Brütsch
Encyclopedia
Egon Brütsch Fahrzeugbau, usually shortened to Brütsch, was a German
automotive design
and automaker
based in Stuttgart
, Baden-Württemberg
.
Brütsch were best known for producing a large number of different microcar
designs, but only produced small numbers of each design and the primary function of the company appears to have been that of the development and promotion of each design to sell licences to manufacture to other companies.
Between 1952 and 1958, eleven different models of car were manufactured by Brütsch, but the total production of all models by the company is believed to be only eighty-one cars.
Many of the bodywork designs were simple two-piece mouldings of polyester
reinforced with fiberglass
, bonded at a waistline join, which was then covered by a protective strip. Chassis
and suspension
design was very rudimentary and after a misguided court action in 1956 by Brütsch against a licensee, at least one of Brütsch's designs was condemned as dangerous.
The abbreviated chassis used on the majority of the cars meant that for structural integrity they could not have doors and all these models had low sides to facilitate entry and exit.
, powered by a single cylinder 191 cc Fichtel & Sachs engine driving through a four speed gearbox. Top speed was around 90 km/h (55.9 mph) and about five cars were produced. Also built under licence by A. Grünhut & Co of Switzerland
with minor changes and sold as the Belcar. Another licence was sold to Alzmetall for production by Harald Friedrich GmbH of Germany, but so many faults were found with the original design that their production model, the Spatz Kabinenroller
was fundamentally a different car. Because of this Brütsch took Alzmetall to court to ensure payment of his licence fees but lost the case.
, powered by a single cylinder 191 cc Fichtel & Sachs engine driving through a four speed gearbox. Top speed was around 85 km/h (52.8 mph) and twelve cars were produced. Also built under licence by Air Tourist Sàrl of France
with minor changes and sold as the Avolette
. It is believed that only one example of the 2-seat Zwerg exists in England
, awaiting restoration.
, powered by a single cylinder 74 cc DKW
Hobby scooter
engine driving through a continuously variable transmission
. Top speed was around 65 km/h (40.4 mph) and four cars were produced.
one surviving car was ressurected in 2009 and has been restored . currently in Germany
A single seat, 3-wheeled roadster
, powered by a single cylinder 49 cc [ILO] engine driving through a three speed gearbox. Top speed was around 45 km/h (28 mph) and fourteen cars were produced. Production was licensed to former Opel
dealer Georg von Opel, who planned to build the Mopetta at a former Horex motorcycle factory, however this plan appears to have resulted in nothing more than the production of sales literature. Due to its unusual design and rarity, the Mopetta has been subject to many replicas.
, powered by a single cylinder 98 cc Fichtel & Sachs engine driving through a three speed gearbox. Top speed was around 80 km/h (49.7 mph) and eight cars were produced. Also built under licence by Air Tourist Sàrl of France
.
, powered by a single cylinder 191 cc Fichtel & Sachs engine driving through a four speed gearbox. Top speed was around 95 km/h (59 mph) and eleven cars were produced. One of the last known Bussards was recently written off after rotting away in England
. Its windscreen, which remained, was donated to the owner of a Brütsch Pfeil (below), which had no original windscreen.
, powered by a twin cylinder 386 cc Lloyd
engine driving through a three speed gearbox. Top speed was around 110 km/h (68.4 mph) and six cars were produced, only one of which survives and is undergoing restoration in England
.
. Powered by either a single cylinder 98 cc Fichtel & Sachs engine giving a top speed around 65 km/h (40.4 mph) or a single cylinder 247 cc Maico
engine giving a top speed around 100 km/h (62.1 mph). Both versions had a four speed gearbox and in total twelve cars were produced.
with doors. Powered by a twin cylinder 479 cc Fiat 500
engine driving through a four speed gearbox. Top speed was around 125 km/h (77.7 mph) and three cars were produced. This model was developed for potential Indonesia
n licensee NGO, but the project eventually came to nothing.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
automotive design
Automotive design
Automotive design is the profession involved in the development of the appearance, and to some extent the ergonomics, of motor vehicles or more specifically road vehicles. This most commonly refers to automobiles but also refers to motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans...
and automaker
Automaker
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
based in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
.
Brütsch were best known for producing a large number of different microcar
Microcar
A microcar is the smallest automobile classification usually applied to standard small car . Such small cars were generally referred to as cyclecars until the 1940s. More recent models are also called bubblecars due to their egg-shaped appearance.-Definition:The definition of a microcar has varied...
designs, but only produced small numbers of each design and the primary function of the company appears to have been that of the development and promotion of each design to sell licences to manufacture to other companies.
Between 1952 and 1958, eleven different models of car were manufactured by Brütsch, but the total production of all models by the company is believed to be only eighty-one cars.
Many of the bodywork designs were simple two-piece mouldings of polyester
Polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
reinforced with fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
, bonded at a waistline join, which was then covered by a protective strip. Chassis
Chassis
A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the underpart of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame with the wheels and machinery.- Vehicles :In the case of vehicles, the term chassis means the...
and suspension
Suspension (vehicle)
Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose — contributing to the car's roadholding/handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants...
design was very rudimentary and after a misguided court action in 1956 by Brütsch against a licensee, at least one of Brütsch's designs was condemned as dangerous.
The abbreviated chassis used on the majority of the cars meant that for structural integrity they could not have doors and all these models had low sides to facilitate entry and exit.
Brütsch 200 "Spatz" or Dreirad-Dreisitzer 1954-1955
A 3-seater, 3-wheeled roadsterRoadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
, powered by a single cylinder 191 cc Fichtel & Sachs engine driving through a four speed gearbox. Top speed was around 90 km/h (55.9 mph) and about five cars were produced. Also built under licence by A. Grünhut & Co of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
with minor changes and sold as the Belcar. Another licence was sold to Alzmetall for production by Harald Friedrich GmbH of Germany, but so many faults were found with the original design that their production model, the Spatz Kabinenroller
Spatz Kabinenroller
The Spatz later renamed the Victoria 250 is a four-wheeled microcar that was built between 1956 and 1958The car was originally conceived by Egon Brütsch as the Brütsch 200 "Spatz" a Fiberglass three-wheeler with the suspension of the front wheels and the rear wheel attached directly to the body...
was fundamentally a different car. Because of this Brütsch took Alzmetall to court to ensure payment of his licence fees but lost the case.
Brütsch Zwerg 1955-1957
A 2-seater, 3-wheeled roadsterRoadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
, powered by a single cylinder 191 cc Fichtel & Sachs engine driving through a four speed gearbox. Top speed was around 85 km/h (52.8 mph) and twelve cars were produced. Also built under licence by Air Tourist Sàrl of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
with minor changes and sold as the Avolette
Avolette
-History:The Société Air Tourist company, with its little factory at Paris in the rue de Porthieu, began production of a small three wheeled car in 1955. Production probably never progressed beyond the prototype stage and ended in 1958. -The car:...
. It is believed that only one example of the 2-seat Zwerg exists in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, awaiting restoration.
Brütsch Zwerg - Einsitzer 1955-1956
A single seat, 3-wheeled roadsterRoadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
, powered by a single cylinder 74 cc DKW
DKW
DKW is a historic German car and motorcycle marque. The name derives from Dampf-Kraft-Wagen .In 1916, the Danish engineer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen founded a factory in Zschopau, Saxony, Germany, to produce steam fittings. In the same year, he attempted to produce a steam-driven car, called the DKW...
Hobby scooter
Scooter (motorcycle)
A scooter is a motorcycle with step-through frame and a platform for the operator's feet. Elements of scooter design have been present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motorcycles identifiable as scooters have been made from 1914 or earlier...
engine driving through a continuously variable transmission
Continuously variable transmission
A continuously variable transmission is a transmission that can change steplessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values. This contrasts with other mechanical transmissions that offer a fixed number of gear ratios...
. Top speed was around 65 km/h (40.4 mph) and four cars were produced.
one surviving car was ressurected in 2009 and has been restored . currently in Germany
Brütsch Mopetta 1956-1958
Main article: Brütsch MopettaBrütsch Mopetta
The Brütsch Mopetta was an egg-shaped, single seat, three wheeled microcar designed by Egon Brütsch in 1957 as Brütsch Mopetta using a 50 cc ILO V 50 engine and an open roadster type glass fiber body. Only 14 were built.A single wheel was in the front. The car was only 67 inches long...
A single seat, 3-wheeled roadster
Roadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
, powered by a single cylinder 49 cc [ILO] engine driving through a three speed gearbox. Top speed was around 45 km/h (28 mph) and fourteen cars were produced. Production was licensed to former Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
dealer Georg von Opel, who planned to build the Mopetta at a former Horex motorcycle factory, however this plan appears to have resulted in nothing more than the production of sales literature. Due to its unusual design and rarity, the Mopetta has been subject to many replicas.
Brütsch Rollera 1956-1958
A single seat, 3-wheeled roadsterRoadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
, powered by a single cylinder 98 cc Fichtel & Sachs engine driving through a three speed gearbox. Top speed was around 80 km/h (49.7 mph) and eight cars were produced. Also built under licence by Air Tourist Sàrl of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Brütsch Bussard 1956-1958
A 2-seater, 3-wheeled roadsterRoadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
, powered by a single cylinder 191 cc Fichtel & Sachs engine driving through a four speed gearbox. Top speed was around 95 km/h (59 mph) and eleven cars were produced. One of the last known Bussards was recently written off after rotting away in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Its windscreen, which remained, was donated to the owner of a Brütsch Pfeil (below), which had no original windscreen.
Brütsch Pfeil 1956-1958
A 2-seater, 4-wheeled roadsterRoadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
, powered by a twin cylinder 386 cc Lloyd
Lloyd (car)
Norddeutsche Automobil und Motoren GmbH was a German brand created in 1908 and was owned by the Norddeutsche Lloyd shipping company. The factory was in Bremen...
engine driving through a three speed gearbox. Top speed was around 110 km/h (68.4 mph) and six cars were produced, only one of which survives and is undergoing restoration in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Brütsch V2 1956-1958
A 2-seater, 4-wheeled roadsterRoadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
. Powered by either a single cylinder 98 cc Fichtel & Sachs engine giving a top speed around 65 km/h (40.4 mph) or a single cylinder 247 cc Maico
Maico
For the manga series, see Maico 2010.Maicowerk A.G. was founded in 1926, originally assembling 98 and 123 cc Ilo two stroke motors. After World War II the West German motorcycle manufacturer began producing its own unit construction two stroke engines, selling engines and complete motorcycles...
engine giving a top speed around 100 km/h (62.1 mph). Both versions had a four speed gearbox and in total twelve cars were produced.
Brütsch V2-N 1958
A 2-seater, 4-wheeled roadsterRoadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
with doors. Powered by a twin cylinder 479 cc Fiat 500
Fiat 500
The Fiat 500 is a car produced by the Fiat company of Italy between 1957 and 1975, with limited production of the Fiat 500 K estate continuing until 1977. The car was designed by Dante Giacosa....
engine driving through a four speed gearbox. Top speed was around 125 km/h (77.7 mph) and three cars were produced. This model was developed for potential Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n licensee NGO, but the project eventually came to nothing.