Steyr 50 - Steyr 55 Look familiar?

[Forumadmin]

http://www.zuckerfabrik24.de/steyrpuch/steyr50_1.htm
Below is an extract and translation. Go to link above for more pics.

Steyr 50 - Steyr 55

1936 - 1937

Steyer 50

Contrary to a widespread opinion, the Steyr 50 has nothing to do with the development of a Volkswagen by Prof. Porsche, but was created parallel to and independently of it.

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in two-color paintwork: the "special version" of the Steyr 50




pictures bigger ? -> click !



Karl Jenschke, chief designer at Steyr at the time, had considered a small aircraft engine, which led to the design of a flat, small 4-cylinder boxer engine, which in turn seemed to be made to build a "popular", i.e. smaller and cheaper car in Steyr .

The thermosyphon-cooled, side-controlled 4-cylinder boxer engine had a displacement of 978 ccm and delivered 22 hp at 3800 rpm.

Four wheels individually suspended on transverse leaf springs, 4 seats and some luggage space, a sleek, streamlined design - the Steyr 50 was a comfortable, modern car with good performance (only 730 kg weight and vmax 90 km/h) and good road holding



Report from the Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung 1938 - and postcard from around 1938

The "Steyr Baby" didn't come cheap, it was technically too demanding and the quantities were too small.

But it became a car that lived up to the reputation of Steyr cars. Strong, comfortable and robust. Especially in the mountains he was considered a busy and brisk climber.

In the additionally offered "Special" variant, the Steyr 50 had a 2-tone paintwork, decorative strips, bumpers, chrome-plated seat back frames and another instrument with a thermometer with a fuel gauge on the dashboard.
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Brochure Steyr 50 - 1936 - Steyr Daimler Puch Vienna - No. 925 Oe





II / 20 / 336 - Steyrermühl



1938 - 1940

Steyr 55

The Steyr 55 continued to be called the Steyr 50 (or better: "50er Steyr") in general usage, even if it stood out from this with its more powerful 1.2 liter engine and 25 hp (at 3600 rpm) with significantly better driving performance. With its more powerful engine, the "Steyr Baby" lived up to its reputation as a fast mountain car even more.



Report from the Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung 1938








With the Steyr 55, the equipment of the special version has been expanded to include a timer.


Factory photo Steyr 55 Special


two more photos of the Steyr Baby
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Brochure Steyr 55 - V.1938 - SDP Vienna - No. PA 1103 - St'mühl








Brochure Steyr 55 - I. 1939 - No. WA 79 - Demar - Steyrermühl

from zero to ... 40km/h in 9.9 seconds

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[Forumadmin]

This poses the question as to whether Jowetts were constrained by not having body pressing facilities in the 1930's. Or was it just the non progressive culture that existed or lack of capital investment and growth.

[David Morris]

Hi Keith,

Interesting thoughts! In reply to your three questions, it was probably the first and last of your points. Jowett's were never cash rich and being Yorkshire folk, they were always careful with any cash they had to spare. Bodywork was expensive to produce and, post-war, they had enough in the bank to buy-in the Javelin bodies, from Briggs, for around £220, fully trimmed and painted. I don't see Jowett's as having a non-progressive culture, as they were the first car manufacturer to come out post WW2 with an 'all-new' design! Also, they were quick to capitalise with rubber moulding in aluminium for the Jupiter bodies, let alone using fibreglass for the still-born R4!

There are some interesting YouTube videos on the Steyr 50-55, showing running and restoration examples. Some are in Russian! I believe about 13,000 examples were made and being lightweight, they performed well. During WW2, Steyr produced weapons, and hence were bombed heavily. I would be surprised if Jowett's didn't have a close look at the marque, as it was about the time when Jowett's released their four cylinder 10hp model. The design of having the radiator behind the engine block, with the fan in front, must have also been of interest to Jowett's. I wonder if they bought one?

Post war, Volkswagen were also completely bombed-out and I believe the British Army helped them get back on their feet and re-launched the Beetle under British mangement. It would have been interesting if they had also helped Steyr, but perhaps they were not in the British-administered section of post war Germany? I wonder if VW ever said thanks? East Germany went on to launch the Trebant, but perhaps the less said about that the better!

Anyway, an interesting topic for a natter.

All the best,

David

[Nick Webster]

It is no surprise that Jowetts did not have body pressing facilities. Many manufacturers did not, rather, having contracts with firms like Mulliner, British Light Steel Pressings, Briggs, Pressed Steel Fisher and many more. The Ford- Briggs tie up was an early example of bringing facilities in house for fear of supply disruption. In the case of British Light Steel Pressings this happened in the late 30s and by the mid fifties everyone was at it. Many car firms lost out, making them ripe for scooping up by the majors and badge engineering. As has been said before though, with British Car manufacturing based in the Midlands, who would consider it wise to buy up a firm in Bradford?

Although German Motor Engineering was a source of professional interest for designers in the 30s I think there are many cases of designs with a similar theme and to me it is a bit curious that the Steyr should be picked out in particular. It is not surprising that the Steyr did not sell well here - we were reticent about anything German from about 1933 onwards! However, Citroen were another example to be looked at with interest (didn't Callcott Reilly have a Traction Avant while the Javelin was being designed?) One car that many designers have cited as an inspiration is the Fiat 500 Topolino, which was so popular in Britain that swarms of them raced in a special series at Brooklands. These featured a radiator above and behind the engine which was ahead of the wishbone front suspension and the rear axle was controlled by trailing links. Although it had a separate chassis (with four wheel hydraulic brakes) the body was actually capable of being self supporting. Hard to miss the similarities with this one.

Nick

[David Morris]

Hi Nick,

You are right about the UK's lack of big body pressing facilities. I believe even the Triumph Herald was made in two sections at Triumph's, as they lacked the presses to stamp out the whole body sections, and still used a chassis to hold the car together. Apparently, they made an assembly error on early models, by not properly sealing the join where the two body sections met, resulting in water entering the car when driving through puddles.

All the best,

David