Enzmann (car)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Enzmann Spider (also Enzmann 506 ) is a sports car designed by Swiss Emil Enzmann , which was built from 1956 to 1968. The Enzmann brand name has been continued by Emil Enzmann's son-in-law since 2001. The company is currently based in Bischofszell as Gossweiler + Schreiber .

history

Peter 506

In 1953, the Swiss country doctor and hobby designer Dr. Emil Enzmann developed an open sports car, inspired by the Porsche 550 Spyder . The body , a monoblock (in one piece) made of glass fiber reinforced plastic , was screwed to a VW chassis . To reduce weight, doors were not installed, which also simplified the body construction.

In 1956 the Enzmann Spider was presented at the Comptoir Suisse in Lausanne . In 1957, the international IAA in Frankfurt followed, where it also received the addition 506 , the number of the trade fair stand. Three variants were offered:

  • Spider - with a small racing disc and open
  • Cabriolet - with Karmann windshield and folding roof
  • Hardtop - with a fixed folding or parallel sliding roof

It was manufactured from 1956 to 1968. The main reason for the discontinuation of production was ultimately the procurement of new chassis , which was torpedoed by VW. VW saw the Enzmann as a competitor to the VW Karmann-Ghia . The veto of AMAG , the Swiss VW and Porsche importer, meant the end of Enzmann production. The alternative would have been to buy complete VW Beetles, unscrew their bodies and convert them into enzmen . This would have been far too expensive and would have thrown Enzmann out of the competition in terms of price - a circumstance that brought other Beetle conversions, such as Rometsch , to an end.

In the end, around 100 vehicles were built. Today around 20 Enzmen are still on record, 13 of them ready to drive. A large collection of more than 10 Enzmann vehicles was shown in the Auto and Technology Museum Sinsheim around 2006 .

Karl Enzmann and Werner Schreiber, son and son-in-law of the company founder, nowadays produce new editions true to the original. Since the start of the new edition in 2001, air-cooled boxer engines with a displacement of two liters and a double carburetor from the Volkswagen Beetle have been used there . The power is 110 hp . The price of a new Enzmann is around EUR 40,000 .

Web links

Commons : Enzmann  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Auto catalog 54th annual edition 2010/2011, page 266, ISSN  0940-3833 Motor Presse Stuttgart GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart