Paul Kleinschnittger

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Paul Kleinschnittger (born February 24, 1909 in Hoppecke ; † January 3, 1989 in Marsberg ) was a German model maker, he later became an automobile designer and producer; he built the first German small car in series after the Second World War .

Life

F125 produced by Kleinschnittger

Kleinschnittger began developing an automobile in 1939 and manufactured a chassis that essentially consisted of old aircraft parts. During the Second World War, the development stopped. The first prototype was completed in the late 1940s. The plexiglass windshield was made from parts of old military aircraft, the fenders were from a motorcycle. A 98 cm³ DKW engine in the rear served as drive . The road traffic office in Niebüll issued despite several safety deficiencies, such as B: no indicators , only a headlight, an operating permit . Kleinschnittger was looking for a sponsor for series production and found him in the Hamburg merchant Walter Lembke. Arnsberg, with its numerous metalworking companies in the area, was identified as a suitable location. The proximity to the Ruhr area as an interesting sales market was also decisive . It was the Kleinschnittger GmbH founded in Arnsberg, produced the soon m² on a 10,000 meter plot with about 50 employees automobiles. Shortly after the start of production of the Kleinschnittger F 125 , the initial financier Lembke left the company in May 1950 and was paid off with a loan from Kleinschnittger's house bank.

The Kleinschnittger Roadster F 125 was built from 1950 to 1957 in a number of around 2000 vehicles. For a long time, the vehicle was no longer up-to-date and no longer found buyers, as the time for such minimalist designs was over from the mid-1950s and, due to increased prosperity, the trend was towards larger and more comfortable vehicles. There were plans for a larger and more modern successor model, which was even about to start production, but this was prevented by the bankruptcy of the company.

Kleinschnittger filed for bankruptcy in 1957. When the company was wound up, he bought back the existing spare parts from the bankruptcy estate and thus ensured the supply of spare parts for the vehicles produced. After the bankruptcy, Kleinschnittger and his wife produced wooden fittings for the lamp industry and welding electrodes for AEG . Until his death, Paul Kleinschnittger stood by the small community of enthusiasts for his vehicles with words and deeds.

Kleinschnittger was buried in Bontkirchen .

literature

  • Otto Künnecke and Andy Schwietzer: Kleinschnittger - the economic miracle in small format. Bodensteiner Verlag, Wallmoden 1999, ISBN 3-9806631-0-8 .
  • Winfried Dickel: Brilon with districts and villages chronicle 1989 , typesetting and printing: Kemmerling GmbH, Brilon 1989, p. 7.

Web links

References and comments

  1. ↑ Series production of the Champion Ch-2 began a little earlier - namely in November 1949
  2. ^ Peter Rosellen: German small cars . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , p. 156.
  3. ↑ Some sources give significantly higher numbers, but these are rather unlikely.
personal data
SURNAME Kleinschnittger, Paul
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German automobile manufacturer and designer
DATE OF BIRTH February 24, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Hoppecke
DATE OF DEATH January 3, 1989
Place of death Marsberg