During a May holiday in southeast Bavaria, my 86 year old host and I cycled 50 km from Ruhpolding to the EFA Museum of German Automotive History in Amerang, he on an E-bike, I on a heavy touring bike. But the 100 km roundtrip is another story… When the CEO of one of Germany’s largest ice cream manufacturers retired in 1988, his wife gifted him a pre-war Mercedes-Benz 540 Cabrio B. The next two years he gathered significant and rare examples of cars from all eras, then opened the museum in 1990. After extensive renovation 2018, it now holds more than 250 vehicles (translated from museum website).
Let’s start the tour with a brand everyone recognizes: BMW. You may not be so familiar with pre war models like this beautiful 1935-37 315, powered by a small 1490 cc inline six producing 34 hp.
Much better known is the 1936-1940 BMW 328, powered by a 1971 cc inline 6. It was raced very successfully, a streamlined enclosed version winning the 1940 Mille Miglia … which was missing English and French competitors. The engine survived to power post war Bristol and AC cars, as well as BMW’s large 501 sedan.
Next up is the BMW 600, a stretch of the better known Isetta. Paul covered it HERE.
BMW’s early post war cars did not sell well, and the company was in serious trouble by 1960. The car that saved it from the brink was the 700 above. For a great capsule history leading up to this point, see TATRA87’s post on the subject.
Walking up to the museum’s 700 Cabriolet, I noticed the driver’s door slightly ajar. Quick look around, no “Polizei” in sight, I slipped behind the wheel, Jϋrgen took quick photo. This is a fantasy car, albeit restomodded with a modern BMW motorcycle engine. It’s been done.
“Deadly Sins” as reviewed by TATRA87 from top to bottom: BMW 502/507/503/3200 CS. BMW lost money on all of these. The Isetta/600/700, and motorcycles earned enough cash flow until the Neue Klasse/1600/2000/2002 cemented long term financial success.
In its profitable era, BMW produced three of the well known 3.0CS coupes with stainless steel bodies for research purposes.
Let’s take a break to show you the landscape between Ruhpolding and the museum in Amerang. On a separate trip, climb the steep approach road to the Steinberg Alm, end of the road for motorized vehicles. Cycle or climb the gravely pathway to the Brϋndling Alm for refreshing drinks and lunch. Park your bike, hike up to Hochfelln Peak at 1641 meters for panoramic views of the Alps to the south, or ride the tramway up. Just beyond lake Chiemsee on left side of above photo you’ll find Amerang. After touring the museum for several delightful hours, we cycled home … net uphill. The next day, I exchanged the heavy touring bike for an E-bike. The shop owner remarked, “Ha, saw you heading back towards town about 8 pm, you looked pretty tired”. Understatement! Returning to the cars, let’s examine predecessors to Audi.
First up, this 1964 DKW F12’s face looks like it could have starred in Disney’s animated Cars movies. The sedan version started life as the DKW Junior, but in 1963 all versions were renamed F12. Contrast it with the rather pretty Auto Union 1000 SP (1958-1963), which earned the moniker “baby Thunderbird”. 3 cylinder 2 stroke engines powered all Auto Union/DKW models of this era, very comprehensively described by TATRA87’s post. The red “mini-Corvair” is an NSU Prinz 4, included in Tatra’s chronicle. The low slung silver Thurner RS utilizes the chassis of the NSU 1200, and the NSU TT’s air cooled transverse inline four. 121 gull-winged examples were built between 1969 and 1974, utilizing the same windshield as the Porsche 904. Several stages of tune were available, from 65 hp up to a fuel injected race version producing 135 hp !
Concluding this part of the museum tour with one of my favorite automotive shapes, behold the well-documented NSU Ro80. The following NSU/VW K70 is not beautiful, but I admire its clean lines. Leaving the museum on a Wednesday, the cashier lady remarked that we were the only patrons who had cycled in. She told us that on Thursdays only, the museum opens an additional large room with dozens more cars, for an additional fee with docents. In a surprising twist, she charged us only that fee to return the next day. We did, by car. The museum closes in December, and reopens in March. We’ll continue the tour next year, featuring more cars not well known in North America.
For further reading:
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Thank you Peter! All classics (even the K70), in a beautiful setting.
That photo of the VW K70 (with New Hampshire license plate) is from a BaT listing:
http://bringatrailer.com/2010/03/01/first-wet-v-dub-1972-volkswagen-k70/
Thanks for the link ! Noticed the US plate, didn’t research it. BaT seller mentioned that car went to a collection, never to be seen again. Wonder where it is now.
Wow, the 507 is such a beautiful car. Too bad there are so few!
Thanks for the tour; love them all. Did not know (or forgot) about the Thurner. Sweet. I used to really want a BMW 700. Something about them…
Better (?) photo of the Thurner with height perspective. My friend is 6′ 2″.
Thanks.
The Thurner is new to me as well. Some great cars there and I well remember the K70 from a neighbor in Germany whose kids we were friends with and who had a white one, this would have been latter half of the 1970s, I have the faint memory that they inherited it somehow. I recall it sitting in their carport a lot and it didn’t seem to get much use, at least compared to the VW Camper next to it. One day it was gone and then a new Passat IIRC was in its place. Seeing the pictures of it in color and right next to (well, underneath) the Ro80 it’s interesting how much of the styling relates between the two even without all the curves. I remember it as being far boxier than it is and completely forgot the character line along its flank. Then again, I was 8 or 9 years old and didn’t know anything about it beyond seemingly being a rare VW model.
PS: Du bist ein böser Bub für das Foto im 700er! Glücklish dass niemand Dich erwischt hat! Keinen Pudding nach Abendessen, sofort ins Bett!
Und vom Weihnachtsman gibt’s nur eine Rute !
Many years ago on a trip through Europe we went to the BMW “Roundel” in Munich
An amazing site and amazing collection of, obviously, BMW’s/.
Quite a contrast with the visit to Dachau where every local enountered couldn’t tell me where the infamous killing ground was or why there was a Catholic Nunnery, I think, located there at that time..
Two sides of an amazing culture.
I do like the Audi 1000 and the Prinz 4. The former I knew very little about until seeing this post…and then in my reading stumbled upon the fact that its 2 cycle engine had “only 7 moving parts”. Neat!
Looks like a great museum, and a perfectly lovely way of getting there.
Somehow I find those DKWs and NSUs endlessly fascinating. Probably because I’ve never seen either. But the technology seems real ‘alternative universe’ stuff.
Okay, the DKWs engines were a technological dead end (as it turned out), but NSU though… The Ro80 was a fascinating irrelevance, and the K70 should really have come out first to prepare folk for the idea of a small-car maker going upmarket, but that small four seemed too good to die. And as mounted in these TTs and TTSs you could argue they were just about midengined. Certainly they did great in competition. But for packaging’s sake, imagine that mill repositioned up front, driving the front wheels. Could give the Mini a run for its money. Or adapt it to the DKW/Audi’s transmission – wonder whether that swap would be feasible? Could make an interesting all-German hot rod, an NSU-powered 3=6. Hmm…
Shame I can’t do that in scale! 🙂