The Wankel Motor: 1960’s Engine of the Future

by J Kraus

World’s first Wankel-powered production car: the NSU Spider, 1964

Automobiles can trace their reciprocating-piston engines back to the early days of steam power. As internal combustion replaced steam as the preferred method of powering transport, the concept of using reciprocating pistons to convert energy into motion was carried over.

As the automobile matured, the efficiency and operating smoothness of the reciprocating piston engine gradually improved through the use of a multiplicity of smaller cylinders, shorter piston strokes, counterbalanced crankshafts and other refinements. By the dawn of the 1960s however; the automobile was seemingly falling behind aviation, which had switched to smooth continuous-combustion jet engines. A number of auto manufacturers experimented with gas turbine engines, but none entered mass production.

Image from the Past

Hans takes fräulein Uta and her Schnauzer Fritz for a beach outing in his new Mercedes-Benz 190 SL, July, 1958

Where Were You In ’62?

by J Kraus

Pau Grand Prix, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France, 1962

Auto Universum continues its decade-long 50th Anniversary of the Sixties series with a look back at 1962.

If you missed seeing Maurice Trintignant claim the chequered flag at the Grand Prix de Pau on Easter Sunday fifty years ago, you still had the chance to witness plenty of exciting automobile introductions, architectural presentations, product unveilings and cultural events that took place throughout the year.

The Allure of Period Colours

by J Kraus

Lord Brett Sinclair’s Bahama Yellow Aston Martin DBS in “The Persuaders!”

Ancient wisdom once held that in the vintage car market, red, white and black were the best colours for resale. However, as Bob Dylan once declared; The times they are a-changin’.

Early Porsche 911 collectors for example often seek out and pay a premium for the colours that made those cars unique to their time period: Signal Orange, Viper Green, Aubergine, Tangerine; even the more esoteric shades of Olive and Golden Green.

Art and the Automobile

Andy Warhol: 1970 Mercedes-Benz C111, silkscreened acrylic on canvas, 1986. © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts

Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3: Ride of the Valkyries

by J Kraus

Stuttgart Express: The 300 SEL 6.3 at speed

The legendary and storied Mercedes 300 SEL 6.3 was a seminal automotive creation of the 1960’s; a comfortable, quiet, soft-riding, full-featured and meticulously crafted sedan that went like a Ferrari. Nothing quite like it had ever come along before.

The W108/109 S-Klasse Mercedes that served as the basis for the 6.3 was actually the first iteration of the S-Klasse as we know it today. Prior to its debut, The S models of the Ponton and Fintail era were simply mid-range models with longer front-ends, larger engines and superior trim.

The Advent of Fuel Injection

by J Kraus

Messerschmitt Me 109 fighter powered by a Mercedes-Benz V12 fed with Bosch fuel injection

World War II, and the events preceding, did much to seed the development of automotive fuel injection. The concept of injecting precise amounts of fuel into the engine, as opposed to relying on vacuum to draw in approximately the right amount always held promise. The potential of overcoming the carburettor drawbacks of sensitivity to g-forces and altitude changes increased the allure. The war sped things along.

By 1940, Italy was suffering from widespread fuel shortages due largely to the vast amounts of gasoline Mussolini sent to Spain in support of Generalísimo Francisco Franco’s Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War. Shortages intensified when export of petroleum products to Italy was banned by the League of Nations.

Image from the Past

A couple returns to their new Papyrus White Mercedes-Benz 220SE Coupé after enjoying a leisurely lunch of zopf and fondue in an alpine village, 1962. The W111 Series Coupé was introduced to the world at the 1961 Salon de Genève. Styled by Friedrich Geiger and Paul Bracq, it is one of the handsomest post-war Mercedes-Benz designs.

Terroir and Contemporary Automotive Design Trends

by J Kraus Bad Design

Ominous, malevolent and sinister front ends of the 1950′s. Source: Design Quarterly

Automobiles have become more and more aggressive looking of late. A number of them, with their snarling grilles and squinting headlamps, have in fact crossed the line to surly and repulsive, displaying an unpleasantness last seen in the 1950’s.

This may have something to do with the fact that most of the world’s automobile manufacturers established design studios in Southern California some years ago.

Wine aficionados frequently discuss the effects of terroir on their favourite cuvées. The concept of terroir is that the local environment in which the vines grow (weather, soil, etc.) significantly affects the final product. In the same vein, could it not be that the local environment (architecture, clothing styles, attitudes, etc.) affects designers and their output?

A Possible Future Direction for Saab

by J Kraus

1947 Saab 92. Form following function

Saab could find a ready market today by becoming what German cars used to be. The upscale German cars of today are more like the American cars of yore rather than the German cars of just a few decades ago. Too often overly styled, overweight and overwrought, they are in many ways the polar opposite of the handsome, understated and functional German machinery of days past.