1949 Veritas BMW Rennsport Spyder news, pictures, and information

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Spyder

Veritas was a small German company formed after the end of World War II by 3 BMW employees who built racing and sports cars based on pre-war BMWs. They built about 75 cars before closing in 1952. The most successful Veritas was the Veritas-BMW Rennsport Spyder. Approximately 22 were built using chassis and the 2-liter 'Hemi' 6-cylinder engines of the late 30s BMW 328. This car is one of approximately 15 that survived, (only 2 or 3 in North America). It is believed to be one of three cars raced by the Belgium team, Ecurie Belge.

In addition to many race wins, in the early 50s one of their cars set a new 2-liter land speed-record of 147 mph. There is some evidence that this car might be that record-setting car. The car was purchased by its current owners in 1979. Since then, it has been restored and used extensively in vintage races and vintage tours.

In many ways the Veritas was a rebuilt BMW 328 with a sporty aerodynamic body. Veritas used the original 2-liter BMW 328 chassis and running gear, adding a complex network of tubes to support the larger aluminum body. The first of these cars raced under the name BMW-Veritas until objections from BMW led the cars to be renamed the Veritas Rennsport Spyder. Veritas enjoyed several successes during the rebirth of motor sports after the war, and one of their first customers was the amateur race driver, Karl Kling, who won at Hockenheim in 1947 and at the Eifelrennen race on the Nurburgring circuit in 1949.

This particular Veritas is one of the three cars run by Jacques Swaters' Ecurie Belge team and the winner of the 1949 Formula 2 Chimay Grand Prix.

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Spyder
Chassis Num: 5036
Engine Num: 49041

This vehicle is a 1949 BMW Veritas Rennsport, of which, thirty examples were produced. The engine is a 1936 328 BMW six-cylinder unit that displaces 2000cc. The drivetrain and frame are also from a 1936 BMW 328. The body is constructed from aluminum and rests gently on a tubular frame.

The car was campaigned in Formula 1 by the Belgian racing team 'L'Ecurie - Belge' from 1949 through 1951. It was campaigned in the US from 1952 through 1962.

The original owner was Jacques Swaters and was driven by Emile Cornet.

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