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.

 

Steyr Register photo

 

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. 

This powertrain was also employed in Steyr’s first heavy truck: the 1920 Typ III 1.5-ton to 2.5-ton capacity bonneted model. Steyr also developed a 1.5-ton capacity light truck, based on its 1925 Typ XII chassis.

Hans also designed the cheap, simple Typ 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 heavy 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 Typ 1.

 

Steyr Typ XII light commercials – Steyr Register photo

 

Although now working for Tatra, Ledwinka acted as a consulting engineer for Steyr, co-operating with designer Anton Honsig in developing the 1925 Typ XII, with its 14/35hp 1.56-litre, OHC fixed-head 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; a four-door saloon; and as a light truck or van.

In a four-year production run, 11,124 Typ XIIs were sold, making it the second most successful Steyr car and light truck 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. 

 

Steyr swing-axle rear end – Steyr Register photo

 

In 1928, came the four-cylinder, side-valve, 2.1-litre 16/40 hp Typ XX  car and light truck models and four-litre, OHC, 29/70hp six Typ XVI that featured vacuum servo-assisted brakes by Bosch-Dewandre.

At the same time, prominent Austrian motorcycle manufacturer Puch was merged into Austro-Daimler, forming the Austro-Daimler-Puchwerke company. In six years time, Steyr would be forced to do the same.

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. 

 

Steyr Typ XXX

 

His first Steyr car design was the six-cylinder, 8/40hp, 2.1-litre Typ XXX. The engine departed from Steyr’s high-cost OHC heritage in favour of pushrod OHV design, with a detachable cylinder head. Various touring and sedan bodies were available, as well as Typ 40L light truck, small bus and van variants.

However, the early signs of the forthcoming 1930s Great Depression were obvious 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 a planned Porsche-designed top-shelf luxury car project.

Steyr Typ III heavy truck – Steyr Register photo

 

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 and 40L light trucks and ongoing Typ III heavy trucks.

In pursuit of increased sales, Steyr took advantage of its Ledwinka-designed rear swing axle’s ability to preserve traction on uneven surfaces, by designing the 1.5-ton payload, 40D medium mobility, 6×4 light truck for the Austrian Army, in 1932. It was powered by Porsche’s OHV six, now out to 2.3 litres and producing 45bhp.

 

 

Steyr 40D

 

Around 750 of these were produced before the range morphed into the 55bhp Steyr 640, in 1937. Around 3800 were employed by the German Wehrmacht.

During the evolution of the 40D into the 640, in 1934, Steyr was in deep financial difficulties and was forced to merge with Austro-Daimler-Puchwerke, to form the Steyr-Daimler-Puch conglomerate (SDP).

 

Steyr 640 – Militracks Museum, Overloon

 

After the merger the Steyr range continued, with upgraded four-cylinder (35bhp) 200 and 2.3-litre six-cylinder (55bhp) 220 light truck models.

 

Steyr 2000 – Alf van Beem

 

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. That same V8 powered the 1942-44, 1.5-ton payload, 4×4 Steyr 1500 light truck and personnel carrier, as well as its 2000A successor in 1944. Also, 1200 Steyr 250 Kübelwagen, based on the Typ 55, were taken over from the Austrian army. 

 

Steyr air-cooled V8 – Karl Gruber

 

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

Steyr restarted production in late-1945, by using pre-War parts to continue making the Steyr 2000A light truck. 

In 1947 they released the 4×2 Steyr 370 that was a strengthened 2000A and still powered by the thirsty V8 gasoline engine. But trucks were needed in great numbers, so fuel economy wasn’t an initial post-War consideration.

However, one year later, Steyr’s WD 413 four-cylinder, 5.3-litre, OHV diesel engine was introduced in the new 3.5-4.0-ton payload Typ 380. This engine was an advanced design for the time, boasting a silicon-aluminium crankcase with cast-iron wet liners and individual, pre-chamber silicon-aluminium heads. 

Plenty of cooling capacity was made possible by retaining the tall engine bay and bulbous snout of the air-cooled V8 models. Output of 85bhp – later 90bhp – was competitive. 

A non-synchro, five-speed transmission had ample deep reduction gearing and top gear gave the 380 variants a highway speed of around 70km/h: plenty of speed for Austria’s mountainous terrain.

The 380 was replaced by the 4-6-ton payload 480 model in the mid-1950s and engine power went up to 95bhp. 

 

 

Off road focus

Steyr Austrian Army Truck 680 – Asurnipal

 

The Steyr 680 was a family of 4×4 and 6×6 high-mobility military trucks made for the Austrian Army from around 1960 until 1968. They were powered by a new six-litre, six-cylinder diesel that was naturally aspirated, producing 120bhp in 4×4 versions and turbocharged, with 150bhp, in 6×6 variants.

Lighter-payload post-War off-road models were also developed.

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.

 

Walter Blasi photo

 

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. 

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 Stery-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.

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, in the early 1970s, as a planned replacement for its ageing Land Rovers. 

(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 Australian Army’s 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.

 

 

Heavy truck developments

 

1960s tipper brochure

 

From the mid-1960s, Steyr made overtures to several high-volume European truck manufacturers, looking for a partnership for future developments, but was unsuccessful, so SDP was forced to develop its own new heavy truck range.

The 1968 COE 90 series featured a new, slab-sided Type 160 cabin with angular design and large glass surfaces. Good visibility helped promote sales for use in construction and distribution. Other distinctions were the asymmetric radiator opening (a feature which was to last until the end of Steyr truck production) and a standard roof hatch. 

Unlike most of its competitors, the cab didn’t tilt – except in the case of the V8 model – but had a large front opening. A sleeper version came later.

A large range of engines and layouts were available, including all-wheel drive models from 1969.

The engines were Steyr’s own six-litre or 8.1-litre diesel sixes, as well as a 12-litre V8 and were also available turbocharged. A 6.6-litre WD 612 engine was added in 1976. 

 

 

In 1969 the smaller Steyr 590/690 range was released, using a modified Hanomag-Henschel cab and these trucks were available until 1982, when a smaller-engined version of the 91 series replaced them.

The upgraded Steyr 91 series progressively replaced the 90 series from 1978, scoring a much-needed tilt-cab that was better insulated, along with a plastic grille and front bumper. 

 

 

Originally, the 91 was available with 6.6- or 9.7-litre diesel sixes, or the 12-litre V8. The lighter-duty 591 and 691 models, introduced in 1982, received a detuned version of the 6.6 litre six and featured an updated version of the old Hanomag cabin. 

From the all-wheel drive 91, the militarised 91M was developed in 1983 and enjoyed export sales success as well as use by the Austrian military. The 1200 vehicles sold to Canada, designated HLVW (Heavy Logistics Vehicle, Wheeled) were assembled by local partner UTDC (Can-Car). 

 

US Army BAE FMTV truck based on the Steyr 12M18

 

Steyr also won the US Army’s competition for a new FMTV (Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles) and these vehicles were still being manufactured in Texas, into the the 21st century, using Steyr components, including engines and some body panels from the 92 series. 

The 92 series’ robot-built cabin was more aerodynamic, but retained some Steyr characteristics such as the offset grille opening and generous glazing.

Light and medium-duty 91 versions were replaced by the new 92 series cabin from 1986, but heavier duty versions continued to use an upgraded 91-Plus cabin until gradually replaced by MAN’s F2000 design from 1994.

 

Steyr 12M18 4x4T – Army Motorization Historic Society

 

The military 12M18 truck also used the 92’s cabin, as did the FMTV of the US Army. A civilian version of the 12M18 was also made. A version of the 92 series was built by Steyr Automotive as the 12M18/12S18 for a number of military users and was sold by Britain’s ERF as the ES-series.

 

MAN-Steyr 33S46 6X4 tipper

 

Beginning in 1994, Steyr used MAN’s F2000 cab for the NSK series (Neue Schwere Klasse, or ‘new heavy class’), while the light and medium duty trucks were the NLK and NMK (Neue Leichte Klasse and Neue Mittlere Klasse), based on MAN’s similarly situated L2000 and M2000 ranges respectively. 

The NLK ranged from the 6S10 (6.5 tons, 102bhp) to the 11S23 (11 tons, 233bhp). The NMK range was from 12 tonners up to the three-axle 25S26. These cabins were referred to as Typ 152 in Steyr’s internal parlance.

 

 

China deal and breakup

 

Back in December, 1983, the China National Heavy Duty Truck Group (CNHTC/Sinotruk) signed a technology transfer contract with Austrian Steyr Company, to introduce the 91 series vehicle manufacturing and key assembly technologies, laying the foundation for the modern Chinese heavy truck industry. 

The first Steyr heavy truck rolled off the production line in 1985, and the first localised Steyr was successfully produced in 1989.

 

Sinotruk Steyr 6X6 

 

Strict European emissions standards applied from the early 1990s and Steyr didn’t have the required capital to completely renew its diesel engine lineup, so SDP sold 85 percent of its commercial truck division to the German manufacturer MAN in 1990. However, some Austrian-market trucks were branded ‘Steyr’. The last original Steyr truck was produced in 1998, with MAN continuing production under its own branding until 2007.

The Steyr-Daimler-Puch Group was split in 1990: the automotive manufacturing sector merged with Magna to become Magna Steyr, while the diesel engine department spun off as Steyr Motorentechnik GmbH, later renamed Steyr Motors GmbH in 2001.

At the end of 2002, China National Heavy Duty Truck Group (Sinotruk) developed the Steyr King heavy truck based on Steyr technology and put it into mass production. 

In 2009, Sinotruk signed a strategic cooperation agreement with MAN, further upgrading Steyr products. New Steyr models, the D7B and M5G, were launched in 2015. 

However, in 2021, Steyr Power Co, Ltd. was forcibly delisted due to consecutive years of financial fraud. That same year, the original MAN Steyr factory was taken over by former Magna manager Siegfried Wolf and renamed Steyr Automotive. 

By the end of 2025, Steyr Automotive began contract manufacturing purely electric heavy trucks for Chinese Subor Technology, in Europe.