With issue 1/2021, published on December 17, 2020, "auto motor und sport" heralds its 75th anniversary. In 1946, the magazine "Das Auto" was published for the first time, laying the foundation for one of the most important and successful automotive magazines in Europe. The special interest media house Motor Presse Stuttgart is celebrating the birthday of its flagship with a variety of events and activities.
Highlights include editorial topics, several road safety campaigns, the launch of a GT racing car designed in the colors of "auto motor und sport" at the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in June, a new classic car rally in October and special reader trips.
Anniversary logo
The distinguishing feature of all anniversary activities is a logo featuring the number "75" in conjunction with the brand logo. It also marks the anniversary themes in the print editions of the magazine and in the digital offerings. Readers can experience the magazine's tradition and its unique development in very special stories.
In the first issue of the anniversary year 2021, the editorial team looks back on 75 years of testing. From hand-stopped acceleration measurement to today's GPS-based test drives, from the early brake tests to the merciless fading test in "auto motor und sport" today.
Paul Pietsch
One of the first test editors was publisher Paul Pietsch (1911 - 2012) himself: in 1949, he put a new sports coupé from the German brand Veritas through its paces. He even took some of the photos for his story himself. Pietsch was not only a passionate publisher, but also a successful racing driver who competed in Grand Prix and sports car races. He became German champion in 1950 and 1951 before concentrating on the diverse work in his rapidly growing publishing house.
"Das Auto", the nucleus of "auto motor und sport", was the founding publication of the Stuttgart-based company, which Pietsch initially launched together with Ernst Troeltsch and Josef Hummel in his home town of Freiburg. In June 1946, the founding trio received the necessary license with the number 1308 from the responsible French occupation authorities. However, the French press officer did not give the committed publishers any hope: "There will never again be so many cars in Germany that you would need a car magazine."
The first issue was published in December 1946 as the first German magazine of its kind after the Second World War.
Today, "auto motor und sport" is published fortnightly and has a circulation of around 331,000 copies.
By the way, all issues of "Das Auto" and "auto motor und sport" from 1946 to 2000 can be read page by page in the Zwischengas magazine archive.