NW Rennzweier
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Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft Rennzweier | ||
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Curb weight 975 kg (2,150 lb) | | |
Chronology | ||
Predecessor | Präsident |
The Double Racer (German: Rennzweier) is a race car manufactured by the Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft (NW), now Tatra, in 1900. It is sometimes also called First Racing, 12 HP, or Race Car (German: Rennwagen). It was commissioned by Baron Theodor von Liebieg . Hans Ledwinka, the man behind the famous rear-engined Tatras, and at the time only 20 years old, helped in the production of the car. The car was designed and built in a five week period in April and May 1900. The Rennzweier was the first car designed specifically for racing to be built in Central Europe.[2]
In 1994, a 2 Kč commemorative stamp featuring the Rennzweier, designed by Bedřich Housa , was issued.[5][6][7][8]
Background
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/NW_Rennzweier_Front.jpg/250px-NW_Rennzweier_Front.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/NW_Rennzweier_Side.jpg/250px-NW_Rennzweier_Side.jpg)
After the production of its first automobile, the Präsident, in 1897 – 1898, NW continued producing automobiles that followed the design of the original Präsident.
On 23 October 1899, two of these Präsident-derived cars, the Wien and the Nesselsdorf, competed in the first automobile race held in Austria-Hungary. The race took place in Vienna, on the Trabrennbahn Krieau, a trotting track near the Prater. Competing cars were the Wien, the Nesselsdorf, four Benz cars, and four Dietrich-Bolleé cars. Baron Theodor von Liebieg , driving the Wien, won the race, and the Nesselsdorf came in second.
In March 1900, Liebieg raced the 192 km (119 mi) triangle track Nice – Draguignan – Nice, where he won the second stage outright.[clarification needed] Four days later he won the four-seaters under 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) class in the famous Nice – La Turbie hill climb race.
The Präsident-derived cars Liebieg was competing with were designed for ordinary use, not racing. So after his successes of late 1899 and early 1900, Liebieg commissioned NW to produce a new automobile specifically designed for racing. NW fulfilled this order with the Rennzweier, the first race car built in Central Europe.[9]
Design
The construction was unique at the time. The car was very low, especially the driver's seat. There was no bodywork – all mechanical parts were uncovered. Unlike its predecessors, the steering column was slightly tilted.
The car had a modified Benz engine. It was a two-cylinder spark ignition engine with a power output of about 12 hp (8.9 kW) at 650 rpm.[3] It was transversely mounted above the driven rear axle.
The driver was situated on a heightened seat behind the steering wheel, while the passenger seat was much lower on the frame, so the passenger's legs were sticking out under the car.
The gas tank had a volume of 42 liters,[4] while there was also another tank behind the driver for 15 liters of coolant.
The car was able to reach a maximum speed of 82 km/h (51 mph).
Von Liebieg raced the car in numerous contests. He won the La Turbie race that took place in Nice, and took second position in Salzburg-Linz-Vienna race. He later also took part in the Paris-Vienna race.
Today the Rennzweier is exhibited at the Czech National Technical Museum.
A second racing car was made in 1901. This one also made do without bodywork, and this time featured a Hardy engine (flat two, 3188cc, 7,4 kW-8,85 kW (10-12HP)) was used instead of the previous Benz one.[9]
References
- OCLC 973620118.
- ^ a b Dragoun, Aleš (1996-10-02). "NW Rennzweier (1900)" (PDF). sleeper.ic.cz (in Czech). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ a b K, S (1975). "náš první závodní automobil 'NW RENNZWEIER'". Svět motorů (in Czech). Vol. 29, no. 52. pp. 15–17.
- ^ a b Kučírek, Vojtěch. "KATALOG ZNÁMEK : ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA : 1993 - 2001" (PDF) (in Czech). p. 18. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- OCLC 1280489511. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
Czech Republic, 1994: 1900 NW ('Rennzweier') [Scott, Czechoslovakia 2932]
- ^ "Česká pošta". PoštaOnline. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ "Czech Republic - 2k stamp of 1994 (#159053)". StampData. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ "Stamp: NW 1900 (TATRA) (Czech Republic(Historical Vehicle) Mi:CZ 53,Sn:CZ 2932,Yt:CZ 52,Sg:CZ 58,AFA:CZ 52,POF:CZ 53". Colnect. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ OCLC 228593681.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Magazine articles about the NW Rennzweier (in Czech)