Bruetsch or Victoria Spatz ?

[richard]

Can anyone fill in information on this picture on the web - interestingly it referred to "Papillon" , presumably a reference to butterfly being another way of describing what we generally know as "Gull Wing" doors

- La Spatz est un roadster d’allure sportive présenté par la firme BAW de Nürenberg.

Son moteur est un Sachs 200 cc.

Peu après, on ajoute au programme un coupé à portes papillon.

Mais la production ne démarre réellement qu’en 1957 quand on transfère la production à l’usine de motos Victoria.

Le moteur devient alors un 250 cc.

Assez chère, elle sera abandonnée en 1958 après environ 1.500 unités construites

[Rusty Chrome (Malcolm Parker)]

It's a cropped picture from the french magazine l'automobile which shows the Spatz fitted with a hardtop with gullwing doors parked alongside a gullwing Mercedes 300SLR. There's a clearer picture of the car in the book Deutsche Kleinwagen. The car was shown at the IFMA in Frankfurt in 1956 where (according to the book) it caused "euphoric enthusiasm", despite which, very few were made. Probably like the coupe version they made, it was felt to be to heavy for the engine.

[richard]

In Deutsch Kleinwagen the "papillon" doors seem a bit more substantial , these look very flimsy don't they

[Rusty Chrome (Malcolm Parker)]

I think they look identical, probably thin fibreglass.

[richard]

Ah ! You have me there ! Your bible must be the original King James , mine is the revised later version and does not include that picture . I now wonder how different the two versions are ? Ah just a thought did you mean the photo is only in that French magazine , though there is another photo of this car in Deutsch Kleinwagen ? Perhaps got my lines crossed have I ?

[Rusty Chrome (Malcolm Parker)]

You have. Another picture of the gull wing version shown in Deutsch Kleinwagen is in Chris Rees Microcar Mania pg52 and another on this rumcars page. http://www.rumcars.org/forum/index.php?topic=2086.msg11108
I think it's exactly the same hardtop as shown on the car above, but the car looks to be a different colour.

[richard]

got it , i think 

[Chris Thomas]

The following information has been sent to me as it adds to the discussion, even if it is 4.5 years later.

There are two different models of the Victoria Spatz. This is described at "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatz_(automobile)".
The number of produced cars is slightly higher then the numbers given at wikipedia, as this are the production numbers from Victoria (Nuremberg) only.
Victoria sold the remaining car parts to the plane factory Burgfalke which then assembled an unknon number of further cars "https://www.mittelbayerische.de/region/schwandorf-nachrichten/spatz-wird-zum-burgfalken-21416-art868343.html".

The highest serial number known to me is in the range of 1720.

The number of Victoria Spatz produced was so small that many parts are same as in other cars of that time.  Over the years Victoria installed brake cylinders of varying sizes (14, 15, 19mm). Some are identical to VW Kaefer, some identical to the ones used in Porsche 356. The main brake cylinder is same size as in the LLoyd Alexander. Most of the electrical switches and the instrument cluster are identical with the ones used in the Heinkel Kabin. The motor of the first model with 200 cmm is very similar to the motor used in the Messerschmitt Kabinenroller. The motor of the 250 ccm model and the electrically operated gear box is unique from Victoria.

There are a number of Victoria Spatz on public display, for example at the Deutsches Museum at Munich or at the Städtisches Museum at Nuremberg. In 2020 a Victoria Spatz 250 got auctioned at Vienna
(Austria) and another was offered at Ebay in 2019. There was also a valid offer and one fraudulent offer on Ebay in 2020.

Chris Thomas