1937 Adler Trumpf Rennlimousine

The German-based Adler Company built some truly unique and interesting automobiles prior to World War II. Their list of employees included the great Hans-Gustav Rohr, who developed the Trumpf automobile with a four-cylinder engine cooled by Thermosiphon, a gravity-fed oil supply, all-round independent suspension, and front-wheel drive. The engine delivered around 56 horsepower which meant it was not a very fast vehicle, but the aerodynamicist Paul Jaray figured out a way that it could be. Using the so-called 'spindle' shape of an airship as inspiration, Jaray cut it in half through the equator to form an automobile body. With further testing and design, it was determined that greater stability was achieved when the 'half-spindle' shape was tapered out into flat wings on either side of a tapered rear. In the front, the windshield was completely curved at almost 180 degrees. This helped direct air around the car instead of over it.

In the late 1930s, at least six examples of the Rennlimousine (racing sedan) were built on the Trumpf chassis. Each example was a continuous evolution from the previous example. These vehicles were extensively tested, demonstrated, and put on display at various shows. They were also used in competition and for setting records.

It is believed that this example may have been the #34 car, one of three entered by the Works team in the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans. If so, it was driven by Otto Lohr and Paul von Guilleaume in the 2-liter class where it finished 22nd in Class and 9th overall. In 1938, wearing the #32, it raced at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps where it was piloted by Sauerwein and Orssich. It retired prematurely due to an accident. The factory rebuilt the car with an amended front-end design and given to the company's foreign importers as a show car for demonstrations.

The history of the car from 1939 to 1945 is not known. In 1955, it appeared in Ansbach, in Northern Bavaria, and was registered to a German owner as AB 549-485 at the time. By this point in history, it had acquired a split front bumper, with the license plate in the center and two fog lights. It wore hubcaps over the front wheels and had aluminum strips on the nose and front fender openings.

A short time later, it was exported to the United States and entered the care of Joe Gertler Sr. Mr. Gertler would later come to own two of the three surviving Rennlimousines.

Ownership of this car later passed to Jimmy Brucker of Southern California. It was later acquired by Ken Behring's Blackhawk Collection. In 1994, it was acquired from the Blackhawk Collection by the current owner, who has maintained it in his European collection ever since.

As restored for the Blackhawk Collection, the car had its 1950s German bumpers and fog light removed and was stripped and refinished in silver. The car still has many of its original body panels, including both doors and hood sections. The engine and chassis both still carry the original numbers known to belong to this car.
By Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2015