Opel patent motor car "System Lutzmann"

Opel
Opel Patent Motor Car from the Opel Classic Collection
Patent motor car "System Lutzmann"
Production period:	1899-1901
Class :
Body versions :	Phaeton , Vis-à-vis , panel van
Engines:	Otto engine : 1.5 liters (3.5 hp)
Length:	2150 mm
Width:	1440 mm
Height:	1350 mm
Wheelbase :	1350 mm
Empty weight :	520 kg
successor	Opel 9 hp

Opel patent motor car in the Deutsches Museum in Munich

The Opel patented motor car "System Lutzmann" was the first Opel automobile to be manufactured in Rüsselsheim between 1899 and 1901 after the takeover of the Anhaltische Motorwagenfabrik from automobile pioneer Friedrich Lutzmann .

history

background

The Opel company was a manufacturer of sewing machines and bicycles , which was run by Sophie Opel , the widow of the company founder . The eldest sons Carl and Wilhelm were shareholders - and also co-founders of the Central European Motor Vehicle Association , which held the first automobile exhibition in Berlin in 1897 . Exhibitors there were Benz , Daimler , Kühlstein and Lutzmann, who won the driving competition held on September 30th and thus caught the attention of Wilhelm and Fritz Opel .

The Opel brothers got in touch with the designer and, after the exhibition, visited his factory in Dessau . They were interested in car manufacturing because the market for bicycles was oversaturated at the turn of the century (after a boom and numerous start-ups). A second visit to Dessau took place in 1898.

Production at Opel in Rüsselsheim

The contract and addendum were signed on January 21, 1899 (according to other information, Opel acquired Lutzmann's factory in autumn 1898). The purchase price was ℳ 116,687 ; Friedrich Lutzmann became director of vehicle construction and received an annual salary of ℳ 8,000 (6,000 from the second year) as well as a bonus of 1% of the annual turnover.

The first Opel Patent Motor Car was built in Rüsselsheim at the beginning of 1899. For this purpose, Lutzmann's entire production was moved there from Dessau. Opel also acquired machines, tools, material, and Lutzmann's patents and customer base , and a large number of the Dessau workers were taken over, above all the foreman Sedlacek. In addition to the relocated Dessau workers, others were withdrawn from bicycle construction.

To adopted from Dessau materials included a ready Lutzmann arrow A . The first advertisements in February 1899 also showed unchanged Lutzmann-Pfeil models.

The Opel patent motor cars cost around 2,000 to 3,500, depending on the model variant, and were largely handcrafted - there was no question of series production. Special requests, for example for carbide lamps or an additional servant seat, were also met. Opel granted a six-month guarantee. A total of 65 motor vehicles were delivered: 11 in 1899, 24 in 1900 and 30 in 1901. The patent motor car was therefore not an economic success for Opel.

End of cooperation with Lutzmann

It became increasingly evident that Lutzmann's design was out of date. After he failed to modernize his motor vehicle or develop new models, the separation in 1901 was not amicable.

In order to fully utilize the motor vehicle production, the production of motorcycles was started at Opel in 1901 , first in the form of a copy of Laurin & Klement , then with in-house designs. After a contract with Renault had already been concluded, there was a cooperation with Darracq due to insufficient production capacities . Opel became the general importer for Germany and Austria-Hungary and also manufactured car bodies itself.

construction

The construction of the Opel patent motor car consisted of a tubular steel frame with a wooden structure and rigid axles on semi-elliptical leaf springs . Compared to the Pfeil models built in Dessau, the Opel automobiles were simplified and dispensed with the “wrought iron ornaments” typical of the art locksmith Lutzmann. The Opel patent motor car received a stub axle steering instead of the previous bicycle-like axle fork or turntable steering , and the chassis and frame were also redesigned to achieve a lower center of gravity and thus better handling.

Gray cast iron was now used instead of forged steel for the engine, which was installed in a lying position at the rear , but a special cylinder drilling machine had to be purchased to process it. It had an automatic inlet valve and the 1.5-liter variant developed 3½ HP (approx. 2.5 kW) at 650 rpm - the maximum engine speed was 800 rpm.

The drive took place via belts on a countershaft and from there by means of chains to the rear wheels. The belt drive enabled two gear ratios and idling , the selector lever was attached to the steering column. The Opel patent motor car could optionally be equipped with a third gear. As with the previous Lutzmann models, there was no differential gear , the necessary speed compensation between the driven rear wheels when cornering was done via a freewheel in the chain drive.

The Opel patent motor car had a drip oiler and electric battery ignition. A gasoline tank designed as a surface carburetor was used to form the mixture . The cooling took place according to the thermosiphon principle ; a dedicated tube cooler and water pump were only available later.

The motor vehicle had two band brakes , with the handbrake acting on the transmission and the footbrake acting on the rear wheels. As with the Dessau models, the wheels had ball bearings, which was not a matter of course at the time. The Opel patent motor car was equipped with solid rubber tires as standard , pneumatic tires ("Pneumatics") cost a surcharge.

With the exception of the “business car”, only open bodies were offered; a hood was available on request. The car weighed around 450 to 520 kg.

Model variants

The first product description appeared in February 1899: a two-seater with 4 hp, a four-seater with 5 hp, a hunting car or "Break" with two-cylinder and 6 hp and a bus with ten seats and 8-hp two-cylinder were offered. Two-cylinder engines up to 20 hp should be available for an additional charge.

Lutzmann wanted to "further develop" the two-cylinder engine. As far as is known, only single cylinders were actually made in Rüsselsheim.

In the same year, a new, "more realistic" catalog was published showing six models, vehicles for two to four people with 4 to 8 hp (No. 1 to 5) and a "luggage" or "advertising trolley" (No. 6) with an optionally available "interchangeable body", whereby it could be converted into a passenger car. This vehicle was called "Coloss von Rüsselsheim" in the local press.

In the colored brochure from 1900 four model variants with engines of 3½, 4, and 5 HP appeared. It was a simple two-seater, a vehicle with additional space for a child, the “Duc” model for four to five people, and a model with a variable luggage structure. No new catalog was published for 1901.

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  Heinrich Opel and foreman Sedlacek (at the wheel) in an Opel patent motor car in 1899

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  Opel "company car"

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  Opel Patent Motor Car, built in 1899, from the Opel Classic collection

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  Opel patent motor car with the bonnet open

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  Opel racing car on the Heidelberg – Königstuhl ascent in 1901

Competition rides

On the voyage Aachen - Koblenz on May 14, 1899 Heinrich Opel fell - by a margin of half an hour in the first place lying down - a failure of the ignition. On July 2nd of the same year, at the Frankfurt - Cologne race , there were again problems with the ignition. The Opel patent motor car was successful for the first time on July 14th on the long-distance trip Mainz - Bingen - Koblenz - Mainz, where Wilhelm Opel achieved fifth place in the over 350 kg class with an average speed of 27.4 km / h.

On Sunday, October 22nd, Heinrich Opel and his co-driver Sedlacek took a trip via Flörsheim , Höchst and Oberursel and then climbed the Großer Feldberg .

At the first international track race in Frankfurt am Main on July 29, 1900, Anne Marie Lutzmann, the wife of the designer, took part as the “first female Opel factory driver”.

On March 31, 1901, Heinrich Opel and foreman Sedlacek won the hill climb to the Königstuhl near Heidelberg in a modified Opel patented motor car against 17 competitors and at an average speed of 26 km / h.

Received vehicles

An Opel patent motor car is now in the Opel Classic collection and another in the Deutsches Museum (both built in 1899). The latter was extensively restored in the 1960s. At least one other vehicle (built in 1900) is in private hands.

literature

• Manfred Riedel: Friedrich Lutzmann. A pioneer in automotive engineering. Anhaltische Verlagsgesellschaft, Dessau 1999, ISBN 3-910192-61-0 .
• Markus Bolsinger, Axel Lengert, Thomas Schulz: Opel. Mobility with tradition. Heel, Königswinter 2000, ISBN 3-89365-883-1 , pp. 6-11.
• Eckhart Bartels, Bart Buts: How it began. The first Opel come from Dessau. In: Eckhart Bartels (Ed.): Yearbook Opel 2018. Podszun, Brilon 2017, ISBN 978-3-86133-868-0 , pp. 8-13.

Web links

Commons : Opel Patentmotorwagen “System Lutzmann”  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Sectional view on wheelsage.org

Remarks

1. ↑ also Sedlazeck , Sedlazcek , Sedlazceck written
2. ↑ "Yesterday we had the opportunity to see a colossal of motor freight cars, which the local company Adam Opel built for a larger wine business, on the various streets of our town." Main-Spitze from July 2, 1899, quoted from: Adam Opel AG ( Ed.): Passenger car model range 1899-1995. P. 46.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Manfred Riedel: Friedrich Lutzmann. P. 103.
2. ^ Heinrich Hauser : Opel. A German gateway to the world. Hauserpresse, Frankfurt 1937, p. 88.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Eckhart Bartels, Bart Buts: How it began. The first Opel come from Dessau. P. 8.
4. ^ L. Scott Bailey (ed.): Opel. Wheels for the world. Automobile International Cooperations, 4th expanded edition, 1990, ISBN 0-915038-18-8 , p. 16.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Manfred Riedel: Friedrich Lutzmann. P. 104 f.
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} L. Scott Bailey (Ed.): Opel. Wheels for the world. Automobile International Cooperations, 4th expanded edition, 1990, ISBN 0-915038-18-8 , p. 17.
7. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Joachim Stange: The first real Opel (= Opel - the first 40 years. Part 3). In: The reliable one. Club magazine of the ALT-OPEL IG from 1972 eV, No. 158, pp. 1–6. ( Online ).
8. ↑ ^{a b c} Manfred Riedel: Friedrich Lutzmann. P. 109
9. ↑ Markus Bolsinger u. a .: Opel. Mobility with tradition. P. 7.
10. ↑ ^{a b c d} Eckhart Bartels, Bart Buts: How it began. The first Opel come from Dessau. P. 9
11. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} Eckhart Bartels: Opel Vehicle Chronicle 1887–1996. Podszun, Brilon 1996, ISBN 3-86133-146-2 , p. 15 f.
12. ↑ ^{a b c d} Manfred Riedel: Friedrich Lutzmann. P. 106
13. ↑ ^{a b c} Manfred Riedel: Friedrich Lutzmann. P. 111.
14. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Eckhart Bartels, Bart Buts: How it began. The first Opel come from Dessau. P. 11.
15. ↑ ^{a b c d} Eckhart Bartels, Bart Buts: How it began. The first Opel come from Dessau. P. 13
16. ↑ ^{a b c d} Markus Bolsinger u. a .: Opel. Mobility with tradition. P. 10
17. ↑ ^{a b c} Eckhart Bartels, Bart Buts: How it began. The first Opel come from Dessau. P. 12.
18. ↑ ^{a b c} L. Scott Bailey (Ed.): Opel. Wheels for the world. Automobile International Cooperations, 4th expanded edition, 1990, ISBN 0-915038-18-8 , p. 20.
19. ^ Jürgen Nöll: Opel Motorcycles. Podszun, Brilon 2012, ISBN 978-3-86133-637-2 , S: 19 ff.
20. ↑ ^{a b} Adam Opel AG (Ed.): Passenger Car Model Range 1899-1995. P. 6.
21. ↑ ^{a b} Manfred Riedel: Friedrich Lutzmann. P. 110.
22. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Markus Bolsinger u. a .: Opel. Mobility with tradition. P. 9.
23. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Eckhart Bartels, Bart Buts: How it began. The first Opel come from Dessau. P. 10
24. ^ L. Scott Bailey (ed.): Opel. Wheels for the world. Automobile International Cooperations, 4th expanded edition, 1990, ISBN 0-915038-18-8 , p. 14.
25. ↑ Eckhart Bartels, Bart Buts: How it began. The first Opel come from Dessau. P. 10; but L. Scott Bailey (ed.): Opel. Wheels for the world. Automobile International Cooperations, 4th expanded edition, 1990, ISBN 0-915038-18-8 , p. 19.
26. ↑ Eckhart Bartels, Bart Buts: How it began. The first Opel come from Dessau. P. 10 f.
27. ^ Manfred Riedel: Friedrich Lutzmann. P. 124.
28. ^ Manfred Riedel: Friedrich Lutzmann. P. 125.
29. ^ Manfred Riedel: Friedrich Lutzmann. Pp. 142-44.
30. ↑ Company on wiens.de