Historic Car Brands
Steyr
The Österreichische Waffenfabriks-Gesellschaft (ÖWG) company was founded in Steyr, Austria, in 1864 as a rifle manufacturer. ÖWG diversified in 1894 into licence-producing British Swift bicycles as Waffenrads. Automobile production began after 1918, under the brand name, Steyr.
ÖWG significantly upgraded its manufacturing capability during Word War I and employed around 14,000 people. The board of management was anxious to diversify its product range and Steyr automobiles were made after 1918.
In September 1917, Steyr was fortunate in securing the services of 38-year-old design engineer Hans Ledwinka, who had resigned from Nesselsdorfer-Wagenbau. Now remembered as one of the great automotive engineers of the 20th century, Hans was then relatively unknown, but was appointed to the position of Chefkonstrukteur.
1920 Steyr 12/40PS tourer
Ledwinka supervised the hiring of engineers and mechanics, and developed the 12/40PS Steyr car. This innovative vehicle had a 3.25-litre six-cylinder engine, with a SOHC fixed cylinder head, ball bearing-mounted crankshaft, four-speed gearbox and multi-plate clutch. It also powered a 2½-ton Steyr truck chassis.
From this engine came four-litre, 15/90hp Type VI sport and 4.90-litre, 19/145hp Type VI Klausen racing versions. A third place in the 1923 Targa Florio was one of the successes of these Steyr cars.
1926 Steyr VII – G Eisen
Next was the 1925 3.3-litre Type VII 12/50PS that came as: a luxury four-door that seated up to seven; an open-air tourer; or with Coupe de Ville or Landaulet bodywork. The sporting models were very successful in motorsport events.
Hans also designed the cheap, simple Type IV 7/23hp model, powered by a side-valve, 1800cc, four-cylinder engine and with a four-speed gearbox. However, it sold fewer than 1000 examples and that led to a conflict with Steyr management. Like Henry Ford, Ledwinka wanted to design cars for the masses, but management wanted larger, luxury vehicles and trucks.
Given the economy-crippling conditions in post-War Germany, Ledwinka persisted with his small-car ideas, designing a car with an air-cooled, flat–twin engine and a backbone chassis. Management didn’t want to produce it, so he quit to join Tatra, taking the design with him. This machine also inspired Ferdinand Porsche’s Volkswagen Type 1.
1928 Steyr XII Double Phaethon Tourenwagen – Haeferl
Although now working for Tatra, Ledwinka acted as a consulting engineer for Steyr, co-operating with designer Anton Honsig in developing the 1925 Type XII, with its 14/35hp 1.56-litre, OHC six, ball-bearing crankshaft engine, four-wheel brakes, semi-elliptic front springs and swing-axle IRS. It came as a four- or five-seater tourer or a four-door saloon.
In a four-year production run, 11,124 Type XIIs were sold, making it the second most successful Steyr car model in the company’s history.
The company changed its name to Steyr-Werke AG in 1926 and at that year’s Olympia Motor Show premiered a 14hp tourer.
1929 Steyr XX – Ferry Paur
In 1928, came the four-litre 29/70hp six Type XVI that featured vacuum servo-assisted brakes by Bosch–Dewandre and the 2.1-litre 16/40 hp Type XX
In January 1929, Dr Ferdinand Porsche joined Steyr from Mercedes, as chief engineer, but he stayed only for one year before leaving start his own company, Porsche Büro, in Stuttgart.
His first Steyr car design was the six-cylinder, 8/40hp, 2.1-litre Type XXX. The engine departed from Steyr’s high-cost OHC heritage in favour of pushrod OHV design, with a detachable cylinder head.
1931 Steyr XXX chassis
His last design for Steyr cars was the Austria 37/100hp, 5.3-litre, eight-cylinder luxury model. It retained Steyr’s swing-axle rear suspension and servo brakes, but the engine had dual magneto ignition and twin spark plugs.
However, the early signs of the forthcoming Great Depression were obvious from Wall Street and the banks that were giving Steyr and Austro-Daimler financial backing did not want both companies building large cars. An agreement between the banks, Steyr and Austro-Daimler saw Steyr abandon the Austria car project.
At the same time, Puch was merged into Austro-Daimler, forming the Austro-Daimler-Puchwerke company.
The depressed economy saw Steyr’s sales drop from 5000 cars and trucks in 1929 to only 12 in 1930. The company continued to produce the XXX variants, but supplemented value by licence-building Opel P4 cars. These Steyr-Opels were nicknamed ‘Stopels’ and around 500 were sold.
1935 Steyr 100
In 1934, the Stopels were followed by Steyr’s own 100 model, with streamlined bodywork and powered by a 1.4-litre, in-line, side-valve four, with five-bearing crankshaft, that produced 32bhp.
The six-cylinder range continued, now with 50bhp, in the Steyr 120 model that featured streamlined bodywork and fully independent suspension.
However, by 1934, Steyr was in deep financial difficulties and was forced to merge with Austro-Daimler-Puchwerke, to form the Steyr-Daimler-Puch conglomerate.
Steyr 200 – Muncadunc
After the merger the Steyr range continued with upgraded four-cylinder (35bhp) 200 and 2.3-litre (55bhp) 220 models.
In 1936 came an additional model that was an unexpected innovation: the Steyr Type 50. This bubble-shaped small car was powered by a ‘boxer’ four-cylinder engine, had a four-speed transmission and all-independent suspension. Although neither Porsche nor Ledwinka was involved in the design process, their heritage is obvious, as is the influence of Chrysler’s Airflow sedan.
1936 Steyr 50 – Classic Trader
The Type 50’s 984cc engine produced a minuscule 22bhp but it and the upgraded Type 55 still became the biggest selling Steyr model, with some 13,000 produced before the outbreak of WWII.
Innovations included a ‘dynastart’ starter/generator, where the starter motor became a generator once the engine was running and it also provided the ‘axle’ for the cooling fan in the simple, thermo-siphon cooling system.
Another trick not seen before or since was wiper blade shafts that went though the windscreen glass, not through the surrounding metal.
The Type 50 was regarded as the ‘Austrian Volkswagen’ and was affectionately referred to as Steyr ‘Baby’. Advantages over the VW were hydraulic brakes vs the original Beetle’s cable-operated ones; more interior space, thanks in part to heel ‘boxes’ pressed into the rear floor and a sliding metal roof panel.
In early 1938, the car was revised, with the Type 55 scoring a longer wheelbase and its engine upped to 1158cc and 25bhp.
After the War, many Steyr ‘Babies’ were repowered with War-surplus VW Kübelwagen engines.
The last iteration of the six-cylinder, 55bhp Steyr luxury models was the 1937 630
During the War, Steyr-Daimler-Puch built 4×2, 4×4 and 6×6 vehicles for the German Wehrmacht, as well as the light tracked-vehicle Raupenschlepper, Ost – powered by a Porsche-designed, 3.5-litre, air-cooled petrol V8 – specifically for the Russian campaign. Also, 1200 Steyr 250 Kübelwagen, based the Type 55, were taken over from the Austrian army.
Steyr 250 Kübelwagen
Infamously, Steyr-Daimler-Puch’s Generaldirektor Georg Meindl was one of the first German industrialists to suggest the use of slave labour from concentration camps to boost manpower at Steyr.
Subsequently, prisoners were brought 30km by guarded train from the Mauthausen-Gusen camp. Later, a ‘satellite’ prison camp was constructed, nearer to the Steyr factory.
Steyr post-War
Production of Steyr cars was not immediately resumed after the War, but, from 1949, Fiats were assembled for the Austrian market.
Firstly, Steyr assembled the Fiat 1100E, then In 1953 there was a special version of the 1900 powered by a Steyr-designed two-litre engine. This car was available in 65bhp and 85bhp forms, and with a four-speed gearbox as an alternative to the five-speed Fiat transmission. The bonnet badge had the Steyr logo, plus reference to its Fiat 1900 heritage.
In 1957, Steyr produced Fiat’s Nuova 500, with revised rear suspension and a Steyr 493cc boxer twin engine. This evolved into larger displacement 650cc, 650T and 650TR models. The badging for this and subsequent Steyr models was dual ‘Steyr’ and ‘Puch’ roundels.
1964 Steyr-Puch 650TR
The 650TR was a major force in rallies, gaining Polish driver Sobieslaw Zasada the 1966 European Championship. This exciting little Steyr car wasn’t available after 1968, so 1973’s staple offering was the standard Steyr-Puch 500 in 20bhp form.
In 1975, around 2000 Fiat 126 cars were fitted with the 643cc boxer twin and badged Steyr-Puch.
Off-road focus
Following WWII, the Austrian Army was equipped with surplus US Army Willys MB and Ford GPW Jeeps, but, by the mid-1950s, these vehicles needed replacing. Austria wanted a locally designed and manufactured quarter-tonner and the solution involved the son of one-time Steyr designer, Hans Ledwinka.
Erich Ledwinka had joined his father’s engineering team at Tatra and was chief designer by the 1930s. In the 1950s, he was Steyr-Puch’s logical choice to design what the Austrian Army needed. The design was named Haflinger, after a breed of Austro-Italian mountain horse that was traditionally the farmer’s helper.
Ledwinka Junior designed what was, in effect, a ‘mini-Tatra’, complete with forward control layout, backbone chassis, independent swing-axle suspension, across-axle differential locks, portal hubs, enclosed driveline, rear-mounted Steyr 643cc boxer twin engine and four-speed (later five-speed) transmission.
The design complied with the military requirements for high-mobility status, in two wheelbase dimensions that gave the vehicle OAL dimensions of 2.8-3.2 metres and with payloads up to a half tonne.
Around 17,000 of these mini-trucks trucks were manufactured between 1959 and 1974 and were exported to 35 countries around the world. Approximately 7000 Haflingers were recruited into military service by the Swiss, Austrian and Australian armies and the Royal Navy.
Austrian Army Haflinger – Walter Blasi
From 1966, the Haflinger was adopted by the Australian Army as a Truck, Utility, 1/4 Ton, GS, Lightweight and 46 of them were registered sequentially from 101-816 to 101-861. Approximately 750 additional Haflingers were assembled and sold in Australia from 1966.
(HV’s Allan Whiting remembers testing one of these amazing vehicles in steep, rocky terrain, where he found himself descending a narrow, dry creek bed with almost vertical sides. At one point, where the Haflinger was leaning on a 45-degree side slope, he was able to put a hand on the rocky bank as the Haflinger crept along and keep the little machine on its wheels, until the risk had passed.)
Success with the Halfinger prompted Steyr-Puch to develop larger 4×4 and 6×6 Pinzgauer military vehicles that it produced from 1971 until 2000. The name Pinzgauer came from a breed of highland cattle.
Like its smaller relative, the Pinzgauer was a mini-Tatra, with the same forward control layout, backbone chassis, independent swing-axle suspension, across-axle differential locks, portal hubs and enclosed driveline. However, being a much larger vehicle, it had payload capacity up to 1.5 tonnes and was powered by a forward-mounted, air-cooled, four-cylinder, 2.5-litre, 88bhp petrol engine. It also had a two-speed transfer case.
Air-cooled engine between the front seats
A later version arrived in 1986, powered by VW D24, 2.4-litre, 101bhp turbo-diesel engine and with an optional four-speed automatic transmission.
Like the Haflinger, the Pinzgauer served in several global armies and in government and civilian applications. Success with the Halfinger led the Australian Army to evaluate the Pinzgauer 6×6, in the early 1970s, as a planned replacement for its ageing Land Rovers.
Pinzgauer 6×6
HV’s Allan Whiting remembers this evaluation well, because at the time he was working for Volvo Truck Australia and had the job of demonstrating the Volvo C3 to the Army. Both vehicles were competing with prototype Ford and International Harvester one-tonne, forward control vehicles.
The forward control, one-tonne project went nowhere and the Land Rovers were eventually replaced by another Steryr-Puch product: the Mercedes-Benz branded G-Class 4×4 and 6×6 range.
In the early 1970s, Steyr-Puch’s considerable 4×4 and 6×6 experience had attracted the interest of Mercedes-Benz, who invested in SDP, with the aim of pursuing military vehicle contracts. SDP built the first G Wagens (Geländewagen) that were intended as alternatives to military specification Land Rovers. Also in the race was the newly developed VW Iltis.
Puch Gelandewagen – JaayJay
However, in the late-1970s, VW was in considerable financial strife and went cap in hand to the German Government, which granted them the Army contract, over the G-Class. M-B has been on a global hunt ever since for G-Class military and civilian business, with some success.
Another SDP 4×4 initiative occurred in the early 1980s, when Fiat wanted to produce an off-road capable small vehicle. SDP designed the driveline for the Panda 4×4 that was launched in June 1983, powered by a 965cc engine with 48bhp. Steyr-Puch supplied the clutch, gearbox, power take-off, three-piece prop shaft and rear live axle, including differential and brakes, to the plant at Termini Imerese where they were fitted to each reinforced body shell.
Fiat Panda 4×4 – Centro Storico Fiat
This was the first small, transverse-engined production car to have a 4WD system.The system was manually selectable, with an ultra-low first gear. In on-road conditions starting was from second, with fifth gear having the same ratio as fourth in the normal Panda.
Breakup
In 1987, Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG began selling portions of its different production lines to form separate companies, which included Steyr Nutzfahrzeuge AG (Steyr Commercial Vehicles, SNF) in Steyr, for truck manufacturing; Steyr Bus GmbH, in Vienna, for bus manufacturing; Steyr-Daimler-Puch Fahrzeugtechnik AG (SFT) and the Eurostar joint venture, in Graz-Liebenau, for assembly of automobiles; and, in 1990, Steyr Tractor (Steyr Landmaschinentechnik AG).
Other production lines were spun off or sold outright to form independent companies, including Puch’s motorcycle division going to Piaggio and Steyr Mannlicher producing weapons.
In 1990, the diesel engine division was spun off into Steyr Motorentechnik GmbH, which in 2001 became an independent company, renaming itself Steyr Motors GmbH.
Steyr Landmaschinentechnik AG (Steyr Tractor) was sold to Case Corporation in 1996 and renamed Case Steyr Landmaschinentechnik (part of CNH since 1999).
Automobile production remained with Steyr-Daimler-Puch Fahrzeugtechnik (SFT) until Magna International acquired a majority holding in 1998. In 2001–2002 SFT was absorbed fully by Magna, becoming Magna Steyr.
In 1998, the production of military vehicles was sold to an Austrian investor company, which named it Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug GmbH (SSF). In 2003, SSF was sold to the US company General Dynamics, a defence-equipment manufacturer and to General Dynamics Land Systems.
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