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Car of the Month - August 2009

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Hanomag_Sturm_cabriolet_Ambi-Budd_1934

Hanomag Sturm - 2-window cabriolet body by Ambi-Budd - manufactured in 1934

Hanomag from Hannover, Germany was a well-known manufacturer of all sorts of vehicles yet the luxury cars it produced didn't become popular classics and are often overlooked. Still, at one time it was a successful car manufacturer offering a varied range of models.
In 1835 Georg Egestorff founded an iron foundry and engineering works in Linden near Hannover which gradually evolved into the Hannoversche Machinenbau-Aktien-Gesellschaft ("Hannover's Engineering Company") which was shortened into Hanomag in 1904 for practical reasons. The company soon became an important manufacturer of steam engines and locomotives. It's first locomotive appeared in 1846 as one of the first made in Germany and up to 1922 locomotives were the company's main source of income. After that the attention shifted to other, more profitable products and ultimately in 1931 locomotive production was sold. One of those more profitable products of Hanomag were tractors, both for use on the road and for agricultural purposes. Perhaps the Hanomag tractors are the best known vehicles the company produced.
In 1905 Hanomag started manufacturing trucks in small numbers, first fitted with steam engines and later on with petrol and diesel engines. Hanomag was amongst the first truck manufacturers in Germany to introduce cab-over-engine style models but truck production remained fairly limited until after the second World War. This proved to different for the production of luxury cars which was started in 1924. Hannomag's entry into this market was nothing short of spectacular: the small 2/10 HP model was years ahead of its time and the first mass produced car in Germany. It was designed by Fidelis Böhler and Carl Pollich for their company Kleinmotorwagen AG in 1923 which was bought subsequently in its entirety by Hanomag. As an affordable 2-seater with all-enveloping closed bodywork, rear engine lay-out and fully independent suspension it showed the direction for years to come but at the time it was seen as an oddity, affectionately called "Kommisbrot" (it resembled a loaf of army bread). Production lasted only from 1925 till 1928 but never the less 15,775 were made.
This success firmly established Hanomag as a car manufacturer in Germany but management didn't see a lasting future for the advanced rear engined car and commissioned a more conventional design to succeed it. As a result Fidelis Böhler left, leaving Carl Pollich as chief designer. Apparently this worked out well, because Pollich remained in this capacity until 1963 and was responsible for all Hanomag cars and trucks until then. The Kommisbrot was replaced by the 3/16 and 4/20 HP models in 1929 which were ordinary small front-engined cars in the vein of its competitors from Opel and BMW. Gradually these models were improved and enlarged and became the Garant model in 1934. By now the cars were 4-seaters with attractive bodies by well-known coachbuilders. This model range was elaborated with the larger Kurier model and the transition into the more profitable middle class range had begun.
First foray into the middle class field was the Rekord model. It appeared in 1934 with a 1.5 liter 4-cylinder engine and a standard 4-door body by Ambi-Budd. Like the 2/10 HP a decade before the Rekord was an instant hit. This time not due to its innovative engineering but because of its pleasing modern looks, its robust construction and its solidity. This became Hanomag's most successful model at 18,114 cars produced. Next to the Rekord an even larger model was presented in 1934: the Sturm.
The Sturm was Hanomag's most upmarket model and had a straight 6-cylinder engine displacing 2,252 cc and producing 50 hp @ 3500 rpm, which was enough for a maximum speed of 110 kph. At a length of around 4.5 metres it was about half a metre longer than the Garant and near 30 kph faster to give an impression of the step that was made. In its class the Sturm did well at 4,885 cars made. It was available with a number of different standard body styles or for those wanting something different as a separate chassis from 1936. The standard sedan bodies and some of the cabriolet body styles came from Ambi-Budd; other standard open bodies came from Hebmüller and Gläser. Remarkably the Ambi-Budd bodies were similar to those used by Adler; a cost-cutting measure without a doubt. Most beautiful body on the Sturm chassis was made by Gläser in the shape of a sport-cabriolet.

Next step for Hanomag was the streamlined 1,3 Litre Autobahn model which replaced the Garant and Kurier models in 1938. It was slightly odd shaped but sold relatively well until production was stopped by the war. After the war Hanomag attempted a restart of its car production with a model named the Partner in 1951. Fitted with a modern 2-seater body, a small 2-stroke engine and front wheel drive it didn't leave the prototype stage because public interest in it was deemed to low. And this proved to be the end of Hanomag's involvement in car production. Now truck production had become more important.
Ultimately the Hanomag name disappeared from vehicle production altogether in 1974, after Daimler-Benz had taken over truck production and Massey-Fergusson the production of tractors. Single surviving part was the manufacture of earth moving vehicles like shovels and excavators and that went to Komatsu in 2002.
After car production had ended Hanomag cars, especially the Rekord, were common to see in the streets of Germany and East European countries well into the 1950s. This proved their durability and perhaps also explains the relatively small number of Hanomag cars that are left. It seems that most cars have been used to the bitter end and then were scrapped. Nowadays the small Kommisbrot model is the most common to find while the later models are rare and mostly extant in Germany. The appreciation of these models might be limited but they form an interesting part of German car manufacturing heritage certainly deserving some attention.

© André Ritzinger, Amsterdam, Holland

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