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Vauxhall-Zimmerli from 1948 - Swiss sports car on an English basis

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Created on February 17, 2017

Reading time 5min

Written by:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Ryan Merrill - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

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Ryan Merrill - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - niedrige Silhouette

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - kurzer Überhang vorne, langer Überhang hinten

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - das Dach macht den Wagen nicht eleganter

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - das Dach überzeugt ästhetisch nicht

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - Frontansicht

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - Heckansicht mit montiertem Dach

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - klassische Pontonform

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - notdürftige Kaputze

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - Cockpit mit zwei Kübelsitzen

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - Lenkrad aus dem Serien-Vauxhall

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - das Vauxhall-Zeichen

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - kein Brett, sondern ein Metall-Panel

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - reichhaltige Instrumentierung

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - Kübelsitze

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - an vielen Orten gezeigt

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - der Reihensechszylinder des Vauxhall Velox

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - sechs Zylinder in Reihe, rund 55 PS bei 3000 Umdrehungen

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - Chassis-Plaketten und Kommissionsnummer

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - kleiner Kühlergrill

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - auch eine kleine Kühlerfigur darf sein

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - ausgezeichnet

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - die Räder vom Vauxhall

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - klassische Rundscheinwerfer

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - flaches Auspuffrohr

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - Wetterschutz

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - komplettes Werkzeugset

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Vauxhall "Zimmerli" (1948) - Vauxhall-Zeichen im Interieur

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Vauxhall Velox (1954) - in der Schweiz montierter Englänger - Genfer Automobilsalon 1954

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Vauxhall Sechszylinder (1953) - mit neu gestaltetem Heck - am Automobilsalon in Genf 1953

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Vauxhall Velox (1948) - als Limousine

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Summary

Shortly after the war, there were hardly any car manufacturers offering sports cars. Initiative entrepreneurs such as the Zimmerli brothers stepped into the gap and built a two-seater roadster based on the Vauxhall Velox, which has survived to this day. This vehicle report describes the unique sports car from Switzerland and shows it in many pictures, supplemented with explanations and photos of the original vehicle.

This article contains the following chapters

The basis - the Vauxhall Velox
Self-supporting body
Independent sports car
From Switzerland to the USA
Further information

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The Swiss brothers Werner and Fritz Zimmerli ran a traditional garage in Reiden (canton of Lucerne). They had already sold Mercedes-Benz vehicles before the war, but after the war they focused on the products of the global General Motors Group and sold Chevrolet, Opel and Vauxhall cars. With the new Vauxhall models Velox and Wyvern, they were able to offer their customers attractive and modern saloons from 1948, but none of the brands from the GM Group offered an interesting sports car. So the Zimmerlis decided to build their own to escape this vacuum. They took the newly released Vauxhall Velox with its straight-six engine as their starting point. The engine had a displacement of 2275 cm3 and, designed for durability and torque, produced just 55 hp at 3000 rpm. The maximum torque of 14.6 mkg was already available at 1200 rpm. No wonder a three-speed gearbox with a gearshift on the steering column was sufficient for propulsion.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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