Jump to content

Horch


alsancle

Recommended Posts

I have never driven a 500 or 540. It can't be compared to the 290 or 370 I have driven. The 290 feels like a light and sporty fun car. The Horch is more off a heavy and stately cruiser. possible one of the heavier cars i have ever driven. it feels very similar to my SJ dual cowl.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 540k has been described as driving a sturdy overstuffed coach down the road (Until you engage the blower) so I would say they are probably pretty similar. The 852/853s has one of my favorite dash panels. Beautiful. I have a friend that has one of the 4 or 5 special roadsters. I have sat in it but have never gone for a ride. Very tight fit. I'll find some pictures of that and post them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking forward to the Special Roadster pics, these are MUCH rarer than the MBs, less striking maybe but still some of the most beautiful German coachwork designs of the late 30s.

The Special Roadsters were offered by the factory but made by independent coachbuilders, Gläser and Erdmann & Rossi. That striking Cabriolet from Robert Lee's collection is a one off by Voll & Ruhrbeck.

post-74299-143142493208_thumb.jpg

This is a Special Roadster on a 853 chassis by E&R. One of a small series ~ 6 built. Won PB in 2003.

post-74299-143142493216_thumb.jpg

The 855 Gläser SR on display at the Audi museum Ingolstadt. Interestingly this came from Rudi Klein's infamous LA exotic junkyard, but unlike the Carraciola 500K this somehow got away and is now on permanent loan in Germany.

post-74299-143142493219_thumb.jpg

Another 855 SR, very similar to the above example but supposedly by Erdmann & Rossi. With a Texan collector at Pebble sometime in the late 90ies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are the crappy pictures I have of the special roadster. A very snazzy car in person. Maybe not quite a 540k Special Roadster but a spectacular car.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]245888[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]245889[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]245890[/ATTACH]

This came out of the Riga car museum several years ago. Rough (by western standards) restoration. From the same series as the PB 2003 winner. I think it went for ~ $3MM, not a steal, but this can be made into an absolute stunner when finished nicely. Whats the current status? Im sure a complete resto is planned right?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are the crappy pictures I have of the special roadster. A very snazzy car in person. Maybe not quite a 540k Special Roadster but a spectacular car.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]245888[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]245889[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]245890[/ATTACH]

I know how large my 853 felt driving. That car must feel huge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't consider it rough. It was a complete car that needed everything restored. However not being an authority on the marque I am unable to comment on the "jewelry". But to view the car as it sat outside it appeared complete and needing restoration. Probably as good a one you could find on this side of the pond, but I did not look under the hood. I had seen one on the Autobahn outside Munich in the early '50's and was more impressed than with the Mercedes of the same era. May have been the rarity? ---Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest BillP

It was a used car like any other, I think it was a closed car. He had barns and sheds full of cars, all the way from an Austin 7 to what he called Betty Davis' Cadillac, an early or mid-thirties 12 or 16 limo, I don't recall which. One later model car was an approx '50 Roadsmaster conv, black w red leather. It was in the hay mow of the dairy barn. Jim hopped in, cranked it over and it started. I was surprised the place didn't burn down. He was a character, and of course, the world needs more characters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey guys,

I've been following the prewar M-B thread that AJ started as that's an area of serious interest (and thanks Kirk for your comments about the London auction :) ), but Horch is a soft spot of mine. This is a picture of me around age 15-17 with an 853 Cabriolet that was purchased by the owner of the restoration shop I worked for. It was one of a pair that had been in hiding in my hometown in Connecticut for decades.

post-74104-143142513626_thumb.jpg

post-74104-143142513626_thumb.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jonathan, I think I might have mentioned to you I swear I saw that car for sale in 2001 for around 180/200k. It was definitely in Connecticut so I can't imagine there were many others. Do you know what it looks like now? Hopefully not bright red.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AJ - your timing is about right. One of the cars was sold in the early 2000s, and the other around the mid-2000s. As far as I am aware the car in the picture I posted is still original. Horch-Classic in Germany had it for sale but I don't see it on their web site anymore. The car that sat alongside it for many years was restored and sold by Artcurial within the last couple years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey guys,

I've been following the prewar M-B thread that AJ started as that's an area of serious interest (and thanks Kirk for your comments about the London auction :) ), but Horch is a soft spot of mine. This is a picture of me around age 15-17 with an 853 Cabriolet that was purchased by the owner of the restoration shop I worked for. It was one of a pair that had been in hiding in my hometown in Connecticut for decades.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]247815[/ATTACH]

Jonathan how are you? Can you or Alsancle tell me why the headlights look to tall in that picture is it the mounts, the lights or do i need more sleep?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kirk,

All well here, just ramping up for the summer. Hope all your projects are moving forward. Believe it or not these are actually Bosch headlights, perhaps installed because the original got damaged or maybe the then-current owner felt they lit the road better? I am trying to trace the histories of both cars backward, and this one was in Massachusetts in the 1950s, perhaps owned by the veteran that imported it (I am not sure if the two cars were a pair before their purchase by the CT owner in the 1960s). I've found most 853s look very similar so at least they help this one look unique enough to identify it in a photograph.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kirk,

All well here, just ramping up for the summer. Hope all your projects are moving forward. Believe it or not these are actually Bosch headlights, perhaps installed because the original got damaged or maybe the then-current owner felt they lit the road better? I am trying to trace the histories of both cars backward, and this one was in Massachusetts in the 1950s, perhaps owned by the veteran that imported it (I am not sure if the two cars were a pair before their purchase by the CT owner in the 1960s). I've found most 853s look very similar so at least they help this one look unique enough to identify it in a photograph.

Hi Jonathan, Yes everything here is going well. I did sell the Horch and now j491x as they were the bigger number cars to take the heat off a little. Everything else is just like juggling 47 balls in the air. Learning lots about car moving logistics and just having a crash course on driving a 1915 simplex-crane what a animal. I came across this youtube video about audi trying to locate the last Horch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
Here is one that was for sale last year. Gullwing had it and flipped it pretty quick. I don't know what they were asking.[ATTACH=CONFIG]245891[/ATTACH]

Hey A

That one gone too fast for $155k. I was trying to buy but was to late :(.

Still looking to buy one but can't find in private sales.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Guest Bill K.

I scanned this from Oswald's book recently, for a friend. If anyone wants more data from this or Kirchberg's books, I'd be happy to scan it. Oswald's has a serial-number listing.

Horch0000_zps3b95152c.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...