Tempo Rising: the story of the Matador

Before Volkswagen got its own Type 2 off the ground, there was the Tempo Matador – Volkswagen-powered, but front-engined, frontwheel drive and with a very distinctive front

- Richard Gunn

It’s almost impossible not to smile at a Tempo Matador. It looks like a slightly bemused alien badly in need of some sleep – although we mean that in a genuinely affectionate way. But for all the endearing cuteness, the Matador is both fascinating and pioneering.

At a time when commercial vehicles were generally just very basic and traditional, it featured front-wheel drive, years before Volkswagen (and practically everybody else, for that matter) got around to it. And it introduced Volkswagen to Australia well before the marque itself scarcity has just made the VW-powered Matador even more of a fabled beast. Sixty-five years after the last one was built, it seems a good opportunity to look back on this most curious of trucks.

Keeping Tempo

The full name of Tempo was Vidal & Sohn TempoWerke GmbH, founded by Max Vidal in Hamburg in 1883 to provide fire-fighting services for the coal industry. In 1927 Max and son Oskar turned their hand to building motorised vehicles instead – essentially cheap three-wheeler delivery carts. Soon, their firm was also producing military machines, as war loomed on the horizon. Its G1200 light utility vehicle featured two 600cc engines, one at the front, one at the rear, working together to give four-wheel drive. Sweden bought 400 of the things, being a country where 4WD is rather useful when it snows.