Zündapp’s Porsche — or Porsche’s Zündapp

Another great could-have-been people’s car from the mind of Ferdinand Porsche was not initially designed for Volkswagen but for German motorcycle manufacturer Zündapp instead — and several years earlier, too, in 1931/1932.

Known as the Porsche Type 12, the idea came from Porsche himself, although several other great names were involved in the project. Zündapp was the first of them and in fact it was also Zündapp, who insisted on using a water-cooled 5-cylinder radial engine(!), placed at the rear. Porsche supposedly preferred a flat-four, as in his later Beetle. But the Type 12 had some further tricks: a chassis-integrated body in the first place, but also remarkable aerodynamic shapes for its time, believed to have been be inspired by Hans Ledwinka’s designs for Tatra and Wanderer. And how about a rear swing axle designed by Edmund Rumpler of Tropfenwagen-fame?

By 1932 three prototypes had been built, reputedly with three different engines: Zündapp’s five-cylinder radial, a two-cylinder two-stroke, and Porsche’s own four-cylinder boxer. But Zündapp lost interest early on when tests showed that the car lacked performance. It wasn’t the end though, as by this time another German motorcycle manufacturer, NSU, had jumped in. The former Steyr-designer Erwin Komenda also joined the project at this stage, further altering the aerodynamics by adding the distinguished and rounded closed nose section.

When NSU was the next to leave, things started to look a bit shaky for Project Type 12 (which, by this time, had now evolved into the Type 32!). And although all the prototypes are believed to have been destroyed during WW2, the Zündapp-NSU-Porsche people’s car is considered to be the prelude to Volkswagen’s Beetle development. A Type 12 replica, with the tiny radial engine by Zündapp and the later rounded front by NSU — historically speaking an odd mix — can be found at the Museum Industrielkultur in Nürnberg.

Words by Jeroen Booij.

Gepubliceerd:

woensdag augustus 11th, 2021

Michael Schlenger

11 Augustus 2021, 01:24

The idea of a rear-engined car with streamlined body has many fathers. While Czech enthusiasts like to say that Porsche "stole" the idea from Tatra (or from Hans Ledwinka, respectively, with whom Porsche was on good terms, by the way), one needs to remember that a similar concept was sketched by John Tjaarda who worked in the GM design office in 1930/31 (see the attached image from "Modern Mechanics & Inventions", July 1931). In many respects, Tjaarda's design anticipated the Tatra 77/87 from 1934, but probably no-one would say that the Tatra was "inspired" by it or that the Czechs "stole" the design from Tjaarda. Actually, the combination of rear-drive and a streamlined body can be traced back even to the late 1920s, just think of the British "Burney Streamline". In my opinion, it's pointless to try to figure out who was the actual originator of the concept - it's rather crucial who made it a success, and that was (eventually) Volkswagen thanks to the foresight of a British Army Major by the name of Ivan Hirst who happened to be at the right place at the right time (in 1945).

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Zündapp’s Porsche — or Porsche’s Zündapp

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