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Porsche’s 1922 racer
Yes, Porsche cars only date back to the post-war period, but Ferdinand Porsche had been designing and constructing many other vehicles before he started producing them under his own name. Isn’t this a beautiful example? The photograph shows Herr Doktor Porsche with Count Alexander ‘Sascha’ Kolowrat-Krakowsky behind the wheel of the 1922 Austro-Daimler ADS II R, which became better known as the Sascha-Wagen or Sascha-Porsche, with the Count having been the instigator of the racing-car project.
They are about to leave the Austro-Daimler headquarters near Vienna for the circuit of Monza, where no less than three ADS II Rs had been entered in the 1922 Gran Premio d’Italia. The Sascha Special, as it was also called, used a four-cylinder iron block, with capacity ranging from 1100 cc to two litres depending on the class in which it was entered. It also had an aluminium head, twin distributors and dual ignition and was capable of speeds up to 105 mph (170 km/h).
The race was going well until one of the three drivers – Gregor ‘Fritz’ Kuhn – crashed after the spokes on his wheels broke. He died on the spot. The team withdrew from the race and drove back to Austria disillusioned. On his return, Porsche found out that wheel manufacturer Rudge-Whitworth had forgotten to check the wheels of the car and the dispute that followed eventually spelled the end of Porsche’s time at the Austro-Daimler company, but it was only the start of Porsche’s career. Count Kolowrat-Krakowsky made a name for himself in the pictures and concentrated on them after his racing adventures, becoming known as the founder of Austrian cinematography.
Words: Jeroen Booij; picture: Landessammlungen Niederösterreich
Published:
Friday March 17th, 2023
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The chassis appears to be welded box girder, with the 4-cylinder engine pushed well back. The front dumb irons now have sharp radii. Front springs are conventional semi-elliptics, but the back springs, also semi-elliptics, are mounted front and centre to the chassis, effectively giving a quarter elliptic to the back axle. The engine is almost entirely aluminium, with steel liners for the cylinders. It was twin OHC, and had a downdraft carburettor. The four racers for the Targa Florio were 1100cc, with large bore and short stroke, and the crankshaft was two-bearing! The gearbox had a central change, and the steering was, apparently, heavy, with no tendency for self-centering.
This was an inherently interesting design, with many features that became standard practice in the future. It is also interesting to compare with the Type 13 Bugatti and the larger 3 litre Bentley of the period, in part to see where Bentley was led into a dead end as far as racing was concerned. I would argue that the 1922 short chassis racers built for Kolowrat-Kratorsky by Porsche were conceptually more advanced than the Bugatti.
As for a Bentley of the period, which I greatly love and admire, its weight, long stroke and heavy flywheel were always going to make it a slogging racer, suitable for Le Mans and Brooklands, but unsuitable for the tight curves and gradient changes of the Targa Florio. Bentley continued with his big engines, presumably due to the market in the carriage trade and his shoe-string operation, and to be fair, Porsche was unable to persuade AD to manufacture the ADS R commercially. But it is still a wonder to behold.