Strange Brew – The Cars of Buch-t

Posted on May 19, 2019 in Antique | Comments Off on Strange Brew – The Cars of Buch-t

Of course life is bizzare, the more bizzare it gets, the more interesting it is – David Gerrold

This week, while perusing through the usual car sites, I came across a Wikipedia Commons page that astounded me. The page was created by a user named Buch-t, and includes hundreds of photographs of cars from museums and events in Germany. The amazing part is that I only recognized a few of the makes, with the remainder being completely foreign to me. I pride myself on my classic car knowledge, but many of these cars are alien to me. Below is a selection of some the oddest. I challenge everyone to check out the page, and test your classic car knowledge: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Buch-t

Above – 1968 Arola

1951 Bardahl – Not much can be found about this vehicle, though it is listed in Wikipedia as a Swedish brand. The company is a subsidiary of Bardahl Oil, maker of popular automotive lubricants used by almost every automaker in the world. The vehicle must have been a concept, or one off using experience gained in the aerospace or powerboat industries. It is a strange little car.

1971 BMA Amica – BMA is a very small Italian automaker that built three models of cars from 1971 to 1994. The Amica was a tricycle with a body made of plastic, complete with hinged doors. Power came from a 50cc engine. It reminds me of an amusement park bumper car.

1919 Bobby Alba – This model is also known as the 6CV, and was built by Lucien Bollack from 1920 to 1924. The company was from France, and part of Automobiles Alba. It’s a rather cute car for the time.

1950 Ardex – This was called the Microcar, and built by French car maker Ardex. Founded in 1934, Ardex originally created a cyclecar, which followed the form of the Morgan three-wheeler. In 1937 they created a four-wheeler that was the cheapest car sold in France, and then added electric and pedal powered cars during WWII. Once the war was over, electric cars were banned and Ardex continued on until 1955 with this little beauty which sported 4 seats and a single cylinder two-stroke engine.

1971 ARH – ARH was a Spanish automaker from 1969 to 1972. This Model was called the Condor, and sported a fiberglass body, a four cylinder 1200 cc engine from Simca. A total of 8 vehicles were built.

1954 Cooper T33 – Cooper is a well known British race car manufacturer with links to the Mini Cooper. The company is famous for its Formula One and Formula Three cars. This one is not so famous.

1996 De La Chapelle – Based on the German translation, I am guessing this was a French car maker, specializing in reproductions, similar to Panther. The car pictured is a concept car based on a Mercedes Benz engine. The car also made children’s cars, complete with a 4-stroke engine.

1955 Ermini – This was a car maker from Italy, and it created cars based on Alfa Romeo and Fiat chassis, with coachwork designed by everyone from Frua, to Scaglietti to Michelotti. This car was also the basis for the Devin motorcar, built by Bill Devin.

1939 Georges Irat – This is another obscure French carmaker, operating from 1914 to 1949.

1994 Grecav – This cute little car is from the Italian car maker Grecav. Again, not much information is available, except in German…but this company took over BMA, maker of the Amica.

1956 Gregoire Sport – Gregoire is another French car maker, building cars from 1947 to 1972. They created three models of cars, selling only 10-15 copies of the Sport.

1951 Hanomag Partner – This German car maker created the Partner as a concept car. 26 total pre and post production cars were created before they decided to get out of the car industry. All but one of the cars were destroyed.

2000 Hommell Coupe RS – This car I recognize, since it is a favorite in Grand Turismo 5. Hommell started building cars in 1990, creating four models until it finally ceased production in 2003.

1907 Lacoste Battmann – This French car maker built cars from 1897 to 1913. The funny name “Battmann” is the reason I included it here.

1968 Marsonetto – This started as a French car maker in 1947, and then owner Mario Marsonetto started building cars in the US from 1957 to 1972. The model pictured here is called Luciole, designed by Baptise Luciole. It came with either a Panhard two-cylinder, or a Renault 4-cylinder engine. I think the design of the rear glass and B pillar makes it a strikingly beautiful example of French design.

1972 Monica 560 – This small French carmaker built cars from 1970 to 1972. Only 8 production cars were created before the end came. It reminds me of the DeTomaso Deauville.