Josef Ganz – Förderer von Kleinwagen year his articles became a campaign for development of a small, affordable car. In 1928 Ganz became head editor for Motor Kritik magazine and crys- tallized his ideas for the Deutschen Volkswagen. By this he meant a Ger- man car that was inexpensive to build, buy and operate. He wrote an exposé that capsulated his small car theme and sent an unsolicited copy to mo- torcycle manufacturer Zündapp in B u i l d i n g T h e B r a n d 1929 for their consideration. A copy Phil Carney of this exposé has not been located so it is not possible to determine how much technical detail Ganz provided The previous two articles described the work of Hans Ledwinka on his car design but it is known that and Béla Barényi, two engineers who have been recognized for con- Zündapp did not respond to the Ganz tributing technical ideas that were incorporated by Ferdinand Porsche proposal. in his Type 60 Volkswagen. This article finishes up the Kleinwagen In- Being head editor for the German automotive magazine, Motor-Kritik gave Ganz a genieure series with the storyline of Josef Ganz. Like the other men, Ganz tall platform from which to promote his vision of a People’s Car. Unfortunately he was formally trained as an engineer, but in practice Ganz should more frequently criticized the German automotive industry which may have caused some properly be referred to as a Förderer von Kleinwagen or promoter of a of his ideas to be quickly dismissed by those in power. small family car. Rather than spending hours behind a drafting table, Ganz made his mark using the keys of a typewriter to push his ideas in The Ganz drive train concept as front of the public. As an automobile magazine editor his influence was detailed in the November 1933 considerable and he was able to convince manufacturers to put his con- German patent 587.409 shows cepts into practice. But personal and professional setbacks seemed to his concepts were quite unique haunt him wherever he went and the ideas of Josef Ganz are now known and readily accommodated the by few. Here is a synopsis of this colorful and controversial figure in use of motorcycle components. Kleinwagen history. The engine and transmission were mounted directly in front Small Car Prototypes of the rear axle and on either Josef Ganz was born in the Hungarian capital of Budapest in 1898 side of the chassis centerline. to German parents Dr. Markus Hugo Ganz and Maria Török. The family This allowed for much better was highly respected, and frequent visitors at the Ganz house included weight distribution but also acclaimed scientists, artists and politicians. Markus Ganz was a political limited the power plant physi- and literary writer for Frankfurter Zeitung (Frankfurt Newspaper) and cal size. the author of several books. His vocation most likely influenced Josef’s later interest in journalism. Ganz did however find support with another motorcycle builder, Josef received a formal education in mechanical engineering in Ardie, and they built the first small car prototype based on his ideas. The several schools. In 1916 he acquired German citizenship and four years car used a central-tube chassis with front and rear, independent leaf- later moved to Worms in Germany to work in a chemical plant. It was spring suspension. A one-cylinder, two-stroke engine was located just in during this time that young Ganz established a friendship with an asso- front of the rear swing axle. The engine, transmission, manual starter ciate named Stefan Mittler. His co-worker shared an interest in auto- and chain drive were probably taken directly from Ardie’s motorcycle mobiles and their favorite topic of debate was the merit of a traditional parts bin. Two open body examples were built. The first was Beetle-like front engine location versus rear engine concepts. while the second was more conventional in appearance with a false front In 1923 Ganz was involved in a motorcycle accident, which neces- grill. The car was featured on the September 1930 cover of Motor Kritik sitated surgery to address his injuries. Although the recovery process in- and Ganz’s included test report found the prototype’s performance to be terrupted his studies, it gave Ganz time to ponder the subject of low-cost good but that its simplicity reflected a lack of development dollars and transportation. He knew from personal experience that a motorcycle it was not ready for production. was inexpensive to purchase and maintain but he also knew from that According to automotive journalist Griffith Borgeson and writings same personal experience that it was not the safest means of trans- by Ganz himself, Ganz maintained, “Zündapp got its hands on his portation. Why not an enclosed, four-wheeled form of transportation (Ganz’s) Ardie design and engaged ex-Hanomag Ing. Boehler to develop that approached the cost of a motorcycle? Various historians and jour- a production prototype based on it. Boehler’s work did not produce sat- nalists credit Adolf Hitler with having this same epiphany a decade later. isfactory results and it was at this point that Porsche was brought in to Ganz began free-lance writing for several magazines and within a develop the ex-Ardie-Ganz.” Historian Paul Schilperoord’s view is, “the 16 Volume 33, Number 3 • 356 Registry chassis of the Ardie-Ganz and Zündapp Type 12 are very similar – especially Ganz acquired ownership of the Adler Maikäfer and began using the the very first Zündapp prototype with leaf spring suspension. In concept the car as a demonstrator for his small car ideas. One of the people who wit- cars are very similar, only the Zündapp is also larger and aimed at a higher nessed the car’s testing was Wilhelm Gutbrod, owner of Standard Fahrzeug- end of the market.” But there is another possibility. Perhaps when Zün- fabrik GmbH of Ludwigsburg. During the spring of 1932, Gutbrod and Ganz dapp saw that their competition, Ardie, was building hardware as opposed reached an agreement where Standard would develop a small car based on to just doing studies, Zündapp management decided it needed to step up Ganz design studies. In return for the license, Ganz received a royalty of 15 its research and development if it did not want to fall behind. The Ardie pro- RM for each car produced. This collaboration resulted in the “Superior” totypes probably pushed Zündapp into building a small car prototype of and Ganz’s crowning achievement in small car development. Beginning in their own but it was not a copy of the Ganz design. For example, the small 1932, production began on the Standard Superior, a small car based on the Zündapp car used a water-cooled, five-cylinder radial engine located be- Maikäfer and advertised as “the fastest and cheapest German Volkswagen”. hind the rear axle. And the Zündapp-Porsche Type 12 sedan contains styling Superior advertisements identified the car as the “Deutschen Volkswagen” features - which was not a consideration for the simple Ardie car featured selling for a price of RM 1,590. It had two seats with space behind them to on the cover of the Motor Kritik. hold a couple of small children in an emergency. Just in front of the rear There were allegations from Josef Ganz that Zündapp and Porsche swing-axle there was a diminutive two stoke engine. The customer could se- used his ideas to develop the Porsche-Zündapp Type 12. Any objective in- lect either an air-cooled single-cylinder 494 cc engine or, if they were par- vestigator would certainly disagree because almost everything from the ticularly frugal, a 396 cc version. In late 1933, the body was stylized to drive train to the body shape was different. Nevertheless throughout his make its lines cleaner and more aerodynamic, and a small bench seat was entire life Ganz vociferously staked his claim as the founder of the Volk- added in the rear. The new model, called the “Stromlinienform”, stayed in swagen or People’s Car concept. production only one year. The small Stromlinienform was relatively ex- pensive and sold for only a few hundred RM less than a full-size car. Cost Beetle Production problems and complicated legal disputes with Tatra resulted in the Standard In 1931, Ganz found another sponsor, Adler. This collaboration pro- Superior having a short life span. Hitler examined the Superior at the 1933 duced a prototype and for the first time the name Maikäfer or May Beetle Berlin Auto Show and according to Ganz, Hitler “seemed quite impressed was used to describe a Volkswagen-type car. The Ganz-Adler project did not by… the car’s performance, handling and price.” The Nationalsozialistis- continue, possibly due to the interests of its newly installed technical di- ches Kraftfahrkorps, (National Socialist Motor Corps or NSKK) promptly rector Hans Gustav Röhr. At the time, Röhr was a proponent of front wheel acquired a Superior for testing and results published in the March Ger- drive and it would have been difficult for Adler to simultaneously pursue man army journal indicate the car was found to have acceptable perform- research and development in both rear engine design and front wheel drive. ance but deficiencies such as poor ground clearance were also noted. When it came to a difference in funding priorities, the interests of a com- Just when it seemed Ganz was about to make a big impact on auto- pany director superseded those of a consultant. mobile manufacturing in Germany, he was arrested and imprisoned.