Semi-aerodynamic.
For one point, please respond and identify car and coachbuilder.
up
maybe stupid, but something to do with Mercedes?
nothing
The colour signals, that this racer should be of German origin?
Partially
Amilcar 6C raced by Steinweg and later Willy Briem
No
British origin ?
No
Salmson raced by F. Emminger
No
Some connections to NAG?
No
French origin
Yes, that is the other part.
German body - French chassis
No Salmson - No Amilcar
B.N.C. ?
German body on a French chassis, but not BNC.
RABAG-Bugatti type 22?
My source just told me that it was a Bugatti 22, but I can't rule out that it might have been a Rabag-Bugatti.
Apparently this vehicle has survived! It became known as the "AVUSBUGATTI" after it had been clothed with this body by J.W. Utermohle of Koln.
The surviving "Avusbugatti" surely has a different, much simpler bodywork. Maybe it is the same chassis. But you are right that the puzzle car is a Bugatti 22 with coachwork by Utermöhle. The Cologne branch of Utermöhle already went bankrupt in 1913, so this must have been done by the Hildesheim branch of Utermöhle.
....thanks for the clarification! :)
Never heard of that car or seen in action with this special body. Any ideas who drove that in her active times ?
Unfortunately not. I just came across this picture in the sales ad for the "Avusbugatti" special.
Interesting story with a lot of question marks.
The newest edition of Oldtimer Markt magazine has an article about that car.
The car has the chassis #1198 which was initially sold by the Bugatti dealership in Paris on July 16, 1921.
The source for Utermöhle having built the first body is the Nordic Bugatti Register, but there is no proof for it.
The puzzle picture must have been taken in 1928 or later because of the number plate. Except for that picture there is no documented history for the years between 1921 and 1935 when the car appeared in Sweden.
After the Second World War the car was taken apart, the chassis modified to an underslung and the body was scrapped.
The engine appeared later again when it was planned to mate it with a shortened T23 chassis # 1828, but that idea never materialized.
The current owner bought the engine and the 1828 chassis nine years ago. Sonn afterwards he had the chance to buy another chassis which is most probably the original 1198 chassis (the "chassis" numbers on early Bugattis weren't on the chassis, but on the crankcase). The current owner managed to get hold of other parts from car # 1198 like radiator and axles. The current body is a freestyle interpretation built in the Czech Republic.
There is no proof either that # 1198 ever raced on the Avus in Berlin.
Below a picture of the car in Sweden after 1935: