Ihle Bruchsal brothers
| Gebrüder Ihle KG body and vehicle construction, Bruchsal
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| legal form | Limited partnership |
| founding | 1930 |
| Seat | Bruchsal , Germany |
| management | Rudolf Ihle (Managing Director) |
| Number of employees | 170 (2009) |
| Branch | Body shop , bumper cars , carousels |
| Website | ihle-fahrzeugbau.com |
Gebrüder Ihle, Bruchsal , was originally a small series manufacturer of individual automobile bodies and later a manufacturer of bumper cars and carousels .
history
The brothers Rudolf and Fritz Ihle from Bruchsal were motor vehicle masters and had started their own business in Bruchsal in 1930. They soon decided to offer special bodies based on common small cars (initially Dixi and BMW , then DKW , Fiat , Ford and Steyr , etc.). The customer could get a kit for self-assembly or have his car converted in Bruchsal. Or the brothers bought up used cars, reworked them technically and re-clad them.
The design of the Ihle bodies was based on well-known racing and sports cars and represented an upgrade of older models, some of which had come onto the market in the early 1920s. Many of these cars were partly made of wood, which quickly weathered, whereas the engine and chassis could still be used.
Some of the renovations not only affected the body, but also the equipment (e.g. new fittings) and the chassis, which was stretched for some models. In addition, the engine output could be increased.
Revisions were offered for the following vehicles: Dixi 3/15 , BMW 3/15 , DKW front car F1 , F2 , F4 , F5 and Ford Eifel .
Later bodies for larger vehicles, e.g. B. by Opel manufactured. However, these were not very successful and a number of competitors had also found themselves who offered special bodies for series models in the same way. From the beginning of the 1940s, vehicles for showmen were also produced in parallel. During the Second World War, precision weapons and portable pumps with DKW engines are said to have been built near Ihle. After the war, products were only made for showmen, such as bumper cars and carousels . But here, too, the pressure of competition became so high that the Ihle Bruchsal brothers no longer exist.
Dixi 3/15 and BMW 3/15 Ihle Sport
There were Ihle bodies for the Dixi 3/15 and the BMW 3/15, which had the same chassis and engine.
- Ihle Sport Type 600 (1934–1939), free-standing front wheels with mudguards, optical borrowings from the BMW Wartburg and Bugatti Type 35.
- Ihle Sport Type 800 (1936–1939), front with fenders integrated into the body, design elements from the BMW 315/1 Sport, later also from the BMW 328.
All-steel bodies were delivered, which were assembled directly at Ihle. In addition, the engines could be tuned if desired. But it was also possible to purchase the bodies as a kit from Ihle.
For a long time there was a rumor at BMW round tables that Ihle had invented the BMW kidney . This opinion was underpinned by the fact that there were BMW / Dixi vehicles with Ihle bodies and first registrations around 1929, which, however, had later been bodyworked by Ihle. The first BMW with the kidney grille, which is still typical of BMW today, was the BMW 303 from 1933. In fact, however, production of the Ihle roadster bodies did not begin until 1932, when production of the BMW 3/15 ended and three years after the last Dixi 3/15, initially with the rectangular radiator grille that had been customary at BMW until then, which became a little narrower towards the bottom, from around 1933 in a clear kidney shape based on the BMW 303 and BMW 315/1 .
It should be noted, however, that these Dixi / BMW-Ihles differed significantly in appearance. What makes identification more difficult is the fact that many Ihle bodies were modified and rebuilt by their later owners. The most popular modification, however, was the use of BMW emblems, especially when the base vehicle was still a DIXI 3/15, which was considered obsolete at the time (the BMW 3/15, which had the same basic shape, were younger and had slight advantages in terms of prestige).
DKW F2 / F4 / F5 Ihle Sport
All-steel body based on the Dixi 3/15 & BMW 3/15 Ihle Sport 800 body for the DKW models F2 / F4 / F5. Partly with BMW kidney.
Ford Eifel Ihle Sport
All-steel body based on the Dixi 3/15 & BMW 3/15 Ihle Sport 800 body for the Ford Eifel. Partly with BMW kidney.
literature
- Werner Oswald : German Cars 1920-1945 . 10th edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-87943-519-7 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://gebr-ihle-autoskooter-forum.de/homepage82012/Seite23.html
- ↑ Sports cars from "Ihle" always inspire! In: Brochure of the Ihle brothers. BMW AG, 1935, accessed on February 13, 2014 (document in the BMW Group Archive).