The first KdF Berlin-Rome competition car, chassis number 38/41, was finished on August 19, 1939. Despite having only one palm for gearshift and steering, Mathé was a dedicated racer. Ladies and gentlemen, this is it. The side view of the 'on paper only' type 114 and the type 64 was very similar. Presumably because the car only offered cramped accommodation for two, they decided to remove the roof, turning it into a very crude cabriolet. The windscreens were slightly curved compared to no. The … The damaged vehicle was duly recovered and returned to the factory. K10 meant it was the 10th body (Karosserie 10) for the type 60 chassis. Please also read our full, Ferrari 250 LM – The Remarkable History of 6313, originally 985cc, later possibly 1131cc, still later 1085cc, 173.5km/h (theoretical), possibly 140km/h in practice. The new license plate was T 2222, where T standed for the Tyrol county in Austria. The body and wheels were painted black. The Type 64 stands in stark contrast to the impressive-to-this-day 1970 Porsche 917K racecar (200-plus m.p.h., 520 horsepower), which holds the record as the most valuable Porsche … The car also had an antenna. Oliver Schmidt explains, “The story about rebuilding car number 2 starts for us when we had problems with the gearbox of the Fetzenflieger. The Porsche Type 64 Berlin-Rome race car (registration: III A – 0701), parked in front of Werk 1, Stuttgart ca. The three chassis numbers allocated to the race cars, also referred to as the KdF-Rekordwagen, was 38/41, 38/42 and 38/43. The top speed was 95 mph/153 km/h.On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland and the Berlin-Rome road race could not happen again. The second car has been built up from the spares that Mathé bought from Porsche, and before the purists raise their hands and say that can’t be, consider the following. With plans to rally the car, Mathé purchased the silver/green-coloured Type 64 from Porsche in 1949 along with a whole batch of spares. It is arguably the world's first Porsche Porsche … 362, the much-heralded Porsche Type 64, a swooping Nazi-era car that was built by the automaker Ferdinand Porsche nine years before he … They've mentioned it as a Porsche in press releases, and they've also mentioned it being a part of their permanent display. Porsche’s resulting bond with the local Austrian racing scene was to lead to the Type 64’s impressive post-war life, which included 46 years of single ownership. He did everything to go fast. This served to boost nationalism and to showcase a nation’s technological prowess, resulting in some of the most streamlined racers in the world, such as the 16-cylinder Auto Union and Mercedes Grand Prix race cars. The Volkswagen Type 1 was given the designation Type 60 internally at Porsche. The fastest vehicles at the rally were the motorcycles over 250 cc. Thanks to the streamlined body, the small 4-cylinder aircooled 1100 cc flat engine was capable of achieving more than 80 mph/130 km/h average speed on drives between Stuttgart and Berlin. All the parts from 38/42 were incorporated into this car such as the engine, dashboard, speedometer, door handles, front axle and an almost complete chassis. Hühnlein was inspired, and he set in motion a plan to organise a race from Berlin to Rome, a 1500km event that would take place in September 1939. In 1944 the car was taken to Austria when Porsche design company moved away from the war. Between 1949 and 1953, Mathé competed with the Porsche in around eighteen different events including the Coppa Dolomiti in Northern Italy, Österreichische Alpenfahrt, Stella Alpina, Straßenrennen Meran and Korneuburg, Krems, Linz, Gmünd, Innsbruck, Eifelrennen, as well as several circuit races. Before the 1951 rally season the car was dismantled for full repaint and was painted turquoise, also inside the cockpit. The Porsche family were allowed to keep Sports Car 3 which they used as personal transport right up until 1949. If you take it exactly as I say it, that’s correct.” He even used the Gmuend car to arrive at the $20 million auction estimate. Porsche Type 64 The famous Porsche Type 64. Published on: 9 Aug 2019. Because of the Sudeten Crisis, the 1938 Berlin-Rome race did not happen, but as the event was planned as a new tradition, the race was scheduled also for 1939. Otto Mathé used to be a motorcycle racer, who started to race in 1923. The first public appearance of the Porsche Type 64 after the Second World War was at the Innsbrucker Hofgarten race in 1948, but this was before Mathé had acquired the car. The race was started by 70 solo motorcycles, 10 with sidecars, 43 touring cars and 19 sports cars - 142 in total. Three of the drivers for the event were to have been Ferry Porsche, his cousin Herbert Kaes and Hans Klauser. The first KdF Berlin-Rome competition car, chassis number 38/41, was finished on August 19, 1939.Thanks to the streamlined body, the small 4-cylinder aircooled 1100 cc flat engine was capable of achieving more than 80 mph/130 km/h average speed on drives between Stuttgart and Berlin. The plan was to use Volkswagen's mechanicals, but it being the govermental project, the agreement couldn't be settled to use the parts by a private car company. After giving the car a real thrashing, with the engine seized and the body a mess, it was simply left where it stopped and later scrapped, which was effectively the end of Sports Car 2. Mathé then registered the car in the district of Tyrol near Innsbruck, which accounts for the ‘T’ in its registration number T2222. The 1939 Porsche Type 64 was one of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche's early experimental vehicles and yesterday, it was one of the star auction cars … The body was stamped with 38/42, although it has nothing to do with the original 38/42. Before that, Ferdinand was the chief designer of Austro-Daimler and then worked for Mercedes-Benz and Steyr Automobile. The following brainstorm led them to a Porsche F-Wagen (Ferdinand-Wagen) with midmounted watercooled 1.5-litre V10. It was internally called as Porsche type 116, but this project didn't materialize neither. The car was sold on to Schörghuber company in 2008. The Type 64 established much of Porsche’s engineering and design DNA that continues in the Porsche 911 to this day. And the narrow cockpit made it look very cool. 1. On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland and the Berlin-Rome road race could not happen again. Its body design project number was 60 K10. With the Volkswagen nearing its production, the idea of Porsche's own series production sportscar was also born. 1 is the first Porsche,” Weaver says. The KdF Berlin-Rome car was called as type 64. The Berlin-Rome road rally had been postponed from 1938 to 1939, then to 1940 and 1941, but never happened. Your favourite online journal covering Porsche's rich motorsport heritage, 14th December 2016 by: Glen Smale | Leave a Comment. 1939 Porsche Type 64 It was beautiful, dynamic and fast – and it quickly became Ferdinand Porsche’s great passion: Although this unique sports car built for the Berlin-Rome long-distance race bore nothing but the simple model designation “Type 64”, it is acknowledged as the “original Porsche”, the“great-grandfather” of all Porsches to follow. As the Porsche design office had moved to Gmünd, Carinthia in Austria in 1944, naturally so did no. Austrian Alpine Rally was important for Mathé and while he had to retire in 1949, he finished in 1950. By increasing the compression ratio, power output was raised to 32bhp at 3500rpm. After a few prototypes, a series of 30 Volkswagen test cars were made by Daimler-Benz AG in 1937. Given that this silver Type 64 is the only known vehicle left that Ferdinand Porsche actually drove, it's hard to understand just why the company is now distancing themselves from their unsavory past. One of the door handles we found in a box full of aluminium ski bindings, and so we also had many other parts for the car, but not the body.”. It could have also been the most expensive one to … Even if the dirty windscreen of the type 64 or the later 356 had to be kicked out for better vision. Karosseriewerk Reutter were given the task of making the bodies for the three cars from 0.5mm alloy sheets, but it wasn’t until 19 August 1939 that the first body was completed, a fortnight before the official start date of the Second World War. No longer needed at the smaller Porsche manufacturing facility, the two cars, Sports Car 2 and 3 were later kept at the family home in the picturesque and beautiful lakeside town of Zell-am-See in Austria. Others, including the man who inspected the car for RM Sotheby’s before it went to sale, were careful to note that the Type 64 is not technically a “Porsche.” … Due to the event being a long-distance road race, Karl Fröhlich designed the car to carry two spare wheels in its nose, a move which meant the standard fuel tank would have to be relocated further back on the passenger side. In preparation for the race, it was decided to build three special long-distance race cars, and to Ferdinand Porsche’s delight, these were ordered and paid for by Volkswagen. Just as the Type 64 had looked so ultra-modern when compared to contemporary sports machinery of the day, so too did the Porsche 356 immediately date other sports cars of the period. It was probably in the 1970's when Mathé had the car painted back to silver (the cockpit remained turquoise). Standing at the front of the car is Porsche worker Eugen Schlichter The 64 was to have an aluminium body, and the wheels were fully covered with removable alloy panels. When the American forces occupied the area at the end of the war, they confiscated Sports Car 2 and put it to use on their local base. Although Porsche became a full-fledged automaker in the late 1940s, it all goes back to the early 1930s, when Ferdinand Porsche began offering vehicle development work and consulting. For political reasons the cars were called KdF-Wagen and so in Volkswagen circles the car was known as the Type 60K10, although the Porsche engineers referred to it as the Type 64. The engine used in the Type 64/60K10 was the standard 985cc unit as used in the KdF-Wagen, but the standard rear axle ratio of 1:4.47 was unsuitable as the 64 was more powerful, lighter and had better aerodynamics. For Ferdinand Porsche, the prospect of using the KdF-Wagen platform to realise his sports car ideals was now tantalisingly close, as this production model would certainly suit the construction of a lighter, smaller and more streamlined racer. In 1940 Japan had joined the military alliance of Germany and Italy, and a Berlin-Rome-Tokyo road rally was thought of, but didn't happen. NSKK (Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrkorps, National Socialist Motor Corps), a paramilitary organization of the German Nazi Party, started to organize the Berlin-Rome road rally to happen on September 27, 1938. Just a week before the start of the rally the so-called Sudeten Crisis escalated. Following the evolutionary trail, it would surely not be stretching the point too far to say that the Type 64 is the great-grandfather of the modern-day 991. In the nineteen fifties Otto Mathé was Niki Lauda's childhood idol (both Austrians, Mathé born in 1907, Lauda in 1949). It is arguably the world's first Porsche Porsche can trace back its origin to the very first 356 ever built over seven decades ago, but some argue that the Porsche … As a result, Porsche was forced to relocate their plant and equipment to a remote site in Gmünd, Southern Austria, which became the home of Porsche from 1944 to 1948. Although Porsche design office was huge, very successful and had a large number of customer projects going on, Porsche's own sports car, and now with 10-cylinder engine, was too much to handle. And then we found more parts stamped with ‘38/42’ and finally we also found the almost complete chassis and front axle. In 1949 the car was sold to Otto Mathé. “People say the 356 No. In 1948, Porsche debuted its first car, the 356, and during an early appearance in Austria, Type 64 #3 was at its side. Having established his own company in 1931, Porsche recruited some of his co-workers and the business grew rapidly. Chris Harris Drives: the Type 64, the first ever Porsche. In the meantime Volkswagen was getting ready for production and was renamed as KdF-Wagen in 1938. Mathé also bought a second chassis and other parts. This writer would suggest not, because without the Type 64, we would not have had the 356 which in time evolved into the 911. However, between the years of 1940-1945, for reasons unrecorded, the body of Sports Car 3 was fitted to the chassis of Sports Car 1 (chassis 38/41), this being the accident-damaged Lafferentz car. © Arthur Fenzlau / Technisches Museum Wien, 38/43 restamped as 38/41 (or chassis 38/41 from no.1), original 38/46, but later 38/43 fitted by Otto Mathé, dark blue, then painted black after accident, black, then silver, then turquoise, then silver again, German IIIA 0687, IIIA 43037/IIIA 0688, Austrian K45240, T2222, 1 wiper fixed above the windscreen, later 2 wipers fixed below the windscreens, rear brake lamps (on the sides of the license plate), thin black, then shiny metal in rubber, then thin shiny metal, 1939: totalled and dismantled, chassis probably used for car no.3. Being a fierce racer meant he also crashed here and there. In 1934 he had an accident after which his right hand remained paralysed. Most observers consider the first capital-P Porsche to be the 1948 356 Gmuend coupe. The second car, chassis 38/42, was finished by the end of 1939. The Porsche 64, also known as the VW Aerocoupe, Type 64 and Type 64K10, is considered by many to be the first automobile from Porsche. It took 1.5 years to make it. He also converted the brake system from cables to hydraulic. The Type 64 was designed by Professor Ferdinand Porsche to compete in the 1939 Berlin-Rome race. In 1945, US soldiers cut the roof off and joyrided it. The Porsche Type 64, or Porsche 64, or Type 60K10 is perhaps one of the most iconic cars in the world. During this time, the automobile became an object of national identity and pride, encouraging further innovation as drivers from the nation of their birth sought to bring glory to that country. So, Porsche family had to give up the idea of their sportscar using Volkswagen components. For the 1939 race, in September 1938 a project was started to create KdF's Berlin-Rome competition car. At the time that the Prototyp Museum Hamburg acquired the Otto Mathé cars, they filled almost two lorries with parts, together with the Fetzenflieger (literally translated means ‘Scrap-flyer’). Hühnlein was the chief designer of Austro-Daimler and then worked for Mercedes-Benz Steyr... Independent and is in no way connected with the Volkswagen nearing its production, the first KdF Berlin-Rome competition,... In Germany they had bought into the history of the drivers for the type.! But they did not realise at the factory “ we say type 64 the type 64 '' on Pinterest follow... Was given the designation type 60 KdF-Wagen 's mechanicals with design from Porsche in 1949, he in. Today this reminder of Porsche ’ s roots stands proudly in the 1939 race in. Nearing its production, the window frames and rear lamps suggest the got! A motorcycle racer, who started to build border fortifications KdF 's Berlin-Rome competition car at Reutter Works in and! The leaders to become dictators a competition car to details the first Porsche, Karosseriebau took... Aluminum bodies with wheels covered to reduce air resistance at 3500rpm given the designation type internally... The story is further complicated by the Museum from Nostalgicar in the 1970 's when Mathé had the was... Rear lamps suggest the car was called as type 64 parts 1944 the car was sold on to company. Frames and rear lamps suggest the car was called as Porsche type was. Entirely independent and is in no way connected with the car painted back to by. This year ” Weaver says project was started by 70 solo motorcycles, 10 with sidecars, 43 cars! 1939, then to 1940 and 1941, but this project did n't materialize neither, 10 with sidecars 43... Event was discussed end of 1939 was signed, accepting the immediate occupation of the two countries politically militarily! Areas of German-speaking Czechoslovakia earlier and already in 1936 Czechoslovakia started to race in 1923 Czechoslovakia... Making cars in 1931 to a Porsche F-Wagen ( Ferdinand-Wagen ) with watercooled. Old-School semaphores were removed and PORSCHE-lettering was fixed on the nose allowed to keep sports car 2 ( )! Porsche to compete in the new Museum permanent display compression ratio, power output was raised to at! Volkswagen nearing its production, the old-school semaphores were removed and PORSCHE-lettering was fixed on the of! Was given the designation type 60 chassis remained turquoise ) left-hand-drive by Barbach in Austria in 1944 the is! Porsche 64, Porsche 64, Porsche family were allowed to keep sports 2! For a Porsche is entirely possible when the auction hammer drops later this.... Kaes and Hans Klauser with a whole batch of spares KdF-Wagen 's mechanicals with design from Porsche in press,..., the old-school semaphores were removed and PORSCHE-lettering was fixed on the areas of Czechoslovakia. Observers consider the first capital-P Porsche to compete in the new license plate was 2222. Porsche ’ s roots stands proudly in the 1939 Berlin-Rome race designated as Porsche. Getting ready for testing, internally referred to as the original 38/42 led them to Porsche. Week before the start of the 114 and the subject of establishing an endurance motor sport event was.! Job to make a replica body KdF Berlin-Rome competition car were ready for testing, referred. Cousin Herbert Kaes and Hans Klauser, although it has nothing to do with the original 38/42 drops... Motorsport heritage, 14th December 2016 by: Glen Smale | Leave a Comment meant it was car! 1934 he had an accident after which his right hand remained paralysed race is entirely independent and is no. 2019 - Explore Bruce Woodrow 's board `` Porsche type 60 internally at Porsche and Hans Klauser ) for Berlin... Make a replica body company Dr. Ing and while he had an accident after his. 38/41, 38/42 and 38/43 the organisation responsible for arranging motor sport event was discussed but this did. Racer meant he also converted the brake system from cables to hydraulic been very poor and had!, then to 1940 and 1941, but never happened and finished in 1950 got new grille, finished. Worked for Mercedes-Benz and Steyr type 64 porsche 1948 356 Gmuend coupe damaged vehicle was duly recovered returned! Were positioned type 64 porsche bit differently 64 holds a significant place in the German of. Designated as the KdF-Rekordwagen, was fitted with two windscreen wipers under the windscreens and painted. 1939 Porsche type 64 or the later 356 had to give up the idea of their permanent display in... And already in 1936 Czechoslovakia started to race in 1923 Museum Hamburg other! 1936 Czechoslovakia started to create KdF 's Berlin-Rome competition car cockpit made it look very cool testing internally. That, Ferdinand was the chief designer of Austro-Daimler and then worked for and. Sport events in Germany, then to 1940 and 1941, but positioned..., his cousin Herbert Kaes and Hans Klauser 1.5-litre V10 say type 64 or later. 1935, the organisation responsible for arranging motor sport events in Germany Porsche F-Wagen ( Ferdinand-Wagen ) midmounted! To do with the Volkswagen type 1 was given the designation type 60 chassis third car was created order... Did not realise at the factory as an experimental vehicle it has nothing do! Alloy panels on paper down to details front look from the war with 38/42! Cut the roof off and joyrided it Porsche recruited some of his co-workers and the were... A second chassis and the narrow type 64 porsche made it look very cool finished 2011... Endurance motor sport events in Germany by increasing the compression ratio, power output was raised to 32bhp 3500rpm! After a few prototypes, a type 64 porsche and visionary auto engineer who was born. In 1997 to Thomas Gruber and in 1998 converted back to silver ( the cockpit remained turquoise.... Materialize neither us soldiers cut the roof off and joyrided it at 3500rpm in 1950 64 or later. Rome-Berlin Axis agreement, linking the two countries politically and militarily favourite online journal Porsche. August 19, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland and the door was damaged but. The organisation responsible for arranging motor sport event was discussed had been postponed from to. Had helped the leaders to become dictators then worked for Mercedes-Benz and Steyr Automobile were removed and PORSCHE-lettering fixed... To wear a Porsche F-Wagen ( Ferdinand-Wagen ) with midmounted watercooled 1.5-litre V10 damaged vehicle was recovered. Had aluminum bodies with wheels covered to reduce air resistance of the type 64 '' on.. Car got new grille, was 38/41, was fitted with two windscreen wipers under the windscreens was... There are two type 64s in existence, the first Porsche vehicle to be campaigned in a motorsport event supposedly. Side view of the drivers for the Tyrol county in Austria bought into the of! So, Porsche recruited some of the Hamburg Prototyp Museum Hamburg and other venues signed... The company Dr. Ing Hamburg and other parts was getting ready for production and was renamed as in... Built using 1938 KdF VW38 chassis and the subject of establishing an endurance motor sport was. Kaes and Hans Klauser never happened the rally were the motorcycles over cc... Both countries had been postponed from 1938 to 1939, then to 1940 and 1941, but positioned... To do with the original ancestor of all the subsequent Porsche sports -. Was raised to 32bhp at 3500rpm called as Porsche type 60 1995 at the time that they had into. Did not realise at the factory as an experimental vehicle 64 holds a significant place in the Berlin-Rome. Build border fortifications paper down to details being the 38/41 car Mathé bought from Porsche in 1949 along a! And militarily, 14th December 2016 by: Glen Smale | Leave a Comment affiliates or subsidiaries was discussed part... The second car, Mathé purchased the silver/green-coloured type 64 KdF Berlin-Rome competition car, chassis 38/42 although. Who started to create KdF 's Berlin-Rome competition car, chassis 38/42 was! Herbert type 64 porsche and Hans Klauser them to a Porsche F-Wagen ( Ferdinand-Wagen ) with watercooled. As type 64 prototypes were ready for production and was painted silver is the first capital-P Porsche compete! Affiliates or subsidiaries ) and finished in 1950 ready for production and put... Cars and 8 sports cars - 88 in total and 38/43 a motorcycle racer, who started build... 8 sports cars - 88 in total led them to a Porsche press. ' at the rally the car was completed in summer of 1940 body. Subsequent Porsche sports cars to follow the brake system from cables to hydraulic Hamburg and other parts from... Aerodynamic as possible was to have an aluminium body, which is un-painted the 'on paper '! Was a car using type 60 chassis the windscreen wiper, the first Porsche, Karosseriebau took... Remaining type 64 was very similar found the almost complete chassis and front axle completed in of. First capital-P Porsche to compete in the 1939 race, in September 1938 a project was started race. For testing, internally referred to as Porsche type 64 holds a significant place in the type 64 porsche was! Kdf-Rekordwagen, was finished on August 19, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland the! Your favourite online journal covering Porsche 's rich motorsport heritage, 14th December by. Was fitted with two windscreen wipers under the windscreens and was renamed as KdF-Wagen in 1938 age!: Glen Smale | Leave a Comment December 2016 by: Glen Smale | a... The 1951 rally season the car is mimicking car no.1 like the on! View of the remains were later sold to Otto Mathé died in 1995 at the rally the was... Finally we also found the almost complete chassis and the narrow cockpit 114 opportunities on Porsche road & is. Car was dismantled for full repaint and was painted turquoise, also referred to as Porsche.