Rumpler
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The Rumpler was a car developed by Austrian engineer Edmund Rumpler.
Rumpler, born in Vienna, was a designer of airplanes when on the 1921's Berlin car show he introduced the Rumpler Tropfenwagen ("Rumpler drop car", named after its shape). It was to be the first streamline car (beating the American Chrysler Airflow and Czech Tatra T107). The Rumpler was found to have a Cw-value of only 0.28. The test, which was run at a Volkswagen windtunnel in 1979, surprised engineers of the day; Volkswagen wouldn't beat the value until 1988 with the Passat.
The car featured a W6 engine, being the first mid-engine layout ever. It had three banks of paired cylinders, all working on a common crankshaft. Due to bumpy operation, it was later replaced by a 4 cylinder straight engine.
Rumpler was the person who patented the swing axle suspension design, as well as the transaxle. The transaxle was used in some of the most significant vehicles of the 20th Century: the Mini, the VW Beetle, the Porsche 356 and 911 among others.
The driver's seat was in the middle, with a two seat bench behind, and, since 1923, two additional tip-up seats.
Although the car was very advanced for its time, a big seller it was not — possibly about 100 cars were built. Little problems at the start (cooling, steering), the appearance of the vehicle and the absence of a luggage compartment did not help sales. The car was sold almost solely as a taxi, where easy boarding and the high ceiling were advantages. The last cars were built in 1925.
The car did become famous, thanks to the film Metropolis, in which Rumplers found a burning end.
Today, only two examples are known to exist, one in the Deutsches Museum's Verkehrszentrum in Munich and one in the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin.
[edit] External links
- Deutsches Museum about Rumpler (German)
