Germany

The Holzenbliz Electric Car

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We couldn’t find a great deal of English information on the Hotzenbliz Electric Car. We took this photo at the Sinsheim Auto & Technic Museum in Germany. The car was produced in the mid 1990’s and only about 150 were produced looking a bit like a cross between a golf buggy and the Smart Car. The cars were manufactured in the German town of Suhl and didn’t take off due to performance and battery life. The battery took about 5 hours to charge and the maximum range was about 80km with impressive speeds of 120kmh. Some of the cars were later updated with new battery technology from a Swiss firm and were much more suitable, but it seems the poor old Holzenbliz manufactures went bankrupt in the process.

The Zundapp Janus- one of the worst cars ever

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Time Magazine one of the world’s most respected magazines has voted today’s car, the Zundapp Janus one of the ’50 worst cars ever made’. We found this interesting little pink car in Germany at the Sinsheim Auto & Tecknic Museum. The car was actually German, it was built in Nuremberg and this model is from 1958. The vehicle was made by a motorbike factory after motorbike sales fell off during the 50’s. The company thought (wrongly) they should get into the car market. Probably the best bit of this car was the rear seat, it faced backwards so you could see people behind you frustrated with the single cylinder twin stroke 14hp engine running at a snail like pace and the fear of seeing much faster and better cars rear ending you. The car had two doors, one at the back and one at the front making it really difficult to see which end was which. Safety on the Zundapp Janus wasn’t an option either- there was none. 6902 of the vehicles were produced in the 18 months or so production before the factory was sold to Bosch.

A duck out of water

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The amphicar wasn’t quiet sure what it wanted to be a boat or a car, so why not be both. Built in the early 1960’s in Germany the Amphicar was the only civilian passenger amphibian car ever to be produced (I wonder why) selling a little over 3000 units. The car had a top speed of 70mph on land and an impressive 7mph on water. It had twin nylon propellers and a special two part land and water transmission which was built by the makers of the Porsche transmission. When the car was on water the front wheels acted like rudders. The engine was based off a four cylinder British Triumph engine and produced 43 hp. The vehicle came in four colours, white, red, blue and green as in the photograph which we took at the  Sinsheim Auto & Technic Museum Germany, about an hours drive from Stuttgart.

BMW’s baby Isetta

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After the second world war there was a great need for small cheap transportation and there was a boom in what we now call microcars. The Isetta was one of the most successful being originally designed in Italy but being built in several European countries and even Brazil the vehicle was infact licensed to the car manufactures from Iso SpA. in Italy which was more familiar with making fridges and scooters. BMW made the car its own and did some innovative design changes and today it is the classic Isetta including making it more reliable. The thing that made the car so popular you only needed a motor bike license, because under the skin that’s really all the vehicle was. Transeum took this photograph of this lovely example of the Isetta at the amazing BMW museum in Munich, Germany.

A Concorde up a pole

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Transeum is more than just cars, its all things transport so we thought it was about time we featured a plane, and there is no better than the majestic Concorde. The Concorde was the first and only supersonic passenger jet, although the Russians nearly had one working, we will feature that in a few days time. There were only 16 production Concordes ever produced all being flown by either British Airways or Air France. Today most of the Concordes are on display at museums or airports around the world after their grounding a few years back. F-BVFB the 7th Concorde to be produced made her maiden flight in March 1976 and today stands proudly at the Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum, South West Germany an hour or so’s drive from Stuttgart. The museum is an amazing transport center with all types of cars, boats, military machinery, planes and jets. The two biggest draw cards are the Concorde and the Russian Tupolev TU-144.

Sachsenring P 240 Repräsentant

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This ‘beautiful’ four door open top vehicle is the 1969 Sachsenring P240 Reprasentant it was built by the Sachsenring factory which was also responsible for the Trabant East Germany. The car was not sold to the public it was used primarily for military parades and to cart the Communist leaders around in style. The car was pretty much a normal P-240 which didn’t look half as impressive. It was powered by a Horch 6 cylinder engine which was a pre war design pumping out a throbbing 80 hp from the 2407 cc engine. Other favorites for the Communist leaders included the Czech Tatra, the Russian Zil and Gaz but none were anywhere as striking as this handsome vehicle which was seen at the Trabant museum in Zwickau, Germany.

The Gull Wing Mercedes-Benz 300SL

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1955 Mercedes Benz 300 SL coupe with its gull wing doors is probably the most beautiful and most loved of all the cars produced during the 1950’s. Based of a racing version the production version has become one of the most collected and expensive vehicles of all time. The vehicle was powered by a 6 cylinder 183 cubic inch engine delivering 158 kW with a top speed of 155 mp. This photograph was taken at the new Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart Germany where it along with many other iconic Mercedes Benz models are displayed like jewelry. This museum would have to finest and most beautiful automotive museum in the world and houses many of the company’s treasures a must for anyone visiting Germany whether they are a car buff or not.

For more information: http://www.museum-mercedes-benz.com/