You can't keep sports cars down for long. From the ruins of war, various coachbuilders in Germany and Austria were building roadsters and coupés on the running gear of the relaunched Volkswagen by 1950. Porsche had hired Reutter of Stuttgart to build bodies for the 356, having taken two years to create the first 50 by itself in Gmünd, Austria. Making such cars at a lesser rate - although not drastically so - was Dannenhauer & Stauss.
Having worked on the bodies of the KdFWagen prototypes with Reutter before the war, Gottfried Dannenhauer knew how to take apart a Beetle better than most. With the new Federal Republic of Germany founded in May 1949, Dannenhauer could see a return to normality and, with that, demand for a drop-top sports car based on the ubiquitous and well-supported Volkswagen. Son-in-law Kurt Stauss, also an accomplished panel beater and mechanic, joined the venture, and the pair set up shop in Stuttgart.
The two metalworkers were wise enough not to attempt designing the car themselves, so they enlisted the help of two students of Wunibald Kamm (of 'Kamm tail' fame) to style the body. The pair, Herren Oswald and Wagner, had already been working on a prototype, and this provided the basis of the D&S. Dannenhauer and Stauss made a few adjustments, though, chiefly the removal of a luggage compartment with a locking lid sited between the engine and the passenger compartment. Their car would have a basic bench that could double as cargo space or emergency rear seats instead, with the first Sportkabriolett built by Christmas 1950.
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A Breath of Fresh Air- Alfa Romeo's exotic, V8-powered Montreal was like nothing the marque had made before, but can it compare with a Porsche masterpiece, the 911S 2.4?
The stereotype of the ItaloGermanic automotive rivalry is that the Latin car will be brilliant to drive, but poorly built and ergonomically flawed, while the Teutonic will be the opposite. Yet these 2+2 sports coupés both ran against orthodoxy. In the Montreal, Alfa Romeo created an outlandish-looking two-door more comfortable, more powerful and more refined than anything it had produced for decades. Meanwhile, Porsche continued to refine its back-to-front, austere and increasingly aged 911. Neither took a traditional development path, but both created thrilling and individual cars that have echoed through the decades.
Daring to be diminutive
AMC's Gremlin and Pacer, and Ford's much-derided Pinto, led America's response to the threat of imported European compacts
THE LONG WAY ROUND
There is a great tradition of overland trips by Land-Rover, but the tale of this 70s Aussie epic and the car itself was discovered by chance
Handsome cab
The Phantom V limousine marked the beginning of the end for coachbuilder James Young, but this Rolls-Royce represents the craft at its very best
DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Racing for their own F1 teams brought some drivers success and an enduring legacy. For others, it turned into a nightmare
20 30 LITRES CYLINDERS, 400BHP......AND MORE THAN A CENTURY OLD
Thunderous torque, flame-spitting stub-exhausts, white-knuckle thrills - and hopefully no spills - aboard a trio of Edwardian racing titans
ICON.
The three top-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023 were pick-ups, topped by the Ford F-Series. This is the truck that started it all
Blurred Lines
lan 'Del' Lines blended the V8 burble of Triumph's open GT with real practicality in his Stag V8 saloons and estates
Home of the brave
The innovative Silverstone proved a hit with keen amateur drivers. To mark its 75th, Healey's club racer returns to the circuit for which it is named
PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES
Alfa Romeo's wild RZ eschewed the jellymould styling of the period to offer a striking, wedge-shaped take on open-topped performance motoring