Jehle (company)
Jehle is a company from Schaan in Liechtenstein . The company was founded by Xaver Jehle. The focus of the company's activities was initially on the manufacture of truck bodies, and Jehle also developed special tanks and runway guidance light systems. Jehle has had an exclusive agency for De Tomaso sports cars in the Middle East since the 1970s . A little later, this business gave rise to another branch of business that dealt with the body and engine tuning of De Tomaso models. After all, Jehle also manufactured its own sports cars in small numbers up until the 1990s. Further branches of business are mechanical engineering and tunnel construction , as well as renovation of boats .
Own models
Jehle Safari
These were so-called kit cars on the chassis of the Citroën 2CV . There was a choice of engines with a capacity of 600 cm³ and 1000 cm³ .
Jehle Saphier
The Saphier was a sports car developed by Jehle itself with an extremely wedge-shaped body. A special feature of the design was the lack of conventional doors. Instead, a unit consisting of windshield, roof and side panels, which was hinged at the front and could be opened as a whole, served as the entrance. The body was made of plastic. In the basic version, the sapphire rested on the chassis of the VW Beetle , while the more powerfully motorized versions had their own double-beam aluminum chassis designed by Jehle.
The sapphire was designed for different engines. In the basic version it was powered by a four-cylinder engine from the VW Golf . In the 1984 model year, this engine developed 75 hp, the top speed was specified at 170 km / h, and the sales price was 16,300 Swiss francs . From the following year, a supercharged engine with a capacity of 2000 cc and 150 hp was listed, which should enable a top speed of 230 km / h. The prices were CHF 34,500 in 1985 and CHF 36,500 in 1986. From 1988 a V8 engine with a displacement of 5600 cc was available at an additional cost. In 1990 the eight-cylinder engine had an output of 350 hp and the vehicle had a top speed of 320 km / h. This model still existed in 1991. In addition, the three-seater Super Saphier with 500 to 1000 hp and a top speed of 400 km / h was listed in 1991, but according to Xaver Jehle it was never built.
Emblem on the stern of a Saphier. The text below Saphier reads: Designing and Production AR Studio Xaver Jehle Specki 14 9494 Schaan FL
interior
Jehle Artemis V12
This model was presented in 1990, but it remained only a study. With a V12 engine with a displacement of 6500 cm³, which in the basic version produced 500 hp and when charged, 1000 hp, a top speed of 400 km / h should be attainable.
Tuning
Another mainstay was the tuning of De Tomaso sports cars. Jehle was primarily concerned with increasing the performance of the De Tomaso Pantera , which was primarily carried out by installing one or optionally two turbochargers; According to the factory, performance of over 1000 hp should have been achieved. At the customer's request, larger engines with a displacement of 6.6 liters or 7.5 liters with cylinder heads made of light metal and up to six valves per cylinder were also installed. According to individual press reports, these high-performance engines were also equipped with catalytic converters on request. In addition, Jehle carried out changes to the bodywork, which primarily included adding spoilers and widened wheel arches; In the interior, the Pantera could be upgraded with elaborate leather upholstery.
Jehle also revised the De Tomaso Longchamp in individual copies , which received similar modifications.
Web links
literature
- Dieter Günther, Rob de La Rive Box, Max Stoop: Swiss automobiles. Passenger cars and special bodies from 1945 until today . Autovision, Hamburg 1992, ISBN 3-9802766-2-7 , pp. 88-95
- Bill Hartford: Imports & Motorsports (column). In Popular Mechanics . September 1982, Volume 158, No. 3, ISSN 0032-4558 , p. 14 ( restricted online version in the Google Book Search USA ) - also contains 2 images of the sapphire
- Rob de La Rive Box: Liechensteiner car maker: Xaver Jehle. in auto exclusive , magazine of the Automobil Revue , Verlag Hallwag AG, Bern, January 1991, p. 52 ff.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d auto catalog No. 27 (1983/84), p. 125.
- ↑ a b c d auto catalog No. 28 (1984/85), p. 131.
- ↑ a b c Swiss automobiles
- ↑ a b Popular Mechanics
- ↑ a b c auto catalog No. 29 (1985/86), p. 131.
- ↑ a b auto catalog No. 30 (1986/87), p. 143.
- ↑ auto catalog No. 31 (1987/88)
- ↑ car catalog No. 33 (1989/90)
- ↑ a b c car catalog No. 34 (1990/91)
- ^ Contribution to the television series Automobil. Retrieved August 19, 2020 .
- ↑ car catalog No. 35 (1991/92)