Pre-WW1 mystery car: Austro-Daimler?

For some time I have been wondering which manufacturer once built this impressive Coupé de Ville (or Sedanca de Ville/Town Car).

My first guess was Bergmann-Metallurgique, a German company who had built Metallurgique cars under licence since 1908 and produced a pretty similar 14/40 h.p. car immediately before WW1.

But then the shape of the radiator cowling of the car in the photo appeared too pointed to me. So I started researching into a different direction and eventually came across a car manufactured by Austro-Daimler around 1912/13 also featuring a razor-sharp radiator with a top that was faceted in the same way like the one that is showing under the cover.

This car was a 27/60 h.p. phaeton inspired by a competition model, the famous 22/86 h.p. "Prinz Heinrich" car from 1910. Starting in 1912, it had a new, radical body design that seems to have influenced also other models offered by the marque until WW1.

The question is: Could the car in the photo be one of these pre-WW1 Austro-Daimlers and, if yes, which exact type was it?

Or is there possibly another line of inquiry I should follow?

Words and picture: Michael Schlenger

Publiziert:

Montag Dezember 19th, 2016

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21 Dezember 2016, 20:46

I doubt that his is an aftermarket gem, too pragmatic.
The bonnet blanket serves to maintain heat, although apparent the weather is not extremely cold? Perhaps the HEATER(?) is maintained at FULL OPEN for the languished looking driver?.
The headlight FORKS are quite high, and the HEADLIGHTS are CENTERED to the bonnet side ridge, this should define our mystery?

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21 Dezember 2016, 07:33

the pointed 'gothic' radiator was - I believe - an aftermarket item - that we see in many cars of the period

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21 Dezember 2016, 05:14

The 1920s Elite 12/35 & 12/40 radiator has 110 degree included angle, not so sharp. Also the Elite shoulder faceting is not cut so deep; the top tank of the Vee-radiator is level with the bonnet hinge, not faceted. They were offered with either timber spoked wheels, or Rudge-Whitworth: the car in the photo appears to be fitted with another type. I wish I knew more of German cars, but this one isn't an Elite.

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20 Dezember 2016, 19:23

Robert, You may be right with your assumption that the car on the photo is not an Austro-Daimler.

However, none of the manufacturers you mentioned produced a car with such a distinctive radiator cowling.

Of course, v-shaped radiators as such were all the rage in the German-speaking world from around 1913 until the mid-1920s.

Yet, to the best of my knowledge the characteristic sloping section right in front of the filler cap could be found only with very few cars.

I tend to believe, it's a pre-WW1 model (because of the steep engine hood) that was either re-launched after the war or that was equipped with electrical front lights later.

My second-best guess is still Metallurgique (or Bergmann-Metallurgique)...

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20 Dezember 2016, 12:23

At first sight, the car Looks indeed like a pre-WW1 Austro Daimler. But on the Pictures I found from such cars, there is a transverse (Torsion?) bar in front of the Radiator. The car on the photo does'nt have it, and there would also be no room for it, as the Radiator is much more in the front above the axle. Also, the Vee-radiator angle seems to be sharper, judging from the Position of the cap. I would guess rather for a german car around 1920, and there are numerous types lookling like it: Elite, Beckmann, even some Opel models.

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Pre-WW1 mystery car: Austro-Daimler?

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