5 replies to this topic

[ERault]

The january 1986 issue of french mag Fanauto published an article by Florian Popescu describing the racing Steyr bought by Prince Nicolas of Roumania in the mid-30s. The photos show a quite stunning car, reminiscent of the P2 Alfa. It is said the car was designed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1929 for hillclimbing and only 3 were made. The engine is a 5 liter twin cam 6 cylinders, with a huge Roots blower on the side, producing 185/190 hp.The car is very low and has independant suspension at the rear.

The Prince bought his from austrian racer Huldreich Heusser. He kept his car in France for some time, in Cattaneo's workshop in Saint-Cloud. The pictures in the article are said to be from the 1934 Chateau-Thierry hillclimb. Florian Popescu wrote he remember seing the car racing in Roumania when he was a child before WW2. After the war, he found the Steyr in Brasov, "in a truck factory, surrounded by a Duesenberg, a 2 liter 8 cylinders Mercedes from 1924 and a 2600 cm3 Alfa". Sadly the car was then broken up.

I find both the car and the story fascinating. Can anybody add something, especially on the Steyr racing career ? If 3 cars were made, what about the 2 others ?

[Vitesse2]

I have no doubt Martin Pfundner can tell us more, but if I read his "Vom Semmering zum Grand Prix" correctly, the last racing Steyr was built for Count Ulrich Kinsky in 1927 - there is a picture of it at Schwabenberg/Svab on page 166. Walter Delmar also had what is described as a private 5 litre car. Heusser had a Steyr too, but I can't see an engine size mentioned.

The Kinsky car depicted looks like it fits your description.

[Martin Pfundner]

I have no doubt Martin Pfundner can tell us more, but if I read his "Vom Semmering zum Grand Prix" correctly, the last racing Steyr was built for Count Ulrich Kinsky in 1927 - there is a picture of it at Schwabenberg/Svab on page 166. Walter Delmar also had what is described as a private 5 litre car. Heusser had a Steyr too, but I can't see an engine size mentioned.

The Kinsky car depicted looks like it fits your description.

There is some truth in all of this, although hidden under a few layers of errors and imprecisions.

Steyr built cars and trucks as from 1920 onwards. Amongst them were 85 sports and racing cars built between 1920 and 1926. The original engine and chassis design of this 6 cylinder ohc car was by Hans Ledwinka. Engine size increased from the original 3,3 litre in various steps to 5 litre. An updated version if the Steyr VI Klausen sports and racing cars was introduced in 1925, now with independent rear suspension as distinct from the previous live rear axle. In 1925 16 and in 1926 anither 14 such cars were built with engines of 4 to 5 litre cubic capacity. Most of them were sports cars, but some five to eight racing cars were built for works entries and privileged private drivers. Hermann Rützler and Count Unrich Kinsky were the fully official ones, and the German (not Austrian) owner of a machine tool factory and amateur racing driver Huldreich Heusser had a status similar to the former. In 1926 Kinsky and Heusser raced five litre blower cars that were close to identical. Heusser continued with that car throughout the 1927 season but Kinsky was issued with a new low-slung chassis version with 5 litre supercharged engine for Semmering and Schwabenberg 1927. Faced with a major financial crisis Steyr now closed its competitions department, and that marked the definite end of racing car design at Steyr. Upon this Kinsky retired from racing whilst Heusser sold his Steyr (of 1925 or 1926 vintage) in order to buy a Bugatti. With his new car he had a fatal accident in August 1928.

If Prince Nicolas of Rumania bought the car directly from Heusser, this must have happened during the 1927/28 winter. I assume the year 1929 crept into the legend because Ferdinand Porsche joined Steyr in 1929 where he designed the large Steyr Austria limousine and the Steyr XXX, a compact two litre saloon.

Perhaps a few words about Prince Nicolas. He was the younger brother of King Carol II who married Mme Lupescu and thereby lost his throne to his baby son King Michael I. (who is still alive, I last saw him in Stockholm three years ago). Prince Nicolas became regent for the baby King, but in 1930 Carol II staged a coup d'état and snatched the crown from his son. Nicolas was evicted from the royal house of Rumania by his brother, and it therefore sounds plausible that he went to live in France, together with his Steyr racing car. In 1940 Carol II was forced to abdicate, and his son became King for a second time. This lasted until the Soviets forced him into abdication and exile in 1947. Prince Nicolas was given the title "Prince of Hohenzollern" in 1942.

Vitesse2, I'm flattered that you mentioned my name and one of my books. I wrote another one more closely involved with our subject: "Austro Daimler & Steyr, Rivals until they Merged". If you wish to contact me, it is pfundner.m@aon.at

Martin Pfundner

[ERault]

Thank you for this elaborate answer. Prompted by Vitesse2 comments, I ordered your book "Vom Semmering zum Grand Prix" but I am still waiting for delivery. In the meantime, I checked a few books with the following results. Tragatsch's "Die Grossen Rennjahre" has a photo of Heusser's Steyr (page 67). The car is similar to the one in the Fanauto article but shows some differences, most notably being right-hand drive whereas the Prince's Steyr is left-hand drive (the exhaust are on the same side, so no photo inversion). Page 145 shows another Steyr in the hands of Emil Frankl. It is closer in details to the Prince's car, but again right-hand drive.

Frankl's Steyr can also be seen in Herrmann Schwarz "75 Jahre Gaisbergrennen", pages 19-20. This book has a photo of a similar car driven by a lady called Minki Klinger (maybe related to Maserati driver Umberto Klinger ?) in the 1931 Gaisbergrennen. Lastly, another racing Steyr is pictured in the 1932 event, driven by Karl Dasch. He won the 3000-8000 cc racing class, but finished 2mn behind winner Caracciola.

It would be interesting to see if some racing Steyr were made with left-hand drive or if Prince Nicolas modified his. The photos of the Prince's car in Fanauto shows the blower sticking out on the right side of the car, whereas Frankl's car has clean bonnet lines. Maybe the Prince's car had an extra-large blower which made impossible to fit the steering box in his usual right side, thus imposing left-hand drive ?

[Martin Pfundner]

Thank you for this elaborate answer. Prompted by Vitesse2 comments, I ordered your book "Vom Semmering zum Grand Prix" but I am still waiting for delivery. In the meantime, I checked a few books with the following results. Tragatsch's "Die Grossen Rennjahre" has a photo of Heusser's Steyr (page 67). The car is similar to the one in the Fanauto article but shows some differences, most notably being right-hand drive whereas the Prince's Steyr is left-hand drive (the exhaust are on the same side, so no photo inversion). Page 145 shows another Steyr in the hands of Emil Frankl. It is closer in details to the Prince's car, but again right-hand drive.

Frankl's Steyr can also be seen in Herrmann Schwarz "75 Jahre Gaisbergrennen", pages 19-20. This book has a photo of a similar car driven by a lady called Minki Klinger (maybe related to Maserati driver Umberto Klinger ?) in the 1931 Gaisbergrennen. Lastly, another racing Steyr is pictured in the 1932 event, driven by Karl Dasch. He won the 3000-8000 cc racing class, but finished 2mn behind winner Caracciola.

It would be interesting to see if some racing Steyr were made with left-hand drive or if Prince Nicolas modified his. The photos of the Prince's car in Fanauto shows the blower sticking out on the right side of the car, whereas Frankl's car has clean bonnet lines. Maybe the Prince's car had an extra-large blower which made impossible to fit the steering box in his usual right side, thus imposing left-hand drive ?

Steyr cars of that era generally had the steering wheel on the right because left was the rule of the road in Austria. Heusser had more than one Steyr. As he was German it would seem plausible that his last car (the one later sold to Prince Nicolas) was built by Steyr with left hand drive for export. Emil Frankl as well as Karl Dasch acquired ex-works Steyr racing cars after the Steyr withdrawal from racing. Minki Klinger was Austrian and definitely not related to Umberto Klinger. She usually raced a late Steyr VI Klausen in sports car trim but owned one of the two Kinsky-team low-slung racing car which she entered for Josef Hansal to race in 1927/28. Unfortunately I never saw a photo of the car as owned by Prince Nicolas, so I'd be happy if someone could show this picture.

Martin Pfundner

[ERault]

The Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung has a picture of the Prince in his Steyr at the 1931 "Budapester Autowoche" :

http://anno.onb.ac.a...m...e=11&zoom=0

Same car as in the Fanauto article, except in was then (in 1934) registered "11 - B".