The 1930s was a time of fervent in the automotive world. Paul Jaray had been promoting the benefits of streamlining and wind tunnel testing for almost a decade, while engineering theorists such as Josef Ganz were espousing placement of the engine in the rear. 1933 and 1934 were the years that these ideas crystallized into a new generation of vehicles.
Standard Superior
In 1932 the Gutbrod company engaged Josef Ganz to develop his rear-engined designs for a small, budget passenger car. The result was the Standard Superior, which was revealed at the 1933 Berlin Auto Show. The car was constructed around a tube chassis, with independent suspension and wood and plywood bodywork. It was powered by a two-cylinder, 400 or 500cc air-cooled two-stroke engine, mounted ahead of the rear axle.
The Model 1 Standard Superior was very much a budget vehicle. The car could really only accommodate two adult passengers. Two children could be perched uncomfortably on a tiny bench seat above the engine compartment.
The later model 'Deutschen Volkswagen' included some improvements in styling and additional fittings, but the car did not sell particularly well. Only a few hundred Standard Superiors were built and there are approximately four known survivors. https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2015/07/standard-superior.html
Hansa 500
Carl Borgward had developed his first motor vehicle in 1927- the blitzkarren delivery tricycle - and business just went from strength to strength. The blitzkarren soon gave way to the Goliath Pioneer, a small, rear-engined tricycle car, and a range of tricycle commercial vehicles. When the Great Depression hit Germany and the big car manufacturers began to feel the pinch, Borgward was in a position to expand and in 1932 he snapped up the struggling car maker Hansa and set about developing a new car suitable to the times. https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2012/05/goliath-pionier.html
The result was the Hansa 500, also unveiled at the 1933 Berlin Show. Similar in concept and construction to the Standard Superior, the Hansa was built around a tube chassis, had independent suspension and was powered by a rear mounted 500cc air-cooled two-stroke engine. Although a budget car, the Hansa 500 able to capitalize on Hansa's heritage as a quality car manufacture, being better made and with better fittings that the Standard Superior. However, like it's competitor, it did not sell particularly well and was removed from sale after only two years.
https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2021/07/1934-hansa-400.html
Mercedes-Benz 120H
In 1931 Hans Nibel and Max Wagner built a rear engined small car for Mercedes-Benz. A handful of prototype 120H (for Heckmotor or rear-motor) were built in 1932 to test the concept. The 120H performed reasonably well and Mercedes-Benz made a decision to develop the concept into a production car.
Unfortunately for Mercedes-Benz, the air-cooled boxer engine fitted to the 120H pre-series failed testing so the company compromised and installed a four cylinder water cooled inline engine in the 130H production model, introduced in 1934. Expanding the car's wheelbase did not resolve the stability issues caused by installing a larger, heavier engine, resulting in poor handling in the first series. Handling issues, although successfully resolved with changes to suspension in the second series, impacted sales and gave the model a poor reputation.
After the 130H demonstrated poor rear end stability during testing, Mercedes-Benz engineers were forced to re-engineer the rear suspension. This resolved many of the issues, but the model's reputation had been damaged and sales were poor.
With other notable designers, such as Ferdinand Porsche, experimenting with a rear-engined budget car at Zundapp, and the former managing director of DKW, Jorgen Rasmussen, busily working away at Framo on a rear-engined budget car that aimed to undercut everybody, DKW had no choice but to initiate a rear-engined car project of its own.
Porche's rear engined Zundapp prototype was still a long way from the Volkswagen. The three prototypes trialed three different air-cooled engines - a Zundapp five cylinder radial, a two-cylinder two-stroke, and Porsche's own flat four boxer. None of the engines performed particularly well and the project was cancelled.
After the establishment of Auto Union in 1932, merging together the four independent Saxon automakers, Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer, design duties were pooled resources in a new Central Design Office. Horch bodywork designer, Hermann Ahrens, joined the team at the DKW karroseriewerkes at Spandau. Under his leadership, the development of a new streamlined body for a rear engined test card was initiated.
In accordance with standard DKW practice, the body was constructed of wood with plywood paneling covered with leatherette for weather proofing. The result was very impressive looking with its long, curved roof-line and sharply curved bonnet.
The chassis was adapted from a DKW F2 Meisterklasse as was its 600cc two-cylinder water-cooled two-stroke engine.
A long, distinctive metal engine cover with cooling vents concealed the engine. In testing, keeping the engine and radiator cool proved to be a problem, requiring the addition of side scoops to direct the air flow into the engine bay. In the end the problem was solved by mounting an electric fan on the radiator, a solution that Auto Union would return to to cool the centrally mounted radiator of the 1940 DKW F9.
The car was used in a number of trials and many important lessons were learned, including proving that you could build a curved, streamlined car our of wood. But DKW never felt that the rear-engined concept was worth pursuing and only this single prototype was built. The car was never intended to go into production and indeed, its existence was kept under wraps until some photos appeared in the motoring press in 1934. Auto Union marketing department were forced to publicly state that the car "whose driving characteristics could not, however, prompt Auto Union to be unfaithful to the front-wheel drive in the small DKW." The concept however did inspire one of DKW's designers - works race driver, Gerhard Macher. After observing the rear engine car he decided to pursue a twin-engined design for international road rallying competitions. His car would appear in 1935 after two years development. The original rear engine car was mothballed and its fate unknown to history.
https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-gerhard-macher-dkw-bi-motor.html
DKW's Spandau karosseriewerkes adapted the streamlined body concept for the next mode, the Schwebeklasse, released in 1934. The complex curves and indentations of the Schwebeklasse were a pinnacle of the wooden karosserie's art.
Links-
DKW's streamlined vehicles: https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/auto-union-streamliners.html
The development of the Volkswagen: http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/volkswagen-world-beating-peoples-car.html
The development of the Tatra: http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/tatras-streamliners-yesterdays-car-of.html
Framo's volkswagen project: https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/framo.html
DKW Schwebeklasse: https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/1934-dkw-schwebeklasse-brochure.html
No comments:
Post a Comment