Gutbrod was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
carAn automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
manufacturer. The firm was founded by Wilhelm Gutbrod in 1926. It originally built
motorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are the most affordable form of...
s, and from 1933 to 1935,
Standard SuperiorStandard Superior was an automobile marque, used from 1933-1935 by Standard Fahrzeugfabrik of Germany, founded by Wilhelm Gutbrod. These small cars were designed according to the patents by Josef Ganz and featured rear-mounted two-stroke engines....
cars were built with
rear-mounted engineIn automobile design, a rear-engine design layout places the engine at the rear of the vehicle. The center of gravity of the engine itself is past the rear axle...
s.
The small
Gutbrod Superior model was produced from 1950 to 1954 using the company's own,
front-mountedA front-mounted engine describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the vehicle passenger compartment.Historically, this designation was used regardless of whether or not the entire engine was behind the front axle line...
twin-cylinder two-stroke engines initially of 593cc. In April 1953 the engine size was increased to 663 cc for more expensive 'Luxus 700' versions of the car, while the standard model continued to be offered with the original smaller engine.
Gutbrod was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
carAn automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
manufacturer. The firm was founded by Wilhelm Gutbrod in 1926. It originally built
motorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are the most affordable form of...
s, and from 1933 to 1935,
Standard SuperiorStandard Superior was an automobile marque, used from 1933-1935 by Standard Fahrzeugfabrik of Germany, founded by Wilhelm Gutbrod. These small cars were designed according to the patents by Josef Ganz and featured rear-mounted two-stroke engines....
cars were built with
rear-mounted engineIn automobile design, a rear-engine design layout places the engine at the rear of the vehicle. The center of gravity of the engine itself is past the rear axle...
s.
The small
Gutbrod Superior model was produced from 1950 to 1954 using the company's own,
front-mountedA front-mounted engine describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the vehicle passenger compartment.Historically, this designation was used regardless of whether or not the entire engine was behind the front axle line...
twin-cylinder two-stroke engines initially of 593cc. In April 1953 the engine size was increased to 663 cc for more expensive 'Luxus 700' versions of the car, while the standard model continued to be offered with the original smaller engine. Claimed power output was for the base version, while for the larger engine or was claimed according to whether fuel feed came via a carburettor or a form of fuel injection. Press reports commended the speed and secure handling of the cars but indicated that the sporty handling came in return for sacrificing some comfort. It was also noted that normal conversation became impossible at speeds above about 80 km/h (50 mph) due to the noise.
7726 cars were produced before the factory was forced to close. The car was developed at the company's small factory at
Plochingen am NeckarPlochingen is a town in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.-Geography:It is located at the confluence of Fils and Neckar, 19 km southeast of Stuttgart and the Neckar is navigable from here on.-Transportation:...
by Technical Director
Dr. Hans ScherenbergProfessor Doctor Hans Scherenberg was a German automobile engineer and executive....
during the time of Walter Gutbrod who had taken over the firm in 1948 on the death of his father. Hans Scherenberg came to Gutbrod from
MercedesMercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of luxury automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. It is currently a division of the parent company, Daimler AG , after previously being owned by Daimler-Benz...
, and later would return to that firm.
A Gutbrod injection engine can still be seen in the
Deutsches MuseumThe Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of technology and science, with approximately 1.5 million visitors per year and about 28,000 exhibited objects from 50 fields of science and technology. The museum was founded on June 28, 1903, at a meeting of the Association...
in
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
.
It was a small two seater car, the overall length was , width and the total weight , max speed . The car was offered as standard version for a price of
DMThe Deutsche Mark or German mark was the official currency of West Germany and, from 1990 until the adoption of the euro, all of unified Germany...
3990, and as Superior Luxus for DM 4380. Recently, a restoration project of an injection model was sold in
GenevaGeneva, is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie...
for
CHFThe franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is widely used on a day-to-day basis...
3000.
In 1956,
NorwegianNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
TrollThe Troll was a small car made by Troll Plastik & Bilindustri of Lunde, Norway from 1956 to 1958.It was one of few attempts at car production in Norway, but only five cars were ever built.-The Car:...
cars were equipped with Gutbrod engines.
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