"Bozi Tatarevic" (hoonable)
03/18/2015 at 10:55 • Filed to: PUCH 500, Steyr-Puch
11
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"Bozi Tatarevic" (hoonable)
03/18/2015 at 10:55 • Filed to: PUCH 500, Steyr-Puch | 11
| 18 |
Steyr-Puch is well known for producing the G Wagen and a variety of off-road vehicles but they made some great micro cars in the 60s and 70s and made the best version of the Fiat 500 at the time. They entered into an agreement with Fiat in the 50s to provide a body for a micro car but produced their own better engines and suspensions and even competed in some racing championships of the time.
The development of the Steyr-Puch micro car started in 1954 with the agreement to buy shells from Fiat. The body shell was shared with the Fiat 500 except for the custom roof and engine cover. The first Steyr-Puch 500 models featured a 493cc 2 cylinder boxer engine that was developed in house and produced 16 bhp. The rev-happy engine had a short crankshaft that was nitride treated and featured advanced head design with large valves and hemispherical combustion chambers. The engine was backed up by an advanced transmission that was synchronized and stopping power was provided by large cast aluminum drum brakes.
The first versions featured suicide doors and a folding roof as well as better interior space than the Fiat variant. Since the boxer engine took up less space in the back, the rear seats were able to be installed deeper into the cabin allowing for better seating space. The Steyr-Puch model was much smoother than the Fiat model due to the better balance of the boxer motor and improved custom designed rear suspension.
The next evolution of the model were the 500D and 500DL and they featured a hardtop roof along with an upgraded engine that produced over 20 bhp but was listed as 19.8 bhp to get around increased taxes. The DL version featured an early automated transmission called the Saxomat and did not have a clutch. The Saxomat was a dual clutch transmission that had a centrifugal and servo clutch.
The next interesting variation was the 700C which was a wagon body style and referred to as the Combi. It featured a 25 bhp engine and a longer body based on the Fiat 500 Giardiniera. These cars were used as service vehicles and parts runners so many of them are well used up but a few survived and some of them have been upgraded like the example !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! which is powered by a 660cc engine producing 50 bhp.
The 50 bhp engine comes from the 650TR II. This model was developed for racing and it featured a modified camshaft and exhaust system. The model started out as the 650T which featured the engine from 700C with some modifications. The 650T evolved into the 650TR and the addition of dual carburetor and additional modifications to the engine increased the power to 27 bhp. The most powerful version came out in 1965 and was called the 650TR II. The engine was further modified to produce 42 bhp and was able to produce up to 50 bhp when modified in the aftermarket. The TR II was a popular race vehicle as it was cheaper than comparable cars from Mini and BMW. Many wins were recorded with these little cars but the most notable is Sobieslaw Zasada winning the Group 2 touring car championship in 1966 beating out the BMC Cooper.
[Photo Credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ]
You can also see the Zastava version that I wrote about earlier !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
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Bozi is the founder of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and creates articles on everything from engine swaps to late model car restorations. You can follow him on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! or drop him a line at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Gary Yogurt
> Bozi Tatarevic
03/18/2015 at 10:59 |
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It's so beautiful. Thanks for posting this!
lone_liberal
> Bozi Tatarevic
03/18/2015 at 12:47 |
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I'm going to stick with the SEAT 600. When I was stationed in Spain in the late 80s a friend of mine drove one and it provided no end of amusement.
Loping Camshaft
> Bozi Tatarevic
03/18/2015 at 12:48 |
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Makes me want to puch.
t_s
> Bozi Tatarevic
03/18/2015 at 12:51 |
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There are some amazing race cars with that little engine.
Blondude
> Bozi Tatarevic
03/18/2015 at 12:51 |
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Welp, add that to the list of cars that I want but will probably never own.
Hans_Moleman
> Bozi Tatarevic
03/18/2015 at 12:53 |
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This is an interesting car and 50 Hp sounds like a lot for a micro car, but aluminum drum brakes? I don't think they would stop even a lightweight car.
True
> Bozi Tatarevic
03/18/2015 at 13:10 |
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I'd rather have a Styer AUG than a Styer Puch but that is pretty cool.
dannymac63
> Bozi Tatarevic
03/18/2015 at 13:17 |
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Steyr...same Steyr as Steyr-Mannlicher of AUG, Scout and Taktische Maschinenpistole (TMP) fame?
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Bozi Tatarevic
> dannymac63
03/18/2015 at 13:20 |
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Yep, they were all part of Styer-Daimler-Puch until they started breaking up the companies in the late 80s
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Bozi Tatarevic
> lone_liberal
03/18/2015 at 13:22 |
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Those are fun little cars but if we are looking at a SEAT, I prefer the 800D with the suicide doors
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lone_liberal
> Bozi Tatarevic
03/18/2015 at 13:29 |
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The 800s were beauties but there was something inherently hilarious about stuffing 4, 5 if sufficiently drunk, full grown Americans in to the 600. When we'd get out it looked like clowns piling out of a clown car. Plus, there was no better car for traversing the narrow cobblestone Spanish streets.
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Bozi Tatarevic
> lone_liberal
03/18/2015 at 13:35 |
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Haha, it is surprising what these little cars will do. We have done the 5 person cram in a Zastava version
nerd_racing
> Bozi Tatarevic
03/18/2015 at 14:10 |
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I did some work on a Steyr Monoblock inline 6 diesel engine a while back. The thing was smooth but man the mono block engine was different.
Fuel_of_Satan
> Bozi Tatarevic
03/18/2015 at 14:54 |
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Speed holes. Because racemicrocar.
ranwhenparked
> Bozi Tatarevic
03/18/2015 at 15:08 |
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The DL version featured an early automated transmission called the Saxomat and did not have a clutch. The Saxomat was a dual clutch transmission that had a centrifugal and servo clutch.
I've heard of these, but I've never seen one - not even a picture of a car that has a Saxomat. Just technical drawings and old brochure images. My understanding is that it was kind of an accessory item that was offered in a number of German (and apparently Austrian) cars in the '50s and '60s and was marketed to people that had war injuries that prevented them from driving a normal manual.
I know Volkswagen developed their later Automatic Stick-Shift as a replacement for the Saxomat, so they must have thought it had value.
Spasoje
> Bozi Tatarevic
03/18/2015 at 15:20 |
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My parents' record is seven (!) - driver, one front passenger on the other's lap, and the rest side-by-side in the back! I'll try to match that record with mine eventually hehe
bobrayner
> Bozi Tatarevic
03/18/2015 at 15:47 |
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Cinquecento rally shooting-brake made by an obscure Austrian manufacturer. It's like the holy grail of Jalopnik! Can I get one in brown?
It's a shame they didn't tick the "diesel" box too. Steyr offered some fine diesels, later on...
Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy
> Fuel_of_Satan
03/19/2015 at 03:11 |
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"every gram counts!"