I just found this picture on the web. I know the donor and the caption even says something about the body as well. Let's see, donor, country and year when the photo was taken (presumably the year when the car was built) yields one point, and if you can tell me something about the body, then it is the 2nd point.
Do you have any ideas, professionals?
Not a single guess? Then it is clue-time! I found this picture on an Austrian website.
I will start the bidding - built on a VW Type 1 platform?
Well, to get a point you need donor (you're right), country (that is Austria) and a year when the photo was taken. So any idea on that?
Not yet - just making sure I was barking up the right tree. I suspect another AutoPuzzles member will swoop in to identify it before I get back to it.
So it has been established that it is based on a VW Beetle. Any idea on the "coachbuilder"? I have to admit that the caption is rather vague, but quite interesting
So I suppose it's a rather well known coachbuilder..
It's a very well-known company, but not as a coachbuilder.
Steyr?
No, not a Steyr
Denzel?
You're too much focused on Austria, though I only said that I found the picture on an Austrian website...
From a German company?
Yes, it seems the body was built in Germany
DKW?
Nope
Is the make of car German?
It has already been established that the chassis is of Volkswagen origin
Porsche?
Yes, this is a Porsche body. So you get one point.
Now, this puzzle is almost solved. But in order to declare it solved I'd also need country (this is also known) and year when the photo was taken (presumably the year when the car was built). It'd also be nice to know who was the client.
The Austrian-VW connection should have lead me earlier to Porsche, but wasn't enough attentive to recognize it.
Are other views of this car available?
seems it was an early attempt to develope a four-seater Porsche
I know very little on this car. And I have found only this photo. Maybe it is available in a Porsche-specials book, but I don't have such a book.
I have a Porsche Specials book, but I didn´t find this one :(
Okay, so I found something truly unique 8)
I have one book about Porsche specials as well, but it's not featured there. Maybe it's mentioned, but not that I'm aware of.
Comes a time...
Okay, here's the original photo and its caption:
"Volkswagen-Chassis mit aufgesetzter Porsche-Karosserie für Firma Heinrich in Wien 18II., Kreuzgasse 41."
Volkswagen chassis with a Porsche body for the Heinrich company in Wien. Photo was made in September, 1952
I showed the picture to a Porsche-expert:
I believe someone (possibly an American officer stationed in Austria between 1945 and 1955) had a Porsche-inspired special body made for a Volkswagen. In these post war years there were many small coachbuilders in Austria producing new "modern" bodywork for wrecks or pre-war cars. I am sure Porsche Austria had nothing to do with it. The fact that an American institution filed the photo made me think that an American commissioned this ugly bodywork.
Update: Johann Heinrich was a coachbuilder in the 18th district. They produced this body on a VW Chassis. I'll modify the heading later today
Wow!
It seems you found a very nice collection of magazines!
Yes, at the Austrian National Library :)
I am now working on a new book on Austrian coachbuilders. It will take about 3-4 years to do the research