They're Doing it in Germany!

It comes as a decided shock to find that racing takes place in Germany at the present time, that two motoring journals are published there and that the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil Club has been revived, with headquarters in Munich. In addition, be it known, the Arbeitsgerneinsehaft Deutseher Motorfahrer has been established, with Hans Bretz, who recently addressed a convention of racing drivers in Hockenheim, near Heidelberg, as its president. This A.D.M. is hoping to get itself accepted by the F.I.A., who recently, it claims, accepted Austria as a member.

Most of the cars which German drivers will race this year are Bugattis, Maseratis and Alfa-Romeos of 1935 vintage or thereabouts, but rumour has it that Uhlenhaut has a blown 120-h.p., 156 m.p.h. car under construction at Wetter, in the Ruhr valley, backed, rumour persists, by a British firm or team. Certainly it seems that Ernst Loof is doing very nicely at a tiny factory in the French zone, with his Veritas, which consist of 328 B.M.W.s rebuilt at a price of 12,000 marks—less than half the black-market price of a Leica camera. Weight is reduced by some 527 lb. by using a new tubular chassis, and the engine is given a new crankshaft and lubrication system and new valves. A really good 2-seater, all-enveloping aerodynamic body is fitted. A Veritas, run for 261 miles on the Hockenheim track, averaged 111 m.p.h. and gave about 13 m.p.g. on a 25 per cent. benzol, 75 per cent. petrol fuel. 156 m.p.h. is spoken of as the car’s maximum. Loof employs 35 persons and has already had orders for eleven cars. He dreams, they say, of a bigger, monoposto racing car.

Falkenhausen has been busy on a modified 4-cylinder F.I.A.T. engine, presumably the “1,100,” with four carburetters, giving 80 h.p. at 6,500 r.p.m. A few such engines will be built and sold for 30,000 marks each and Cisitalia are said to be vaguely interested. Over and above these cars, German amateurs are building “specials.” For instance, Kuhnks and Mueller converted a Volkswagen into a blown, aerodynamic all-enveloping coupe able to do nearly 90 m.p.h. and, although Dr. Feuereisen, of Volkswagen’s, doesn’t like it, he expects the trend to spread. Another “special” uses an o.h.v. V-twin Neander-J.A,P. motor-cycle engine out ahead of its front wheels. While Britain has no place where the B.R.M. can be tested, these German enthusiasts go racing even in the British zone, if a statement in “Weekend “—an American zone magazine—is to be believed. Alfred Neubauer suggests that German drivers should form small groups, and get wealthy sponsors of races run as sweepstakes or with pari-mutuel betting. But these German racing drivers, vide “Outlook,” apparently find the public so keen on motor-racing that they are doing very nicely as it is, thank you. Curious—for, after all, Britain did win the war. W. B.