1956 Avia MK3

Miroslav Jurca, a Czechoslovakian driver with connections to the Avia airplane, was permitted to build a highly developed race car. Using steel frames and an aluminum and magnesium skin, he built a Streamliner powered by a BMW 750cc 4-stroke, opposed piston motorcycle engine. The car was inspired by aircraft design and experience gained by Avia from the 1920s.

This aerodynamic vehicle weighs under 900 pounds, has a trans-axial gearbox, and has fully independent suspension in both the front and rear. It was raced in the Eastern block and Austria. During the late 1950s, the Avia was seized by the communist authorities.

The car later surfaced in a German museum where it was misidentified as a 1948 BMW race car with an unknown history. The car was owned by several collectors and in 1987 was shipped to the United States and purchased by Bruce McCaw. It was later sold to the Pat Hart Collection.

By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2010