Steyr 50

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1937 Steyr 50
1937 Steyr 50

The Steyr 50 is a small car released in 1936 by the Austrian automobile manufacturer Steyr. The streamlined body was approved by Director Karl Jenschke to be constructed in 1935, but in that same year Jenschke relocated to the German Adlerwerke in Frankfurt/Main.

The car had a water-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine driving the rear wheels through a four-speed transmission. To save room and weight a dynastarter was used, which doubled as the axle of the radiator fan. It was regarded as the "Austrian Peoples' Car" and was affectionately referred to as the Steyr "Baby". Professor Porsche had, despite rumors, not been involved in the design or production of the 50. Moreover, the little Steyr offered better seating and luggage space than Porsche's Volkswagen with shorter overall length, a large sheet metal sliding roof and was available with hydraulic brakes (instead of the early Volkswagens' cable-operated ones).

1939 Steyr 55
1939 Steyr 55

In the spring of 1938, the car was revised. It got a more powerful engine and a longer wheelbase. The new model was called the Steyr 55 and went on sale in 1940.

A total of 13,000 Steyr "Babies" were sold.

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[edit] References

  • Oswald, Werner: Deutsche Autos 1920-1945, Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart, 10. Auflage (1996), ISBN 3879435197
  • Rauscher, Karl-Heinz und Knogler, Franz: Das Steyr-Baby und seine Verwandten, Weishaupt Verlag, A-8342 Gnas, 1. Auflage (2002), ISBN-10: 3705901028 ISBN-13: 978-3705901025

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