Solved - MJW #260 - Hirondelle DKW (Henk van Zalinge & Hans Hugenholtz in Paris at Bleriot Rally 1959)

[woodinsight]

Marque and what engine this sports car used please

[woodinsight]

Easy point for an expert?

[D-type]

I don't know the car, but I think the photo was taken on 22nd July 1959 

[woodinsight]

Amazing!
I should have included something about that event in my questions......

[D-type]

Panhard engine?

[woodinsight]

Not Panhard.
Car and engine are not French.
Car and engine are from different countries.

[Limo]

It's the dutch Hirondelle with DKW engine, designed and driven by Henk van Zalinge during the Bleriot rally of 1959 (London-Paris)
The other guy in the car is Hans Hugenholtz

[woodinsight]

Exactly - well done

[Limo]

Some years ago i discovered this Hirondelle on the internet in Denmark... It was for sale.
Don't know if it was sold.

[barrett]

In the dark recesses of my memory I can vaguely recall a car called Hirondelle but I'm sure it's not this one... can anyone enlighten me as to what it might've been?

[woodinsight]

There was a Porsche-engined Hirondelle as well and I believe that Henk van Zalinge also built a car named HVZ under his initials.
I'm sure one of our Dutch specialists can fill in the details.

[barrett]

I've just figured it out, it was the (fictional) car that Simon Templar drove in the original 'The Saint' books by Leslie Charteris!

[DynaMike]

In 1953 Henk van Zalinge built a HVZ based on a pre-war Alfa Romeo 6C-2300, with a self-made steel body. Very soon the old Alfa engine broke down and was replaced by a 2.5 litre Riley engine.
In 1954 he started to build his first Hirondelle, with a Porsche RSK engine in front of the Opel rear axle in a self-made chassis and with an aluminium body made by Rijnplaat. Originally the gearbox was from an MG TD, but soon this was replaced by an adapted Porsche gearbox.
The second Hirondelle was the shown car with DKW engine and self-made chassis and aluminium body. This one was indeed used for the Blériot race.
The third and last Hirondelle also had a DKW engine, with an aluminium body by Vermeulen (from Haarlem). This car looked more like a Formula racer.
Btw, there is a film by the Amsterdam photographer Ed van der Elsken where he drives a (normal) DKW and he visits Henk van Zalinge's workshop to get his engine tuned. Very noisy

Here a picture of the DKW-Hirondelle when it was still under construction:

[woodinsight]

Thanks for the extra information DynaMike, much appreciated.
I haven't included photos of the HVZ or the Porsche-engined Hirondelle as they may be the subjects of future puzzles.
However here is a photo of the other DKW-engined Hirondelle, a Formula Junior series car.

[hhh]

Henk van Zalinge built 14 Hirondelles, of which one was the FJ-DKW, one with the Porsche engine that transported my father in the Bleriot race in Paris and most others hat DKW engines.

[woodinsight]

Henk van Zalinge built 14 Hirondelles, of which one was the FJ-DKW, one with the Porsche engine that transported my father in the Bleriot race in Paris and most others hat DKW engines.

Welcome hhh and thank you for that extra information

[dzima1985]

Rare Hirondelle in color -

[grobmotorix]

Could this also be the Hirondelle DKW?