Maybach Spezialrennwagen 1920

Maybach Spezialrennwagen 1920 by Autocult

The Unknown  
The company ‘Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH’ was founded in Friedrichshafen in 1909. The plant specialized in aircraft engines and engines for the back-then trendy airships. With the end of World War I this branch of production was expressly forbidden in Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. The company, based at Lake Constance was faced with the frightening question of how to earn money in the future. Company patriarch Karl Maybach decided to start automotive manufacturing. His decision was right, the plant gained a foothold on the market and soon became known for its noble, high-priced luxury vehicles.   On the other hand, there was also a racing car that did not correspond to this image at all! It probably remains a mystery of automotive history, who ultimately came up with the idea of setting one – or more – racing cars on its wheels, which carried the company badge of Maybach. From today’s point of view, it seems breakneck to fit a huge 6-cylinder engine onto a fine-boned chassis. Out of over 23 liters displacement, the water-cooled four-stroke engine produced almost unbelievable 300 horsepower at only 1,200 rpm. In 1920, the idea was born to fit this engine into a chassis and create a racing car. More precisely, the vehicle would actually only have to literally described as moving engine. It was not more than a fairing of the engine with sheet metal parts, four thin spoked wheels and two-seats that was mounted onto the frame.   Neither the designer nor the company is known who set this powerful racer on its wheels. It is certain that it was not the company ‘Maybach-Motoren GmbH’. If this were the case, it would have been mentioned in any company-internal transcript, advertising or as a performance record.   Thus, the secret of this race car remains unclear.