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Additional description
Standort: Gassmann GmbH in Bovenden (PLZ 37120)
the suspension was independent all round: at the front by wishbones and at the rear by swing-axles
location: 1
interior color: brown
interior type: leather
number of doors: 2
Marke: Andere
Alte Bundesstraße 48
Schalter 4
Chassis No. 185535
Engine No. 354312
Belgian title
9 survivors identified
Technical and aesthetic originality
A fine example of late 1930s streamlined coachbuilding
One of only a handful Type 10 cabriolets known to exist
An older restoration (circa end of 1970s) by former Karmann employee
2.5-Litre
6 cylinder engine
2018 Techno Classica Essen Concours d'Élégance FIVA award winner
Featured on the cover of 'Oldtimer Plus' magazine in 2007
2022 Wertgutachten 2- ( Marktwert 145.000 EUR )
Presented at the 1937 Berlin Motor Show
the new Adler 2.5 caused a sensation as it was reflective of the "streamline movement" inspired by the teardrop aerodynamics. With its four independent wheels and hydraulic brakes
it was a technically modern car
while its proven and robust 2.5L 6-cylinder engine
mated to a 4-speed gearbox
gave it good performance. Despite its qualities
production stopped in 1940 and surviving examples are rare
even impossible to find when it comes to the Karmann convertible that we are offering. Retained in the same family for many years
it was restored in the early 1980s by a former Karmann employee
Ernst Fleischmann. Its current owner acquired it from the latter in 2014
and continued maintaining it
and in 2018 won the 2nd prize in its class at the Techno Classica Essen elegance competition. The car is now patinated and very well preserved
with many specific details that make it so charming. This "Autobahn Adler" was regularly maintained by LMB Racing in Wijnegem. This car has extensive period documentation. Rare and interesting
this convertible is as much a concours d'elegance car as it is an iconic design piece of the late Art Deco period
Frankfurt-based Adler started out in the 19th Century as a bicycle manufacturer
turning later to the production of motorcycles
cars and the typewriters with which its name is most commonly associated today. A highly respected firm in its native Germany
Adler was already manufacturing automobile components when it introduced its first car
a Renault-influenced
De Dion-powered voiturette
in 1900. Within a few years the company was making its own single- and twin-cylinder engines
though by 1910 the range was powered exclusively by fours. Some of the latter were huge
as big as 7.4 litres
one of which was purchased by Kaiser Wilhelm II. Sixes and a straight eight were added to the range in the 1920s
Adlers remained essentially conventional in design until the arrival in 1932 of the Trumpf. Designed by H G Röhr and premiered at the Geneva Salon
the Trumpf (trump) employed front-wheel drive and all-round independent suspension four years before the launch of Citroën's similarly specified yet much better known Traction Avant. Rack-and-pinion steering was another Trumpf innovation and a feature that early Tractions lacked
By this time
automotive engineers were beginning to recognise the importance of aerodynamics in passenger car design
and the Adler 2.5-Litre typifies this trend. Introduced at the 1937 Berlin Motor Show
Adler's streamliner caused a sensation and soon gained the sobriquet 'Autobahn Adler'
reflecting its aptitude for relaxed cruising on Germany's expanding motorway network. Boasting the commendably low drag coefficient of 0.36
the strikingly different four-door fastback saloon body was the work of Karl Jenschke
formerly with Steyr-Daimler-Puch. The steel saloon bodies were built by Ambi-Budd in Berlin
while construction of the two- and four-door cabriolet bodies was entrusted to Karmann of Osnabrück. The welded box-section chassis was of the platform type
The Type 10 was powered by a 2,494cc sidevalve six producing 58 horsepower (80 in the Sport version)
which was good enough to propel the slippery Adler to a top spee
