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

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Plymouth

US, 1928 to date

Chrysler Corporation, Detroit, Mich.

The 4-cylinder 21hp Plymouth car appeared in 1928 at a list price of $725 for a sedan. This Plymouth car replaced the earlier 4-cylinder Chryslers and represented a serious challenge for Ford and Chevrolet in their lowest price class. The Plymouth car had side valves, internal-expanding hydraulic brakes and ribbon-type radiator and gave the Plymouth car a close resemblance to the 1928 Chryslers and De Sotos, and Plymouth cars sold over 100.000 in its first year, even improving its sales position in the bleak economic climate of 1932. Plymouth cars adhered to four cylinders until 1933, when the Plymouth PD-series 6-cylinder was listed at less than $600. 1934 de luxe models of Plymouth cars had independent front suspension, but this was dropped after a year and did not reappear for some time on Plymouth cars. The standard engine in the later 1930 Plymouth cars had a capacity of 3.3-litres, rather smaller than that used in comparable Chevrolets and Fords: a small-bore 2.8-litre version Plymouth car was made for export up to 1939, but the name Plymouth was not usually found on Plymouth cars sold in England, which were nominally Chrysler Kew and Wimbledon sixes. After World War 2 evolution followed that of other Chrysler Corporation cars closely, the old-fashioned styling losing the Plymouth car division its long-held third place in American sales to Buick. Further, Plymouth cars retained the L-head six as its staple power unit right up to 1955, when Flight Sweep versions were introduced with over-square ohv V8 engines on accepted American lines in a variety of powers from 157 to 177bhp. The capacity of these Plymouth cars had 4.3-litres, while the six, now of 3.8-litres, remained available. These 1955 Plymouth cars were lower and longer than their predecessors and could be obtained with synchromesh, overdrive or automatic gearboxes.

The Plymouth Fury models of the ensuing decade represented a breakaway from the traditional Plymouth stolid family car, while the Plymouth Car Division was also responsible for Chrysler’s contribution to the compacts, the Plymouth Valiant launched for 1960. This Plymouth car had rather more European styling than its competitors, with a dummy spare-wheel moulding on the tail; interesting items of specification were the unitary construction of the Plymouth car, alternator ignition, and inclined in-line 2.8-litre ohv 6-cylinder engine. The influence of the Plymouth GT car on America resulted in the Plymouth Barracuda of 1965, a fastback coupé using the Valiant’s 8ft 10in wheelbase and a 4½-litre V8 power unit. Plymouth cars, like Ford and Chevrolet, was aiming at comprehensive coverage of the low and medium price market in 1966, with the compact Plymouth Valiant, the sports-compact Plymouth Barracuda, the medium-sized Plymouth Belvedere, the full-size Plymouth Fury, and the luxurious ‘VIP’ 4-door hardtop Plymouth car, offered only with a 5.2-litre V8 engine and selling for $2.930. An increasing emphasis on sporting Plymouth cars was detectable by 1968, when in addition to the established Barracuda there were two other sports coupés Plymouth car, the Plymouth GTX and the Plymouth Road Runner. All three Plymouth cars were available with 4-speed manual gearboxes and the 6.981cc 425bhp hemi-head V8 also used by Dodge. In 1970, when Valiant prices started at a low $2.172, there was also a Valiant sports coupé, the Plymouth Duster.

In 1971 Plymouth car company added a sub-compact to their Plymouth car range when they offered the 1½-litre Hillman Avenger as the Plymouth Cricket. The 1972 range of Plymouth cars embraced the Valiant on a 9ft wheelbase, the Barracudas and Satellites, and the full-size Furys with V8 engines and automatic transmission as standard. Engines in the Plymouth cars ranged from the Valiant’s 3.2-litre and 3.7-litre sixes up to the largest Chrysler unit, a V8 of 7.210cc. Electronic ignition was offered on the costliest Barracuda model. Casualties of new Federal regulations were the hemi-head engine and convertibles, and the same range Plymouth cars with minor improvements, among them manually-operated sun roofs, was offerd in 1973.

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