Veritas (car brand)

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Veritas logo.png
Veritas Nürburgring Logo.svg
Emblem Dyna-Veritas.JPG


Logos: Veritas, Veritas Nürburgring and Dyna-Veritas

Veritas ( lat. For truth ) was a German brand for racing and sports cars after the Second World War . The headquarters of the various manufacturers were in Hausen am Andelsbach and Meßkirch in the Sigmaringen district , in Muggensturm near Rastatt , each in the former French occupation zone (later Baden-Württemberg ), and most recently at the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate .

Veritas RS with the 6-cylinder engine of the BMW 328, 1971 cm³, approx. 125 hp
Engine of a Veritas RS, built in 1948
cockpit

history

Veritas GmbH in Hausen am Andelsbach

The former motorcycle racing driver and engine specialist Ernst Loof , who as racing director at BMW played a major role in the development of successful racing models before the war , developed sports and competition vehicles based on the BMW 328 from 1946 onwards . To this end, he teamed up with the former commercial director of the BMW plant in Allach, Lorenz Dietrich, the racing driver and BMW employee Georg "Schorsch" Meier and the former six-day cyclist Werner Miethe . The Veritas working group for sports and racing car construction they founded began operations in March 1947. The company name is said to be traced back to Lorenz Dietrich, who is said to have thought of this word spontaneously when a representative of the French administration asked him about the name of the newly founded company. Initially, the headquarters were on the premises of the former armaments company Weimper in the Hohenzollern Hausen am Andelsbach .

A first prototype of an open two-seater sports car suitable for both road and racing was built in the course of 1947 using the chassis and engine of a used BMW 328. The model name was accordingly BMW Veritas . The vehicle had a pontoon-shaped streamlined body made of aluminum, which was unusual for the time , as featured in the last BMW competition models built before the war . The coachbuilder at Veritas was Kurt Frick from Meßkirch.

With this and another car built by Karl Kling himself according to original plans, the first smaller competitions took place in the course of the year. In addition, the first orders have already been received, whereby the Veritas business model during the time of the black market in Germany provided that the customer had to provide a used sports car chassis as a platform as well as other means of production in addition to a deposit in cash. According to the division of the sports car classes in competitions, engine variants with 2 liter and 1.5 liter displacement were available.

Veritas GmbH in Meßkirch

In the spring of 1948 the company was relocated to a somewhat larger site in Meßkirch in Baden . These were work accommodation camps (so-called train barracks) of the former Reich Labor Service (RAD) on today's Bizerba site. At the same time, Jean-Baptiste Lefêbvre, a French officer through whom Dietrich's connections to the occupation authorities and France ran, became a partner in Veritas GmbH , which was founded on March 1, 1948 . At the same time, Georg Meier left the group of shareholders.

The new brand made its first major and publicly announced appearance at the race at the Hockenheimring on May 9, 1948, which ended with victories by Kling in the sports car class up to 2 liters and by Meier in the category for formula-free racing cars. Further successes followed in the course of the season, so that, due to the associated widespread attention, BMW banned the use of the name BMW-Veritas a short time later . The cars were therefore built from then on under the model name Veritas RS (RS for "racing").

Veritas quickly developed into the dominant brand at all German racing events in the early post-war period. Although the design was actually two-seater sports cars, the RS could also be used in the newly created Formula 2 due to the very loosely drawn up regulations and proved to be competitive even against pure-bred monopostos . This quickly resulted in further orders, with a large proportion of the RS built between 30 and 40 being sold to foreign customers. The main buyers were racing drivers from Switzerland, Belgium and France, but cars also went to Italy, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and the USA. In this way, Veritas racing cars were represented on all racetracks in Europe and beyond during the 1950s.

In order to appeal to wealthy customers who were not interested in racing, a coupé with a somewhat reduced performance and suitable for everyday use was derived from the RS model . The model, which had bodies from the Spohn company and was sold under the name Comet , was the most expensive German production car at the time. However, only about eight were made.

Despite the numerous successes, the RS was very controversial in the German press because of its sweeping streamlined body and the associated unwieldiness on winding routes, which quickly gave this type of vehicle the nickname aerosaur . However, parallel, Veritas therefore began with the development of the first prototype of a small series of single-seater racing car for the very popular in these years in Formula 2. As time was the procurement of used BMW engines more difficult and so it was in the train of currency reform to the Decision to start developing own engines.

Financed by the Swiss Hermann Trümpy, a development office was set up in Caslano in Ticino for this purpose . There, under the direction of the former BMW engine designer Ernst Zipprich, an in-house OHC six-cylinder engine made of light metal was developed under the name Meteor . From around autumn 1949, both the Veritas racing cars and - in a slightly throttled version - luxurious sports and touring cars were equipped for use on public roads. In the absence of sufficient in-house production capacity, series production of these drive units took place at Heinkel in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen , while the bodies were made by Hebmüller and Spohn. The road vehicles ran under the model names Scorpion (two-seater convertible ) and Saturn (two-seater coupé, together also built around eight), while the racing cars were called the Comet S and the approximately ten Formula 2 racing cars produced were called the Meteor .

A new Swiss racing team, the Ecurie Suisse , was founded especially for the use of these racing cars . A total of four Veritas Meteors were ordered and pre-financed for the drivers Peter Hirt , Paul Glauser, "JM Marcy" and Max de Terra , which were used in the 1950 season. Other cars were built for racing drivers like Karl Kling and the two pre-war aces Hermann Lang and Paul Pietsch , and orders were also received from Belgium.

Veritas Badische Automobilwerke GmbH Rastatt / Baden

However, the production of these models again required larger production capacities, so that another move became necessary in March 1950, this time to the premises of the Oberrheinischen Automobil GmbH Freiburg (ORAG) in Muggensturm 1 ( Rastatt district ). After Werner Miethe left the production line, the former technical director of BMW, Dipl.-Ing. Dorls taken over.

Nevertheless, it became clear around this time that the company would not be able to survive in the long term from selling these models, which were extremely expensive for the time. Director Lorenz Dietrich therefore concluded an agreement with the French car manufacturer Panhard for the delivery of engines and components for the successful front-wheel drive compact car model Dyna , which were to be offered with attractive convertible bodies by the Stuttgart company Baur from 1950 under the name Dyna-Veritas . In addition, the first prototypes of a sedan (body from Baur) and roadster versions (body from Baur and Drews) were developed on this platform .

Due to the large number of activities, however, Veritas' capacities were overwhelmed and so the company got more and more into difficulties from the beginning of 1950. Due to the bottlenecks in both finances and resources, there were considerable delays in the delivery of the vehicles that had been ordered and for the most part already paid for. This had a particularly serious effect on the new racing car models, the development of which could no longer be carried out with the necessary care. During the race for the German Grand Prix in 1950, all seven Meteor racing cars that had started failed early due to technical defects, a devastating defeat that resulted in considerable damage to the company's image. And while the Veritas brand was still extremely successful in domestic races until 1949, with Germany's re-registration for international motorsport it quickly became clear that the German designs were not up to the foreign racing car models - especially those from Ferrari and Gordini .

In spite of some requests for state support for the most important German racing car manufacturer, it finally went bankrupt in the fall of 1950 and, as a result, the partners involved separated.

1In fact, the company was located in the district of Bietigheim , but Muggensturm was used as the official company address

Dyna-Veritas

Dyna-Veritas from 1951
Dyna-Veritas from 1951

Lorenz Dietrich continued to pursue the plans to manufacture and sell the Dyna -Veritas and founded Dyna Import and Export GmbH together with Lefêbvre for this purpose . This company, with its headquarters in Baden-Baden and branches in Essen and Munich as well as an offshoot in Paris , was also supposed to take over the distribution of the original Dyna-Panhard in Germany. However, the models did not withstand the price comparison, especially for Volkswagen , and so the number of units remained low. A total of only 176 Dyna-Veritas had been produced by the end of production in 1953 , a significant part of which was exported to France, Belgium, Switzerland and Scandinavia.

Veritas Nürburgring

Ernst Loof, on the other hand, remained true to his passion for racing cars and luxury cars. After the Veritas bankruptcy, he managed to bring enough machines and material to the Nürburgring to start a humble new beginning in the halls in which Auto Union had prepared and serviced its racing cars before the war . His newly founded VERITAS-Automobil-Werke Ernst Loof GmbH Nürburgring initially operated as a tuning company for racing cars of all kinds and as a racing service for the Meteor racing cars that were still in the hands of private drivers . Thanks to this support, the publisher Paul Pietsch was able to achieve the greatest success in the history of the Veritas brand with his victory at the International Eifel Race in 1951 at the Nürburgring, and with another victory at the Schauinsland hill climb, he also secured the German Formula 2 championship of the same year .

In contrast, 1952 was overshadowed by serious accidents. On the ultrafast Grenzlandring came Veritas racing cars of Helmut Niedermayr off the track and crashed into the crowded bleachers. With a total of 13 or 14 deaths (according to various sources, there was an unknown death) and 42 injured, he caused the worst catastrophe in German motorsport to date. A short time later, Pietsch also had a serious accident during a training run on the AVUS , when his racing car, equipped with a streamlined body and fully clad cockpit specially made for this high-speed course, fell off the track and rolled over several times.

Loof, however, continued undaunted and in 1953 looked after two completely revised Veritas Meteor on the route, which were to be driven by Willi Heeks and Kurt Adolff as part of a newly founded team called Ecurie Nürburg . However, Adolff seized the opportunity to switch to the Ferrari 500 of the Swiss Rudolf Fischer , so that Loof finally entered the race himself with the second car at the 1953 German Grand Prix , but retired shortly after the start.

Parallel to the racing activities, Loof worked on the development of a new model series of three- and five-seater luxury cars for the road, which were equipped with the engines still supplied by Heinkel and with Spohn bodies. These vehicles were offered under the brand name Veritas-Nürburgring with short (three seats) or long wheelbase (five seats) and each in an open and a closed version. A two-seater open racing sports car (model designation RS 2/52) was also planned from 1952 as the successor to the earlier RS model, which was still equipped with the BMW engine .

But despite the entry of the Duisburg washing machine manufacturer Erwin Bonn, who held 51% of the company shares , production was always limited to the manual production of a few copies due to the limited production capacity and the continued low financial resources. A total of no more than 20 vehicles were built up to 1953, the last of which are said to have been equipped with comparatively low-performance engines from the Ford Taunus or the Opel Olympia . Heinkel had stopped production of the in-house six - cylinder in the meantime due to a lack of economically viable quantities.

As a result of insufficient motorization, hardly any customers opted for a Veritas, so that Loof had to file for bankruptcy in August 1953. The remnants of the company, including the factory halls at the Nürburgring, were ultimately taken over by BMW - not least in response to political pressure. Loof himself was taken on again as a salaried employee, but was still in charge of the facility, now known as the Nürburgring base of the BMW test department .

The last project to be developed there on the platform of the BMW 502 with a V8 engine was a two-seater roadster as a rival design to the 507 model drawn by Albrecht Graf von Goertz . Its body, supplied by Baur, was stylistically based too much on the earlier Veritas models, so BMW rejected the design. Nevertheless, Loof had the vehicle presented on the occasion of a beauty competition in Bad Neuenahr in September 1954, where it promptly won a prize - reason for BMW not to give Loof any further development orders.

Ernst Loof died of a brain tumor on March 3, 1956 at the age of 56. The vacant factory halls at the Nürburgring were taken over by Willi Martini in 1959 , who had already been employed there during Veritas times. He set up a tuning company including a BMW agency and soon developed competition vehicles again.

Motorsport

Veritas Meteor on the home stretch of the Nürburgring
Formula 2 racing car Veritas Meteor in the paddock
6-cylinder engine from Heinkel
Veritas Meteor cockpit

Race with sports car

For the 1951 Swiss Grand Prix , the Swiss Peter Hirt was entered with a Veritas Meteor . Veritas is therefore generally considered to be the first German automobile brand to take part in a Formula 1 race. The vehicle, however, was a car with a 2-liter engine according to Formula 2 at the time , which the organizers and two English Formula 2 HWMs had approved. The Veritas was unable to start the race because Hirt had to give up at the start due to a faulty fuel pump.

The Veritas cars were also used in the drivers' world championship at the German Grand Prix and the Belgian Grand Prix in 1952 and 1953 , with Fritz Riess at the GP v. Germany achieved the best result in 1952 with seventh place on his Veritas RS .

A total of 71 class wins were achieved in circuit races and hill climbs in Germany ( Allied occupation zones , Federal Republic of Germany , GDR and Saarland ). There were also numerous other class wins at smaller events in Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy, Yugoslavia and Denmark. The last models remained in racing until the 1960s.

On a Veritas Nürburgring , Ernst Loof also took part in the 1953 Monte Carlo Rally with co-driver Josef Cremer . In 1954 he - now already in BMW service - competed again with a BMW 501 and Hans Wencher as a co-driver.

The racing driver Émile Cornet , who had also raced Veritas cars during the season, became Belgian champion in 1950.

Between 1948 and 1953, a total of 13 German championship titles were won with Veritas racing and sports cars.

Monoposto Veritas Meteor

In 1949, under designer Ernst Loof, the Veritas Meteor was created, a monoposto or single-seater with free-standing wheels in accordance with Formula 2 , which was valid at the time and according to which the races for the 1952 and 1953 World Cup were held. Racing cars with up to 500 cc and compressor or with a maximum of 2000 cc without compressor were permitted.

The basis of the engine manufactured by Heinkel in the Veritas Meteor was the six-cylinder BMW 328, which the former BMW employees Karl Schäfer, Karl Rech and Max Knoch further developed. A striking feature of the new in-line engine with a displacement of 1988 cm³ was the overhead camshaft, which controlled the V-shaped valves hanging in the cylinder head. The crankshaft ran in lead bronze bearings, while the connecting rods were roller-mounted on both the crank pin and the piston pin. The engine developed 140 hp at 7000 rpm; it was water-cooled with 10 liters of water in circulation and had a dry sump lubrication with a capacity of 12 liters.

The power was transmitted to a self-locking differential gear or to the rear wheels via a single-disc dry clutch, a five-speed gearbox with a special oil pump and a cardan shaft . Depending on the race track, the gears of the differential could be changed to adapt the translation.

The frame of the Veritas Meteor consisted of a tubular grid ( tubular space frame ). The front wheels were suspended on double wishbones, with a longitudinal torsion spring bar acting on the upper links and the oblique telescopic shock absorbers supported on the lower links. The rear double-articulated axle, which was also sprung with torsion bars, had a wishbone on each side and an additional wishbone above the differential, and from 1952 a De-Dion support tube behind the differential.

The foot brake operated hydraulically on four light metal drums via two brake cylinders. The car was driven either with steel disc wheels or with Rudge steel spoke wheels, both versions with central locks.

At the order of the racing driver Karl Kling , the Hebmüller body shop built a streamlined body for a Veritas Meteor in 1950. Kling won the Solitude race on August 13 of the same year with his car. In 1951, Kling passed the car on to Hans Klenk, who the following year also had a normal racing car body (with free-standing wheels) made for slow and agile courses. In this variant, Hans Herrmann started the German Grand Prix on August 2, 1953 at the Nürburgring. Another streamlined body was made at Veritas at the Nürburgring for the Meteor by Paul Pietsch. In contrast to the Hebmüller body, this had a closed cockpit and could, if required, be mounted over the existing racing car body. Pietsch wanted to start the Avus race in 1952, but had a serious accident during training in which the car was badly damaged.

The Veritas Meteor failed to achieve great success, probably due to the tense situation in the company since it was founded.

Road vehicles

In addition to the RS, RS II and Meteor motorsport vehicles, Veritas also offered road vehicles. These few vehicles with different details were manufactured individually; the number of units built is speculation. Rosellen has a total of 30 vehicles and 18 Veritas Nürburgring vehicles at Comet, Saturn, Scorpion and Dyna-Veritas. Konen listed 32 Veritas and Dyna-Veritas and 9 vehicles of the Veritas-Nürburgring types as still known and existing vehicles in his register. Walter speaks of hardly more than 20 vehicles produced in Muggensturm. Freese names 166 vehicles including the racing cars and 36 Heinkel engines, which were also installed in Meteor racing cars.

In 1950, 12 vehicles were newly registered in Germany. In 1951 the number rose to 43 and in 1952 it fell again to 30. For 1953 and 1954 no approvals have survived.

Sports coupe

Two-seater coupe and Veritas' first road vehicle. This vehicle is also referred to in the literature as the Comet, in the Veritas brochure, but as a sports coupé. It was equipped with a 90 PS variant of the BMW 328 six-cylinder engine, which also served as the basis for the 125 PS variant of the RS.

Comet S, Scorpion and Saturn

Comet S (a sports car developed from the RS), Scorpion (a two-seater convertible) and Saturn (a two-seater coupe) are the Veritas road vehicles that were built in the last year in Messkirch and in the time of Muggensturm. The most noticeable external difference compared to the Sport Coupé was the semicircular air outlet openings on the side. The vehicles were advertised with a catalog published in German and French. The prices quoted are 18,350 DM for the Scorpion and 25,500 DM for the Comet S. For comparison: A VW Beetle at that time cost around DM 4,000 and a Porsche around DM 9,000. Special features were the Heinkel six-cylinder engine in these three types as well as a five-speed gearbox, 12 V generator, De-Dion rear axle , double oil pump and a dual-circuit brake system.

Veritas Nürburgring convertible and coupe

A few three- and five-seat convertibles and three-seat coupés with Heinkel engines were also built at the Nürburgring.

VerMot AG is reviving the Veritas brand with the RS III

Veritas RS III

In 2001, VerMot AG from Gelsdorf in the Ahrweiler district in Rhineland-Palatinate presented a concept vehicle for a new open sports car under the historic brand name. At that time, a 492 kW (670 hp) BMW V12 engine was planned to be the engine of the Veritas RS III. After a long development period, a roadworthy prototype appeared in 2008 and the start of series production was announced for 2009. A BMW V10 or BMW V8 engine with an output of 441 kW (600 PS) or 353 kW (480 PS) should be available as the drive source. The sports car with a body made of plastic reinforced with aramid and carbon fibers should reach a top speed of up to 347 kilometers per hour. In tests, the Veritas RS III took 3.2 or 3.6 seconds, depending on the engine, to accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h. According to the manufacturer's announcement, the production of a small series of up to 30 copies was planned from 2010, but this did not happen.

According to the extract from the commercial register, insolvency proceedings were opened and VerMot AG was dissolved in 2018.

Others

In Meßkirch, in the coach house of Meßkirch Castle , as well as in a basement room in the southeast wing, the Oldtimer Museum of the Oldtimer-Freunde Meßkirch und Umgebung eV was exhibited in 2005, one of the rare specimens of the Meßkirch post-war car brand.

Furthermore, the EFA Museum for German Automobile History in Amerang in the Rosenheim district in Bavaria has published a brochure about Veritas on the occasion of a special show shown there.

In 2006, the Muggensturm community named a street after the racing car. The "Veritasstraße", which connects the industrial area of ​​the place with the community Muggensturm, was in discussion for years and sometimes heavily controversial; because the construction project cost several million euros.

International Veritas meetings organized by the Veritas Register took place at irregular intervals: 1985 and 1987 in Bad Kissingen, 1988 in Meßkirch, 1990 in Muggensturm and again in 1997 and 2019 in Meßkirch (2019 organized by Oldtimer-Freunde Meßkirch)

statistics

Veritas RS, built in 1948, at the DAMC 05 Oldtimer Festival Nürburgring
Veritas RS, manufactured in 1948 - nameplate, start no.  97 (2007-06-17 Sp) .jpg

German champions on Veritas

year class driver
1948 Racing car ( Formula Libre ) Georg Meier
1948 Sports car 2 liters Karl Kling
1949 Formula 2 racing car Toni Ulmen
1949 Sports car 2 liters Karl Kling
1949 Sports car 1.5 liters Glöckler helmet
1950 Formula 2 racing car Toni Ulmen
1950 Sports car 2 liters Fritz Riess
1950 Sports car 1.5 liters Paul Pietsch
1951 Formula 2 racing car Paul Pietsch
1951 Sports car 2 liters Toni Ulmen
1952 Formula 2 racing car Toni Ulmen
1952 Sports car 2 liters Fritz Riess
1953 Formula 2 racing car Theo Helfrich

Significant individual results (selection)

Day and place Class or event placement
May 9, 1948
Hockenheimring race
Class racing car
( Formula Libre and Formula 2)
Winner: Georg Meier, BMW Veritas
dito Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Karl Kling, BMW-Veritas
2nd place: Ralph Roese , BMW-Veritas
(debut of the Veritas brand in a run for the German championship, first victory in a race in Germany)
May 30, 1948
Cologne course
Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Karl Kling, BMW-Veritas
2nd place: Toni Ulmen
July 18, 1948
Reims (France)
Coupe des Petites Cylindrees (Formula 2) 3rd place: Eugène Chaboud (France), BMW-Veritas
(first major international success)
August 15, 1948
Around Schotten, Vogelsberg
Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Karl Kling, Veritas RS
2nd place: Karl-Heinz Schäufele, Veritas RS
2nd place: Ralph Roese, Veritas RS
September 5, 1948
Eggberg hill climb
Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Karl Kling, Veritas RS BMW
May 8, 1949
Hockenheimring May Cup race
Class sports car 1.5 liters Winner: Helm Glöckler, Veritas RS BMW
2nd place: Eduard Gräske
dito Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Karl Kling, BMW-Veritas
2nd place: Karl-Heinz Schäufele, Veritas RS BMW
May 22, 1949
Brussels (Belgium)
Grand Prix de Bruxelles (Formula 2) 2nd place: Alexander Orley (USA), Veritas Spezial
3rd place: Emile Cornet (Belgium), Veritas RS
June 5, 1949
Chimay (Belgium)
Grand Prix des Frontieres (Formula 2) Winner: Emile Cornet (Belgium), Veritas RS
(Veritas brand's first win in a circuit race abroad)
June 12, 1949
Around Schotten, Vogelsberg
Class sports car 1.5 liters Winner: Helm Glöckler, Veritas RS BMW
2nd place: Joseph Hummel, Veritas RS BMW
3rd place: Hermann Kathrein, Veritas RS BMW
dito Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Karl Kling, Veritas RS
2nd place: Toni Ulmen, Veritas RS BMW
July 31, 1949
Schauinsland hill climb
Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Karl Kling, Veritas RS
August 7, 1949
Nürburgring Grand Prix
Class racing car Formula 2 Winner: Toni Ulmen, Veritas RS
dito Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Karl Kling, Veritas RS
3rd place: Toni Ulmen, Veritas RS BMW
dito Class sports car 1.5 liters Winner: Helm Glöckler, Veritas RS
2nd place: Joseph Hummel, Veritas RS
3rd place: Hermann Kathrein, Veritas RS
September 18, 1949
Solitude racing circuit
Class racing car Formula 2 Winner: Toni Ulmen, Veritas RS
September 18, 1949
Saar bank course Saarbrücken (Saarland)
Class sports car 2 liters Winner: “Armand Philippe” (France), Veritas RS
dito Class sports car 1.5 liters Winner: Helm Glöckler, Veritas RS
April 30, 1950
Montlhéry (France)
Coupe d´Argent (Voiturette) Winner: Alexander Orley (USA), Veritas Special
May 7, 1950
Erlen (Switzerland)
Prize of Eastern Switzerland (Formula 2) 3rd place: Toni Ulmen (Germany)
(first success of a German Veritas driver abroad)
May 18, 1950
Luxembourg
Grand Prix de Luxembourg (sports car 2 liters) 3rd place: Jacques Swaters (Belgium), Veritas RS
May 28, 1950
Chimay (Belgium)
Grand Prix des Frontieres (Formula 2) 2nd place: Honoré Wagner (Luxembourg), Veritas RS
June 4, 1950
Bern (Switzerland)
Price from Bremgarten (sports car 1.5 liters) Winner: Franz Hammernick (Switzerland), Veritas RS
June 11, 1950
Nürburgring
Eifel race, championship run, Nürburgring (1.5 liter sports car) Winner: Paul Pietsch, Veritas RS BMW
2nd place: Helm Glöckler, Veritas RS BMW
3rd place: Ernst Ring, Veritas RS BMW
dito Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Fritz Riess, Veritas RS
3rd place: Theo Helfrich Veritas RS
July 30, 1950
Geneva (Switzerland)
Prix ​​de Geneve (sports car 1.5 liters) Winner: Franz Hammernick (Switzerland), Veritas RS
August 6, 1950
Schauinsland hill climb
Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Fritz Riess, Veritas RS
August 13, 1950
Solitude racing circuit
Class racing car Formula 2 Winner: Karl Kling, Veritas Meteor (streamline)
dito Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Kurt Adolff, Veritas RS
3rd place: Paul Pietsch, Veritas RS BMW
August 20, 1950 German
Grand Prix Nürburgring
Class racing car Formula 2 4th place: Toni Ulmen, Veritas Spezial
(best-placed German driver in the race)
dito Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Fritz Riess, Veritas RS
August 27, 1950
Sachsenring (GDR)
Class racing car Formula 2 Winner: Toni Ulmen, Veritas RS Spezial
dito Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Fritz Riess, Veritas RS
(greatest success of the brand in the GDR)
May 1, 1951
Salzburg (Austria)
Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Kurt Koresch (Austria), Veritas RS
May 13, 1951
Chimay (Belgium)
Grand Prix des Frontieres (Formula 2) 3rd place: Marcel Masuy (Belgium), Veritas RS
May 14, 1951
Hockenheim
International May Cup race, Hockenheim Winner: Toni Ulmen, Veritas RS
2nd place: Theo Helfrich, Veritas RS
3rd place: Fritz Riess, Veritas RS
May 26, 1951
Bern (Switzerland)
Price from Bremgarten (sports car 1.5 liters) Winner: Franz Hammernick (Switzerland), Veritas RS
June 3, 1951
International Eifel Race Nürburgring
Class racing car Formula 2 Winner: Paul Pietsch, Veritas Meteor
(Veritas brand's greatest success in Formula 2)
dito Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Fritz Riess, Veritas RS
2nd place: Toni Ulmen, Veritas RS
3rd place: Theo Helfrich, Veritas RS
dito Class sports car 1.5 liters Winner: Franz Hammernick (Switzerland), Veritas RS
August 5, 1951
Schauinsland hill climb
Class racing car Formula 2 Winner: Paul Pietsch, Veritas Meteor
dito Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Toni Ulmen, Veritas RS
2nd place: Fritz Riess, Veritas RS
August 12, 1951
Erlen (Switzerland)
Price of Eastern Switzerland (1.5 liter sports car) Winner: Hans Schuler (Switzerland), Veritas RS
September 9, 1951
Grenzlandring
Grenzlandringrennen, championship run Winner: Toni Ulmen, Veritas RS
2nd place: Theo Helfrich, Veritas RS
3rd place: Josef Peters , Veritas RS
May 25, 1952
International Eifel Race Nürburgring
Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Fritz Riess, Veritas RS
2nd place: Toni Ulmen, Veritas RS
2nd place: Kurt Adolff, Veritas RS
June 1, 1952
Chimay (Belgium)
Grand Prix des Frontieres (Formula 2) 3rd place: Marcel Masuy (Belgium), Veritas RS
June 22, 1952
Porto (Portugal)
Grand Prix of Portugal (sports car 2 liters) 2nd place: Kurt Adolff, Veritas RS
August 3, 1952 German
Grand Prix Nürburgring
Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Toni Ulmen, Veritas RS
2nd place Wolfgang Seidel
dito Class sports car 1.5 liters Winner: Paul Pietsch, Veritas RS
August 17, 1952
Bern (Switzerland)
Price from Bremgarten (sports car 2 liters) Winner: Kurt Halter (Switzerland), Veritas RS
September 28, 1952
International AVUS race
Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Fritz Riess, Veritas RS
2nd place: Toni Ulmen Veritas RS BMW
3rd place: Wolfgang Seidel
March 22, 1953
Palm Springs (USA)
Class sports car 2 liters 2nd place: John Biehl (USA), Veritas RS
August 22, 1953
Bern (Switzerland)
Price from Bremgarten (sports car 1.5 liters) Winner: Hans Schuler (Switzerland), Veritas RS
August 30, 1953
Nürburgring 1000 km race
Class sports car 2 liters Winner: Wolfgang Seidel / Josef Peters, Veritas RS
(Most important success of the Veritas brand in a sports car race / endurance race)
September 20, 1953
Montlhéry (France)
Coupe d´Automne (sports car 2 liters) Winner: Marcel Balsa (France), Veritas RS
July 19, 1959
Antwerp (Belgium)
Kilometer Lance (sprint race) class 2 liters Winner: Arthur Legat (Belgium), Veritas RS 2
(last success of a Veritas outside of historic vehicle racing)

Technical data of the Veritas models

Parameters meteor RS Comet Comet S Saturn Scorpion
body Monoposto Roadster, 2 doors,
2 seats
Coupé, 2 doors,
2 seats
(Spohn body, Ravensburg)
Coupé, 2 doors, 2 + 2 seats
(Spohn body,
Ravensburg)
Cabriolet, 2 doors,
2 + 2 seats
(Spohn body,
Ravensburg)
engine 6-cylinder in-line engine
Engine control an overhead camshaft a side camshaft an overhead camshaft
Displacement 1988 cc 1971 cc 1988 cc
Bore × stroke 75 × 75 mm 66 × 96 mm 75 × 75 mm
Compression ratio 12: 1 7.5: 1 8: 1 6.5: 1 7.2: 1
Carburetor 3 Solex API 40 3 Solex 40 JF 1 Solex downdraft carburetor 3 Solex PBI 32 downdraft carburettors
power 140 hp (103 kW) at 7000 rpm 115 PS (85 kW) at 6000 rpm 80 PS (59 kW) at 5000 rpm 55 hp (40 kW) at 4200 rpm 100 hp (74 kW) at 5000 rpm
transmission 5 gears
(4 gears synchronized)
4-speed fully synchronized 5 gears (4 gears synchronized)
frame Pipe grille - - - -
Front suspension Double wishbones Wishbones double wishbones
Rear suspension Wishbone and
De Dion support tube
Rigid axle De Dion axis
suspension longitudinal torsion bars front transverse leaf springs, rear semi-elliptical springs Longitudinal spring bars
Shock absorbers hydraulic
Brakes Drum brake, Ø 300 mm hydraulic four-wheel drum brakes hydraulic light metal drum brakes with two-circuit system
Covering width 50 mm - - - - -
wheel size front 5.50 × 16 ",
rear 6.00 × 16"
5.50 × 16 "
Length × width × height 3370 × 1550 × 1050 mm 4000 × 1515 × 1100 mm
(without hood)
4200 × 1515 × 1380 mm 4250 × 1515 × 1350 mm
wheelbase 2250 mm 2500 mm 2600 mm
Gauge front 1280 mm, rear 1300 mm front 1180 mm, rear 1220 mm, front 1308, rear 1300 mm
Turning circle 12.5 m 11 m 12.5 m
Empty weight 560 kg 1000 kg 1300 kg 1100 kg
Top speed up to 240 km / h 160 km / h 180 km / h 149 km / h 160 km / h

List of Veritas model thumbnails

Veritas Comet Matrix model 1:43
Type Manufacturer scale Finished model / kit Source of supply Availability
Veritas RS Dux, Markes & Co, Lüdenscheid Finished model with elevator no longer available no longer available
Meteor III Kaiser-Models, Budapest 1: 43 Finished model, limited to 500 pieces not known not known
Streamlined car Paul Pietsch Kaiser Models, Budapest 1: 43 Finished model, limited to 500 pieces not known not known
Veritas RS Danhausen Modelcars, Aachen 1: 43 Kit not known not known
C90 Coupe silver Matrix Scale Models, AM Uden 1: 43 Finished model, limited to 408 pieces international dealernetwork of specialized model and internet shops availible
Saturn Coupe, Spohn Carbody Lion Models, Frankfurt 1: 87 Kit Lion Models, Frankfurt not known
Comet S, Spohn Carbody Lion Models, Frankfurt 1: 87 Kit Lion Models, Frankfurt not known

literature

  • Hanns Peter Rosellen: The Veritas Story - Chronicle of a Legendary German Brand 1947–1953. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-87943-923-0 .
  • Rolf Konen: VERITAS - reaching for the stars in Veritas-Register (ed.); City of Meßkirch (ed.): 50 years of post-war racing 1947–1997. Documentation for the 6th International Veritas Meeting, 3. – 6. June 1997 in Meßkirch. Veritas Register, Messkirch 1997, DNB 964557789 .
  • Rainer Simons: BMW 328 - From Roadster to Myth. Copress-Verlag, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-7679-0481-0 , p. 228 ff.
  • Reinald Schumann: German automobile racing 1946–1955. Road racing after the zero hour. Monsenstein and Vannerdat, Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-942153-09-6 .
  • Bernard Vermeylen: Panhard-ses voitures d'àpres-guerre. ( Memento of March 4, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) on the Panhard Club Germany website (accessed on November 9, 2009)
  • Wolfgang Thierack: Racing legend Willi Martini. Schneider Text Editions, Elmgrove, Gormanstown, Ireland, ISBN 0-9541746-5-8 , p. 10 ff.
  • Arthur Rosenhammer , Günter Grassmann: Motorsport-Almanach 1953. Sportverlag Berlin (GDR), 1953, OCLC 247081694 .
  • Martin Walter: Veritas - Badische Automobilwerke GmbH. The short history of the sports and racing car manufacturer in Muggensturm. In: Heimatbuch des Landkreis Rastatt 2000. Rastatt 2000, ISBN 3-925553-15-0 , p. 167 ff.

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. a b Cover story in Der Spiegel , issue of May 7, 1949.
  2. a b This car connects. In: Südkurier . November 9, 2006.
  3. Gudrun Beicht (at): Two women and a car. In: Südkurier. September 2, 2005.
  4. Automobil Revue , issue 32/1951 of 30 May 1951st
  5. ^ A b c Edler / Roediger: The German racing vehicles. Fachbuchverlag Leipzig, 1956, ISBN 3-343-00435-9 .
  6. Traumautoarchiv.de . Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  7. ^ Wolfgang Thierack: Racing legend Willi Martini . Schneider Text Editions, 2004, ISBN 0-9541746-5-8 , pp. 11-16.
  8. Hanns Peter Rosellen: The Veritas Story - Chronicle of a legendary German brand 1947–1953. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-87943-923-0
  9. Rolf Konen: VERITAS - the reach for the stars in Veritas register (ed.); City of Meßkirch (ed.): 50 years of post-war racing 1947–1997. Documentation for the 6th International Veritas Meeting, 3. – 6. June 1997 in Meßkirch. Veritas Register, Messkirch 1997, DNB 964557789
  10. Christian Jung, Ernst Schneider (Ed.) Tradition through memory The story of Muggensturm - historical reading book ISBN 978-3-95505-126-6
  11. ^ Herbert Freese: My Brothers and I A contribution to German racing history: Alexander von Falkenhausen and his Formula 2, AFM racing car ISBN 978-3-942184-33-5
  12. ^ Hans Christoph von Seherr-Thoss : The German automobile industry. Documentation from 1886 until today . Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1974, ISBN 3-421-02284-4 , p. 492 .
  13. Hanns Peter Rosellen: The Veritas Story - Chronicle of a legendary German brand 1947–1953. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-87943-923-0
  14. Rolf Konen, Bruno Kühnis; City of Meßkirch (ed.): The chronicle of a legendary German brand Veritas GmbH, Meßkirch 1948–1949
  15. Rolf Konen, Bruno Kühnis; City of Meßkirch (ed.): The chronicle of a legendary German brand Veritas GmbH, Meßkirch 1948–1949
  16. Christian Jung, Ernst Schneider (Ed.) Tradition through memory The story of Muggensturm - historical reading book ISBN 978-3-95505-126-6
  17. Rolf Konen, Bruno Kühnis; City of Meßkirch (ed.): The chronicle of a legendary German brand Veritas GmbH, Meßkirch 1948–1949
  18. carbodydesign.com , leftlanenews.com and supercars.net (accessed November 21, 2009)
  19. Self-presentation of Veritas RS III by VerMot AG (accessed on July 15, 2008)
  20. Information Vermot AG (accessed on 9 November 2009) of 20 October of 2009.
  21. Sport auto magazine from June 28, 2010.
  22. Commercial register extract . Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  23. Markus Vonberg: Veritas at the stand. In: Südkurier. March 11, 2005.
  24. Experts were amazed at Meßkirch's old-timers. In: Südkurier. March 18, 2005.
  25. Motor Klassik 6/1985, p. 114f
  26. Motor Klassik 7/4987, p. 115
  27. ^ Bulletin of the Krauchenwies community, Volume 29, Friday July 8, 1988, Number 27 p. 5
  28. ^ Badisches Tagblatt Dr. 142, Saturday June 23, 1990
  29. Rolf Konen: VERITAS - the reach for the stars in Veritas register (ed.); City of Meßkirch (ed.): 50 years of post-war racing 1947–1997. Documentation for the 6th International Veritas Meeting, 3. – 6. June 1997 in Meßkirch. Veritas Register, Messkirch 1997, DNB 964557789
  30. ^ Hermann-Peter Steinmüller: Messkircher oldtimers and open shops . In: Südkurier. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  31. Hanns Peter Rosellen: The Veritas Story - Chronicle of a legendary German brand 1947–1953. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-87943-923-0 .