update if I hear anything.
Does anyone know if this radio is now available?
This is the only article on the internet about this alleged radio. Every other mention simply refers to this. is this a hoax?
I work with a lot of these small-scale manufacturers and experience tells me that projects like this can take years to come to market. As far as I know, he is making it. I know nothing other than what is mentioned here so email the company direct if you want to know more.
Hello! I ordered it from classiccarstereo websait to Finland and came about 1 week
Congrats! If you get a chance to send some pics of it installed with some feedback on how it is to use that would be cool.
Its not coming in Porsche, but definitely gonna give some feedback
Cool Marko. A friend sent me a video of his hooked up earlier – looks sweet.
I’m buying one for my W123 Mercedes 280CE in the next week or so…
I’ll see how it goes.