356 Registry Template 5/07

Hans Ledwinka, Kleinwagen Ingenieur terest in automotive engineering. Although his initial principal responsibility was to support railcar design, Ledwinka also was asked to pre- pare engineering drawings for the company’s new automobile, the Präsident. He worked under the guidance of another up-and-coming automotive engineer by the name of Edmund Rumpler who was but a half-dozen years his senior. Based on limited but successful production and sales of Präsident cars, Nesselsdorf management initiated design of a second model given the designation Type A. Edmund Rumpler and another engineer by the name of Karl Sage were given responsibility for developing the Model A B u i l d i n g T h e B r a n d transmission. Their efforts did not produce an acceptable product and both engineers left Nesselsdorf apparently as a result of their perceived Phil Carney failure. Ledwinka was then assigned responsibility for the transmission design and he devised one that incorporated four forward speeds and a steering column mounted shift lever. This accomplishment by the he mechanical elements used in the 356 Sportswagen trace young engineer did not go unnoticed and Hans Ledwinka was promoted directly back to Porsche’s engineer’s work on the Volkswagen. to head Nesselsdorf’s small automotive department at the age of twenty- TBut did all of the technical inspiration for the Volkswagen one. come from Professor Porsche and his team? Certainly Porsche and the With his promotion to department head perhaps Ledwinka thought people he directed can be credited with five years of effort to turn an at- he had sole responsibility for determining company direction for auto- tractive idea for cost-effective, reliable transportation into reality. This motive products. Unfortunately, he shortly found out that the company was no small feat of course since it required not only good engineering directors did not share his conviction that the future of the automobile but also building Europe’s largest car manufacturing plant, maneuver- lay in steam power. As a result, in September 1902, Young Hans moved ing around Germany’s existing auto industry and manipulating a domi- to Alexander Friedmann’s company in Vienna. This stay of employment nating political movement. The question on the table however is: were lasted only a few years before Ledwinka returned to Nesselsdorf. It was the professor and his engineers the creative source for all the ideas used not simply a matter of steam power failing to meet its promise; it was also in the Volkswagen? This has been debated a good bit by enthusiasts and due to the business shakeup happening among the dozens of car the German legal system because there are several other people who builders that existed at the time. had small car ideas similar to the Volkswagen. I call this group of people the Kleinwagen In- genieure, (small car engineers). In addition to Ferdinand Porsche, this group includes Hans Ledwinka, Béla Barényi, and Josef Ganz. This artticle will attempt to elucidate the claims of Hans Ledwinka. In a later article, Barényi, and Ganz’s allegations will be described. Ledwinka’s Formative Years Hans Ledwinka was born in Klosterneuburg, Wien (Vienna) on February 4, 1878. Although he would spend most of his adult life and professional career in Czecho- slovakia, he always considered himself an Aus- trian and spoke only German. Young Hans displayed a technical aptitude very early in life and he spent his adolescence working as an ap- prentice in his uncle’s machine shop. He ac- quired his formal education at the Vienna trade school Die Technische Fachschule für Maschi- nenbau. In September 1898, just short of his twen- Ferdinand Porsche (left) and Hans Ledwinka (right) had a professional relation- tieth birthday, Ledwinka joined on at the Nesselsdorf Wagenbaufabrik . ship that allowed for the sharing of ideas. Some of this technical cross-fertiliza- At the time Nesselsdorf was a manufacturer of railway wagons but com- tion may have resulted in inspiration for engineering that found its way into the pany management had just made a decision to enter into the fledgling Volkswagen and 356 Sportswagen. The woman in this early 1930’s photograph is motorcar industry. As a result, these would be formative years for Led- Elizabeth Junek. She was celebrated Czech Bugatti race driver in Europe. winka and his early assignments at Nesselsdorf certainly created his in- (Photograph courtesy of Jacques Mertens) 18 Volume 33, Number 1 • 356 Registry Despite Nesselsdorf’s earlier success with its first two models, after- Ledwinka built his swing-axle designs on the principles originally de- wards their cars found disfavor in the press and with the car buying pub- veloped by Edmund Rumpler. But the Ledwinka team continued to lic. The press called the Nesselsdorf designs obsolete and inefficient. But produce a number of refinements and alternate gearing approaches. part of the problem was that the company rarely publicized its products. The patents, one of which is Their cars were normally not displayed at trade shows nor did they race in shown at left, date back to competitions. So upon his return, Ledwinka was given the awesome re- as early as 1924. Porsche sponsibility of restoring Nesselsdorf’s automotive reputation to the fore- also used a swing axle on front of the industry. It was an extreme challenge for a young man but the Volkswagen. But his Ledwinka would not disappoint. idea at right used a universal In late 1905 Hans Ledwinka and his assistant Antonín Klička began joint that was elegant in its simplicity. design of the Model S. A prototype was built even before the company directors authorized development. The car introduced multiple innovations including the use of hemispherical combustion chambers, a transmission directly mated to the engine block, an oil-immersed cone clutch, and a modular engine design. Buyers praised the Model S features and those of its successors the Models T and U. The models were available in a variety of body styles including small trucks and buses. Political, Geographical and Business Realignments When World War I came, Ledwinka-designed and Nesselsdorf-pro- duced military trucks distinguished themselves with the Austrian army. They were known for their ruggedness and their power. This reputation caused an increase in commercial vehicle production at Nesselsdorf and Ledwinka asked company officials for funds to expand the automobile shop. Fund- ing was authorized but before it got to Ledwinka’s motorcar department, the factory manager diverted the money towards construction of a new railcar shed. So Ledwinka quit and this time he took with him some of the best associates and technicians he had trained at Steyr. During World War I, Steyr was a highly acclaimed arms factory. De- spite their success in the armament business company owners must have had a premonition that the war was not going to end in favor of the Aus- trian-Hungarian Empire. Therefore they decided to enter into the automobile business by acquiring the firm of Österreicher Fiaker Automobil Gesellschaft (Austrian Cab-Automobile Company) or ÖFAG in Vienna. They Ledwinka came with the idea of using metal ducts to force cooling air to the loca- also hired Hans Ledwinka and his team to produce their first car. Based on tions where it was most needed. Tatra obtained patents for this advancement ap- their experience with the Nesselsdorf Model T, the Ledwinka team was able plied to almost every possible engine configuration. On the surface it seems like to design and produce the Steyr Waffenauto Typ II in 1920. Within five the Porsche VW development teams ignored these patents. The Porsche engineers, years, 5,000 cars rolled out of the Steyr factory doors and they became however, did improve on the idea by forcing the ducted air over an oil cooler which one of Europe’s largest automobile manufacturers. Ledwinka pushed com- made for an enormous improvement in engine cooling efficiency. pany officials to invest in one of his strong personal interests, trucks. Man- agement agreed to this suggestion and Steyr became well known for conclusion that returning to Tatra was in his best interest. Due to either production of heavy-duty vehicles. He designed an advanced six-cylinder contract arrangements or just professional courtesy, Ledwinka supported engine with ball bearing crankshaft, overhead cam and canted valves called a lengthy transition period between his previous and future employers. He the 12/40, which was used in a formal sedan and also a sports racer. At the began working for Tatra as early as 1921 but was still supporting design and 1922 Targo Florio it took seventh place (the same race in which Porsche’s production work at Steyr as late as 1928. Because of this arrangement (and Austro-Daimler “Sacha” racers competed, the highest finisher of these because Ledwinka again took much of his technical team with him), there managing 19th). Ledwinka was not able to get concurrence from his man- is little doubt that significant technology cross-fertilization occurred be- agement to support another of his personal interests, a small, simple car tween Steyr and Tatra. Another interesting bit of technology cross-fertiliza- because the bookkeepers foresaw no demand for such a vehicle. tion occurred in 1929 when Ferdinand Porsche took over Hans Ledwinka’s As a result of WWI border realignments, the Morovian city of Nes- former position at Steyr in January of that year. Professor Porsche found selsdorf became the Czechoslovakian city of Kopřivnice. And as a result of himself in the position of managing and refining the automobile designs 1919 business agreements, Nesselsdorfer Wagenbaufabrik became the Ledwinka created while he was at Steyr.

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