1950 Veritas Scorpion

The Veritas Company began in March of 1947 in the village of Hausen am Andelsbach, near Hockenheim. Its founders included Ernst Loof, the former head of BMW's racing division when the BMW won the Mille Miglia in 1940; sales manager Lorenz Dietrich; and pre-war Auto Union Grand Prix racing driver and former motorcycle champion Georg 'Schorsch' Meier. Their company was called Veritas-Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Sport und Rennwagenbau (Veritas-Joint Venture for the Construction of Sport and Racing Vehicles).

The purpose of the company was to build sports and racing cars that would carry on and exceed the legacy of the pre-war BMW 328. The first prototype they built was in a corner of BMW's Allach factory. Since they were not allowed to build any new engine or car in the American Zone of Occupation, the project was moved from the Germany Zone to the French Zone.

The Veritas Rennsport was a racing car that was powered by an overhead-valve six. It won the German 2-Litre sports char championship on three occasions, from 1947 to 1949. A road car followed in 1949, called the Comet. Next came a two-seat convertible named Scorpion. The Saturn came next; it was a coupe with three-abreast seating. The Saturn and Scorpion used the same 2600mm wheelbase platform and fully-independent front suspension with upper and lower control arms, longitudinal torsion bars, and telescopic shock absorbers. In the back was a deDion axle with triangular links, longitudinal torsion bars, and telescopic shock absorbers. Steering was by rack-and-pinion. The brakes were four-wheel hydraulic drums. Power was from a BMW 328 with a 1988cc displacement with overhead valves operated by transverse rocker arms. A Veritas-designed five-speed manual was mated to the engine. The bodies were coachbuilt by Karosseriebau Spohn of Ravensburg.

This particular example is a Veritas Scorpion. It was given a restoration in the early 1990s and finished with a blue exterior and tanned leather interior. More recently it was recommissioned by BMW Classic where it received a sympathetic cosmetic restoration.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2018