In 1976, rolling stock manufacturers Waggonfabriken Linke-Hofmann-Busch - today Alstom Transport Germany - and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm built eleven prototypes of a new low-floor local traffic carriage developed by the Bundesbahn-Zentralamt in Minden.
In a time where passenger rail transport was scrutinized for cost efficiency, the LHB prototypes were relatively expensive vehicles, not least because of their more intricate interior and their lower capacity of 88 seats compared to the n carriages, which provided eight more.