Horch

D, 1900 – 1939

(1) A. Horch & Co, Cologne-Ehrenfeld, 1900 – 1902

(2) A. Horch & Co, Reichenbach/ Vogtland, 1902 – 1904

(3) A. Horch & Co, Motorwagenwerke AG, Zwickau, 1904 – 1939

August Horch was among the pioneers of car manufacture in Germany. He was employed as a an engineer with Benz from 1896 to 1899 when he started his own Horch car factory at Cologne. The first Horch car appeared in 1900. This Horch car had a 2-cylinder 5hp front-mounted engine and shaft drive. The next Horch models were a 2-cylinder 10/12hp and a 4-cylinder 16/20hp. After the Zwickau works had been set up in 1904 Horch was able to increase production. The Horch 18/22hp ohv 4-cylinder model of 1904 became very popular and was the basis for several subsequent Horch cars. A victory in the Herkomer Trial of 1906 was gained with this Horch car model, the first such success for a Horch. Horch also pioneered with his Horch Torpedo form aero-dynamic bodies for the Prince Henry Trials, which were built by Kathe of Halle. In 1906 a 6-cylinder 8-litre power unit was designed for Horch cars, developing 60bhp, but it was not a success and this was one cause of differences between Horch and his partners. Horch himself left the firm and started the Audi factory.

Various models with different engine sizes were included in the Horch car range, from the small Horch 6/18PS 1.588cc to the Horch 25/60PS 6.395cc. All Horch cars had 4-cylinder engines. After World War 1 the Horch 33/80PS 8.440cc model appeared, which had actually been designed in 1914. This Horch car started a series of prestige cars for which the make became famous in the following years. Paul Daimler (son of Gottlieb) was engaged as chief engineer in 1923. Ohc 4- and 6-cylinder Horch car models with fwb appeared in 1923/ 1924, but the first new Horch car under his management was the Horch 300 with a straight-8 3.230cc engine with twin overhead camshafts. In 1927 the ‘Horch 305’ and ‘Horch 306’ appeared, which also featured straight-8 engines, with twin overhead camshafts and a capacity of 3.375cc developing 75bhp. These Horch car models differed only in wheelbase. They were followed by the ‘Horch 375’ in 1928 with an 8-cylinder 3.974cc engine capable of 80bhp. After Daimler left Horch two more models (the Horch ‘400’ and ‘405’) were produced showing Daimler influence. The Horch 450 of 1930 was entirely new. This Horch car was straight-8 with only one overhead camshaft. Two different wheelbases and engines of 4, 4½ and 5 litres were available. The last of these stayed in the Horch car range until 1939, later Horch cars having 10-bearing crankshafts and all round independent suspension. Type numbers of Horch cars became a little confusing in the next few years, when some models were available with different wheelbases and engine capacities. A V12 with 5.990cc (Horch car models ‘600’ and ‘670’) appeared in 1931, followed by the V8 3.517cc ‘Horch 830B’ in 1933, available in two wheelbase and engine sizes. By 1939 the range consisted of the ‘Horch 930V’ and ‘Horch 830BL’(3.823cc, 92bhp) and the ‘Horch 951A’, ‘Horch 853A’ and ‘Horch 855’ (4.944cc, 120bhp). These Horch car models were available with different wheelbases and a variety of body styles from a two-seater roadster to a large Pullman saloon. The Horch car company was celebrated for luxurious ‘prestige’cars which were sold at lower prices than other top makes; a V8 cost £615 in England, and straight-8s from £985.

From 1932 Horch was a member of the Auto Union, and the racing cars bearing this name were built in the Horch car works. In 1945 the Horch car factory was nationalized and in 1956 it brought out a new Horch car. This had to be sold as the Sachsenring, as Auto Union, now based on Düsseldorf, hold the sole rights to the brand-names Horch, Audi and Wanderer.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; HON

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com

DeSoto

US, 1913 – 1916

DeSoto Motro Car Co, Auburn, Ind.

The DeSoto appears to have succeeded the Zimmerman. This was a large car with a 55hp, 6-cylinder engine, which was furnished with a compressed-air starter. The DeSoto model Six-55 five-seater touring car sold for $2185.

US, 1928 – 1960

Chrysler Motors Corp, Detroit, Mich.

The DeSoto was launched in 1928 as a 3.2-litre side valve six to compete with Oldsmobile, Pontiac and the cheaper Nashes. Styling and general design of the DeSoto were in line with the 1929 Chryslers, and at $885 for a DeSoto sedan 90.000 were sold in the first twelve months. A 3.4-litre straight-8 DeSoto on a 9ft 6in wheelbase was announced for 1930 as the world’s cheapest 8-cylinder car. However, DeSoto suffered badly in the Depression, and in 1932, when flexible rubber engine mountings and free wheels were made available, sales dropped to 26.000 DeSoto cars.
The DeSoto disappeared from the British market about this time, though certain ‘Chrysler’ models listed in England (the Mortlake, Croydon, and some of the Richmonds) were in fact DeSoto cars in all but name. A 6-cylinder version of Chrysler’s advanced unitary-construction Airflow, the SE-type with a 4-litre engine, was brought out in 1934, but was an unsuccessful as its bigger sister. Later DeSotos followed regular Chrysler lines closely though in later years there was a tendency for DeSoto to move into a higher price class than Dodge; by 1952 DeSotos started $300 higher than the companion make.
By 1939 the DeSoto cars for sale were being made with independent front suspension, hypoid back axles and column change. There was a choice at DeSoto of two 6-cylinder engines and three wheelbase lengths, the longest of these being reserved for seven-seater bodywork – DeSoto continued to offer a really roomy family car right up to 1954. A 4-speed semi-automatic Vacumatic transmission became an option in 1941, but DeSoto’s big post-war change of models did not take place until 1952, when the division followed Chrysler’s lead in adopting the oversquare ohv V8; the DeSoto version was of 4½-litre capcity and developed 16-bhp. With the advent of Chrysler’s ‘flight sweep’ styling in 1955, the side-valve sixes were dropped and the standard engine in a DeSoto was now a 4.8-litre eight, giving 185bhp in Firedome guise, and 200bhp in Fireflite form. Though this redesigning saved Chrysler sales generally, the slump in the medium-price class had an adverse effect on DeSoto and in 1959 the DeSoto division was merged with Plymouth. Last of the DeSotos were the 1961 models, unitary-construction cars with a choice of three engines: Plymouth’s 145bhp ohv ‘slant six’ as used in the Valiant, and V8s of 230 and 265bhp, the two former only in Canadian DeSotos. Production of DeSoto cars ceased in November 1960 after only a few had been delivered.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS
The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com