The most popular and sought-after technical data

Bruno von Rotz
11/30/2013

NSU-Fiat Jagst 770 1964

The online world is a paradise for statisticians. It's unbelievable what you can investigate and analyze. We recently analyzed which vehicles our readers are most interested in the technical data of. Here are the top 25, i.e. the most-read vehicle types:

1) Porsche 911 S
2) NSU-Fiat Jagst 770
3) Jaguar E-Type
4) Porsche Speedster
5) Zastava 750
6) Mercedes Benz 190 SL
7) Alfa Romeo Dauphine
8) BMW 2000 Tl
9) Porsche 911
10) Porsche Carrera RS
11) Steyr Puch Haflinger 700 AP
12) Ferrari 500 Superfast
13) Porsche 911 SC
14) MG TD Midget Mark II
15) Opel Olympia
16) Porsche 917
17) Porsche 911 T
18) de Tomaso Pantera GTS
19) Bonanza GT
20) Lamborghini Miura P 400 S
21) MG TC Midget
22) Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Veloce
23) VW Standard
24) Porsche Carrera
25) Porsche 908 Spider

Most of the vehicles listed make you nod your head casually. Sure, people want to know what the technology of a Porsche 911 S or a Jaguar E-Type was all about. But what exactly is an NSU-Fiat Jagst 770, some will ask. Well, in the mid-sixties, this was the variant of the Fiat 600 D assembled in the German Fiat assembly plant. A picture of the vehicle from 1964 can be seen above.

And how should you imagine a Zastava 750? Exactly the same as the NSU-Fiat Jagst 770, because it is also a descendant of the Fiat 600, except that the Zastava 750 was built until the end of the 1970s and produced up to 32 hp. And this is what it looked like:

Zastava 750 von 1979

Yes, that's what you find out when you analyze access frequencies in our technical data.

And what can we learn from this? Well, we're still puzzling over that. But perhaps our readers will have a good idea.

Share this article with your friends!

Forgotten car magazines - the short life of Rennsportwoche

Bruno von Rotz
11/29/2013

Titelblätter der Zeitschrift "Rennsportwoche" aus dem Jahr 1977

In 1976, a few racing-enthusiastic journalists (including Stefan C. Schmid and Jürgen Zerha) dared to launch a weekly magazine in Germany. The aim was to comment on and illustrate current racing events. However, due to the lack of a strong publishing house in the background, "Rennsportwoche" (also known as "RSW") had to switch to a biweekly publication from the second year (1977).

In addition to reports on rallies, formula, touring car and sports car races, you could also read about motorcycling in Rennsportwoche, as well as track tests of racing cars, driving reports on sporty automobiles and portraits of racing drivers that are hardly remembered today.

Beispielhafte Doppelseite der Zeitschrift "Rennsportwoche" aus dem Jahr 1977 - Portrait Edgar Dören

But none of this helped, the circulation was too low to be of interest to the advertising industry. The industry advertisements needed to cover costs failed to materialize, which in turn made economic growth impossible.

And so, by the end of the second year, the adventure was already over. Publisher Klaus Feuchtenberger had to announce the merger with the publishing house Powerslide AG and the magazine was integrated into the weekly magazine "Motorsport Aktuell".

Share this article with your friends!

When there were still prejudices about automatics

Bruno von Rotz
11/28/2013

In modern times, at least every second car is equipped with a torque converter automatic transmission, a dual-clutch manual gearbox or a variable transmission based on the DAF principle. Things were different in the 1960s, when car manufacturers still had to argue why men in particular should reach for the automatic selector lever.

Volkswagen did the same in 1968, and they did it with a big trowel. The advertisement, which appeared in ADAC Motorwelt, showed six sports cars with automatic or automated manual transmissions. These were two Chevrolet Corvettes, a Porsche 911, an Aston Martin DB 6, a Jensen FF and a Mercedes Benz 280 SL. And the text naturally referred to these established sports cars:

"Each of these cars overturned a widespread prejudice. The prejudice that cars with automatic transmission are more for older ladies.

Because every one of these sporty cars has an automatic gearbox. The Porsche 911, for example, proves that they are anything but lame despite (or precisely because of) this: it left the entire competition far behind in the 84-hour marathon race on the Nürburgring."

Of course, the advertisement then quickly turned to the VW Automatic, which is said to have had a similar gearbox to the winning Porsche, without the clutch.

And in the end it said:

"What is supposed to be unsporting about this is really incomprehensible to us. And the owners of the cars above probably don't either."

In 2013, this argument can only elicit a weary smile from us, because the days when a super sports car like the Porsche Carrera GT3 was still available with a manual gearbox are long gone and even Ferrari hardly sells any manual cars any more.

As always, the advertisements from ADAC Motorwelt are available in high-resolution in our magazine archive.

Share this article with your friends!

Heating at extra cost

Bruno von Rotz
11/27/2013

Triumph TR 2 1955

Today, it's hard to imagine that a manufacturer would dare to charge extra for heating in 2013, despite the long lists of surcharges. In 1955, however, this was still common practice. In around 50% of cars sold on the German market, the heating cost extra money. For Alfa Romeo it was around 280 DM, for Austin 120 DM, for Auto Union and Borgward 160 DM, for Chevrolet as much as 375 DM and finally for the Triumph TR 2 180 DM.

At least Porsche and Mercedes, as well as the Volkswagen factory, offered heating at no extra charge. And even in the small Lloyd, you didn't have to freeze if you wanted to save money.

VW Käfer 1955

Speaking of prices. For the Volkswagen Beetle with export equipment, you paid 4600 DM in 1955. The annual taxes back then were 173 DM, and the liability insurance was at least 160 DM. Yes, those were the days.

All of this can be found in the price list printed in" Auto-Parade - Die Automobile des Jahres 1956" . Incidentally, the 24-page magazine cost 50 pfennigs. And of course you can find it in the Zwischengas magazine archive.

Share this article with your friends!

Unequal siblings - Sprint versus Caimano

Bruno von Rotz
11/26/2013

Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint 1976

They have a lot in common and yet could hardly look more different - the Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint (pictured above), built in series from 1976, and the Alfa Romeo Alfasud Caimano (pictured below), presented as a study in Turin in 1971

Both were based on the technology of the Alfasud, which meant a water-cooled boxer engine and front-wheel drive.

Alfa Romeo Alfasud Caimano 1971

However, while the Caimano was intended to look to the future and demonstrate future forms and solutions as a concept car, the Sprint had to be a practical everyday vehicle for the young or young at heart. No wonder the airplane cockpit fell by the wayside, as did the futuristic dashboard of the Caimano. Giorgetto Giugiaro, the creator of both vehicles, can be understood when he said of the Sprint: "When this car (he means the Sprint) is presented now, my design (i.e. the Caimano) will be eight years old."

What we also know today, however, is that the Caimano hardly set any signals and that hardly any of its design language was incorporated into later production vehicles.

Share this article with your friends!

Find, buy, swap and meet old friends at the Strähle Porsche Swap

Laurent Missbauer
11/25/2013

Strähle Porsche Swap 10 (© Laurent Missbauer)

Last Saturday, November 23, 2013, the 10th Strähle Porsche Swap, the largest exchange for Porsche parts in Europe, took place in the Swabian town of Schorndorf (26 km east of Stuttgart). Steadily growing exhibitor numbers brought the Arnold Gallery for Art and Technology almost to the edge of its spatial capacities.

Paul Ernst "Bubi" Strähle Junior (Strähle) and the Swiss Marco Marinello (Elevenparts) organized the 10th edition of the Strähle Porsche Swap in their usual perfect manner. Around 70 exhibitors from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Holland and America offered virtually everything that could be associated with Porsche.

Find, buy, swap - that was the motto of the thousand or so infected Porsche enthusiasts from Germany and abroad - even from Japan (!) with Takashi Morita and Akeo Watanabe. There was something for everyone interested in all things Porsche. Whether spare parts or body parts, vehicle accessories, literature and model cars in all scales. Traditionally, there were several Porsche 356 Club presidents from all over Europe: Germany, England, Holland, Italy and also from Switzerland (Frank Baumann).

Porsche 356 Speedster am Porsche Swap 10 (© Laurent Missbauer)

The Italian delegation was surprisingly large. For example, the current President of the Porsche 356 Club Italy, Roberto Bertaccini, had his own stand and his two predecessor presidents, Alberto Testa and Carlo Bordogna, were present as visitors. Andrea Coriani, owner of the second oldest Porsche 356 from Stuttgart, even brought along a silver Porsche 356 Speedster from Italy.

Fast alles konnte gekauft werden (© Wolfgang Blaube)

Former Porsche employees and friends of the brand also used the event as an opportunity to meet up again in Schorndorf and reminisce about old friendships. To mention just three famous Porsche engineers, we met Peter Falk, ex-racing director of the sports car manufacturer from Zuffenhausen (pictured below), Walter Näher, racing engineer of the 917, 956 and 962 racing car types, and Hans Mezger, engineer and former head of Porsche's motorsport department (pictured above), who signed many autographs in Schorndorf. The F1 engine TAG Porsche developed by Mezger won the F1 World Championship in 1984, 1985 and 1986 with Niki Lauda and Alain Prost.

Berühmte Männer rund um das Haus Porsche (© Wolfgang Blaube)

Almost everything a Porsche fan could dream of could be found on the merchandise tables: Porsche lettering, emblems, speedometers in every conceivable variation, service and operating manuals for almost all types from Zuffenhausen, smaller and larger spare parts, steering wheels, Christophorus magazines, books, stamps, pins, promotional items, brochures (even for the 904 GTS and the Porsche 964 Speedster) and very rare precision model cars.

Porsche-Tachos und andere Instrumente (© Laurent Missbauer)

Many pictures of Paul Ernst Strähle (father of Paul Ernst "Bubi" Strähle Junior), who died on October 27, 2010, were exhibited at the entrance to the Arnold Gallery. He was one of the drivers who made the Porsche brand world-famous with their racing victories. Paul Ernst Strähle Senior started his motorsport career at the age of 23 in a five-year-old VW Beetle. His first co-driver was his father Paul Strähle, the aviation pioneer and aerial photographer. His first VW Beetle racing car, known as the "Dapferle", had a Porsche engine. This car accompanied him to his first major national and international successes. After that, the name Paul Ernst Strähle was synonymous with Porsche. As an all-round driver, he competed in the big endurance races and rallies as well as on circuits and in the mountains. Strähle won three times in his class at the legendary Mille Miglia and Targa Florio. He won the 1000 km race on the Nürburgring five times. He also took overall victories in the "Liège-Rome-Liège" rally and the "Tour de Corse" on the island of Corsica.

Porsche-Prospekte und Dokumente an der "Silent Auction" (© Laurent Missbauer)

The absolute novelty at the 10th Strähle Porsche Swap was a "Silent Auction" by Automobilia Ladenburg 's partner. The two auction professionals Marcel Seidel and Tobias Friedrich organized a so-called "silent" auction: 50 lots were exhibited for viewing with a starting price of 1 euro. The highest bid wins. Bids could also be made online until Tuesday 26.11.2013.

Lots der "Silent Auction" von Ladenburg (© Laurent Missbauer)

The collection included technical drawings, various accessories from the good old days and many photos, including an original photograph of Ghislaine Kaes, private secretary to Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, from 1939 (lot 7). This was offered together with a "replacement ID card" from the German Labor Front NS Community "Strength through Joy" for Ghislaine Kaes. Further photos were found in lot 6 (two original portrait photos of Ferdinand Porsche Senior and Ferry Porsche, small format), lot 17 (VW-Porsche 914 advertising photo with lightly dressed ladies) and lot 40 (two original Type 914 advertising photos, labeled "Leica Studio Wörner-7501 Grötzingen Karlsruhe" on the reverse).

On the back of the 2nd VW-Porsche 914 photo one could read the following: "The VW Porsche 914-4 in the new marina of Garavan near Menton. We were particularly struck by this car's outstanding roadholding, excellent steering, low fuel consumption (less than 10 liters per 100 kilometers at 4000 rpm) and the sporty, non-tiring seating position."

Share this article with your friends!

Classic pearls of the future - BMW Z4 Coupé (E86)

Bruno von Rotz
11/24/2013

BMW Z4 Coupé 3.0 si von 2006 (© BMW AG)

The design is generally attributed to Chris Bangle, but Anders Warming, Adrian van Hooydonk and Tomasz Sycha also made their contributions. The BMW Z4 Coupé was first shown as a concept car at the IAA in 2005. The start of production was then announced in New York in 2006.

In contrast to its predecessor, the Z3 Coupé, the Z4 Coupé had a hatchback, but again shared the technical basis with its open-top sister model. The Coupé was considerably more torsionally rigid than the Cabriolet, which paid off in better driving characteristics. The engines available were "only" six-cylinder units, either with three (3.0 si) or 3.2 liter displacement, the latter in the Z4 M Coupé. These were still classic BMW engines without turbochargers, but with the cylinders in a row and 265 and 343 hp respectively.

In total, only 17,094 Coupés were produced during the entire construction period of around two years, 4,275 of which were M Coupés. These are relatively low figures, especially when compared with the 180,565 roadsters built.

The visually controversial coupé can count on a loyal fan base, which should be reflected in stable/increasing prices in the medium/long term, especially for the M version. However, this is not yet the case (2013). There are currently several hundred Z4 Coupés on the German-speaking market (D/A/CH), with prices ranging from around €10,000 to almost €45,000.

Share this article with your friends!

Zwischengas went online exactly three years ago ...

Bruno von Rotz
11/23/2013

So sah die Website www.zwischengas.com am 23. November 2010 aus

Yes, indeed, on November 23, 2010 we went live with our first version - often called beta in the internet industry - of www.zwischengas.com. And yes, it looked a little different than it does today. Not only did we change the logo in the following four weeks, we also modified many other things before going live.

In the last three years, we have published well over 1000 articles, written almost 1200 blogs and taken and uploaded many thousands of photos. We added the market prices, hundreds of thousands of magazine and brochure pages, new article types, the popular Zwischengas quizzes, the news and many more things.

Yes, you certainly can't accuse us of standing still. And our competitors, as far as they exist, have copied many things from us. But we have remained unique in what we do and how we do it. We can see that our effort and commitment is rewarded by the number of readers and the feedback we always receive.

So, enough nostalgia, there are still a few more Zwischengas articles to be written ...

Share this article with your friends!

Who knows anything about this car?

Bruno von Rotz
11/23/2013

Unbekannter Sportwagen 1945

One of our readers sent us a photo of a car from the 1940s (or even earlier). There is no information available about the car, except that the picture was sent to a Walter Wyss in Detroit (USA, Michigan). The picture itself is dated "15.07.1945".

Who knows anything about this interesting sports car or its owner?

Share this article with your friends!

The snow puzzle of 1987

Bruno von Rotz
11/22/2013

This is not a riddle for our readers, but there was one 26 years ago. Back then, ADAC Motorwelt showed 12 cars that were partially covered in snow and asked children, or rather, capable snow detectives, whether they could match a list of 12 names to the correct picture.

Well, in 1987 these were of course common vehicles, but a youngtimer's life later, things are getting a little trickier. Who recognizes all the cars straight away?

If not, the following list will certainly help, as it contains all the vehicles, albeit not in the same order. It's easy now, isn't it?
VW Polo, Ford Escort, Alfa Romeo Alfetta, BMW 728, Toyota Tercel Allrad, VW Beetle, Audi 100, Citroën 2 CV, Renault 11, Mazda 626, Mercedes Benz 190, Opel Corsa.

And yes, of course, we have also stored the picture in a larger resolutionin the Zwischengas archive to make it a little easier for the puzzle foxes ...

Share this article with your friends!

Zwischengas has been publishing a daily blog post here since 2010

For more entries, please use the navigation by year and month.