Neue Automobil Gesellschaft
Encyclopedia
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...
automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
manufacturer in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
In 1902, German electrical company AEG
AEG
Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau....
purchased the coachbuilding side of Kühlstein
Kühlstein
The Kühlstein Wagenbau in Berlin-Charlottenburg was a coachbuilding company that produced electric cars from 1898 to 1902. Some were vehicles of in-house design, others were Jeantaud cabs built under licence. The firm also built tractor units to replace horses for use with horse-drawn carriages....
under engineer Joseph Vollmer
Joseph Vollmer
Joseph Vollmer was a German automobile designer and engineer and a pioneering tank designer. As chief designer for the German War Department's motor vehicle section, he designed the World War I German tanks A7V, K-Wagen, LK I and LK II....
, renaming it NAG. The company's first two cars were reliable, if unoriginal: the two-cylinder
Cylinder (engine)
A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...
Typ A and 5.2 liter
Litér
- External links :*...
(317ci
Cubic inch
The cubic inch is a unit of measurement for volume in the Imperial units and United States customary units systems. It is the volume of a cube with each of its 3 sides being one inch long....
) four-cylinder Typ B, both with chain drive
Chain drive
Chain drive is a way of transmitting mechanical power from one place to another. It is often used to convey power to the wheels of a vehicle, particularly bicycles and motorcycles...
, which resembled contemporary Mercédès
Mercedes (car)
Mercedes was a brand of the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft . DMG which began to develop in 1900, after the death of its co-founder, Gottlieb Daimler...
. Shortly, an enlarged Typ B2, with 40/45hp
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
(30kW
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
) 7.9 liter (482ci) four, appeared. In 1907, one of these was given to the Empress Auguste Viktoria
Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein
Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein was the last German Empress and Queen of Prussia. Her full German name was Auguste Victoria Friederike Luise Feodora Jenny von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg.She was the eldest daughter of Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess...
.
The next year, AEG got out of the car business, but NAG continued alone, introducing a 15 hp (11 kW) 1502 cc (91.7ci) four called Puck, with a remarkable (for the period) ability to rev to 3000 rpm, which may have contributed to its ability to win the Gothenburg Cup at the Swedish Winter Trials
Classic Trials
Classic Trials are one of the oldest forms of motor sport, dating from the beginning of the 20th century. In those days, the challenge was just to make a long road journey. The three Motor Cycling Club long distance trials in the UK – the Lands End, the Exeter and the Edinburgh – date...
in 1912, 1913, and 1914. This sporting reputation was balanced by "aggressively ugly Prince Henry-type bodies".
The Puck would later be developed into a model known in Germany as the Darling. From 1911 to 1914, NAG's standard offering was a 8495 cc (518ci) 60 hp (44.7 kW), joined in 1912-14 by a 1502 cc (91.7ci) 10/12 hp (7.5 kW) K2, 2085 cc (127ci) 14/20 hp (10 kW) K4, 3308 cc (202ci) 20/25 hp (15 kW) K5, and a 5193 cc (317ci) 25/35 hp (19 kW).
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, NAG produced smaller numbers of 2.5 liter (153ci) C4s, essentially prewar K4s with new vee radiator
Radiator
Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in automobiles, buildings, and electronics...
s replacing the prewar oval ones.
The economic situation was so serious, NAG partnered with Brennabor, 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...
, and Hansa
Hansa (car)
Hansa was a German car brand, which was part of the Borgward group. Hansa was based in Bremen.The Hansa-Lloyd company, in the Bremen suburb as Hastedt, had been established as a car and truck makers since 1905....
to form GDA (what in the U.S would be called a trust
Trust (19th century)
A special trust or business trust is a business entity formed with intent to monopolize business, to restrain trade, or to fix prices. Trusts gained economic power in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some, but not all, were organized as trusts in the legal sense...
), to prevent competition from destroying them all. It proved successful for NAG, which prospered, enough to build the C4b sports variant, designed by chief engineer Christian Riecken (a Minerva racing driver prewar).
Riecken ran a C4b at the newly-opened AVUS
AVUS
The Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungs-Straße, better known as AVUS, is a public road that was also used as a motor racing circuit. It is located in the south-western districts of Berlin, Germany, between Charlottenburg and Nikolassee, and is nowadays an important part of the public highway system, as...
in 1922, winning at 84.3 mph (135.7 km/h), which was greater than the C4's top speed. It sacrificed nothing to reliability, as NAG went on to place well at the 1923 All-Russian Trials and the ADAC Reich Trials for 1923-26. In 1924, NAG hit its apex at Monza
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is a race track located near the town of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. The circuit's biggest event is the Formula One Italian Grand Prix, which has been hosted there since the sport's inception....
, where Riecken and Hans Berthold won the Gran Premio della Norte in a C4b, covering 1656mi (2665km) in 24 hours, an average of 68.99 mph (111.02 km/h), for which the model was renamed Monza.
In 1926, Protos
Protos
Protos may refer to:* Protos , a monastic office at the eastern orthodox monastic state of Mount Athos* Protos , a former racing car constructor* PROTOS , a German train...
(which had built the winner of the New York-Paris race
1908 New York to Paris Race
The 1908 New York to Paris Race was an automobile competition consisting of drivers attempting to travel from New York to Paris. This was a notable challenge given the state of automobile technology and road infrastructure at the time. Only three of six contestants completed the course...
) was acquired from Siemens-Schuckert
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
, leading to "a series of dull six-cyliner cars". The next year, NAG again expanded, taking over Presto
Presto
-As a common word:* An incantation or interjection used by some stage magicians* A musical score marking indicating a fast tempo* An exclamation to mean: [to be completed] right away, instantly, i.e. "magically"-Places:*Presto, Bolivia...
, which had just bought Dux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
, continuing to build the 2.6 liter Typ F and 3 liter Typ G. The difficulty was, despite their quality, none of these were distinctly different from other German cars of the period.
In response, NAG created a disastrous straight
Straight engine
Usually found in four- and six-cylinder configurations, the straight engine, or inline engine is an internal-combustion engine with all cylinders aligned in one row, with no offset...
-eight (abandoned due to crankshaft
Crankshaft
The crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank, is the part of an engine which translates reciprocating linear piston motion into rotation...
whip), which was never built, then hired former Impéria
Imperia
Imperia may be:* Imperia , an Italian city* Province of Imperia, the Italian province of the above city of Imperia* IMPERIA, a vodka produced by Russian Standard* Imperia , a statue in Constance, Germany...
and Steiger man Paul Henze, "one of Germany's most gifted car designers", in an effort to remedy this situation with a new top-line car. Henze settled on a 4540 cc (277ci) V8
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
, Germany's first to enter production which became "one of the outstanding German luxury cars of 1931, the NAG 212."
Rather than rely on conventional shaft drive, however, NAG chose to attempt to fit a Voran FWD system (designed by Richard Bussien) to a backbone 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...
with independent suspension
Independent suspension
Independent suspension is a broad term for any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically independently of each other. This is contrasted with a beam axle, live axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked – movement on one side affects...
, which proved too ambitious, and the development costs disastrous.
In 1934, NAG ceased car production, while NAG-Büssing
Büssing
Büssing was a German bus and truck manufacturer established by Heinrich Büssing at Braunschweig in 1903. Büssing's first truck was a 2 ton payload machine powered by a 2-cylinder gasoline engine and featuring worm drive...
commercial vehicle
Commercial vehicle
A commercial vehicle is a type of motor vehicle that may be used for transporting goods or passengers. The European Union defines "commercial motor vehicle" as any motorised road vehicle, which by its type of construction and equipment is designed for, and capable of transporting, whether for...
s continued to be produced for a few more years.
During the Second World War, the company produced the Sd Kfz 231, Sd Kfz 232, Sd Kfz 233, and Sd Kfz 234 series armoured cars.