This Forgotten Car is One of the Most Unappreciated in Automotive History.

"Berang" (berang) 08/20/2015 at 07:02 • Filed to: Lloyd, Suzulight, trabant, DKW, mini, suzuki

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In the early 1950s a Japanese motorcycle company studied and evaluated three European cars. A Volkswagen Beetle, a Citroën 2cv, and - a Lloyd. Guess which one the Japanese liked best?

Suzuki selected the 2-stroke engined, front wheel drive Lloyd LP 400 to be the role model for their first car. The first two prototype Suzulights were near exact copies of the Lloyd down to the left hand drive. To be honest I cannot find all of the reasons behind their choosing of the Lloyd - I know their experience building 2-stroke motorcycle engines factored into it, and I can guess the relative simplicity, compactness, and light weight also factored into it. But whatever their reasons they chose a good car to copy - and they weren’t alone in doing so.

At about the same time - in East Germany there was also a need for a small, economical, light car - and manufacturing simplicity was a major consideration. IFA had been building cars in Zwikau based on pre-war DKW designs which were aging rapidly. These used a water cooled, 2 cylinder, 2-stroke engine mounted behind the transmission driving the front wheels. But even this was too complicated. There’d have to be a simpler solution for their next car - the Trabant. They looked to West Germany and found the Lloyd.

If you open the hoods of a Lloyd, Suzulight, and Trabant - you’ll find a remarkably similar sight. A tiny air-cooled twin cylinder engine mounted transversely, set side by side with its gearbox, driving the front wheels. Transverse leaf springs provide suspension, and a gas tank mounted on the firewall supplies fuel pressure to the carb with the cheapest fuel pump known to man: gravity. It was very simple, yet simultaneously very forward thinking. The basic layout is very much like that used in most modern small cars - just much smaller and simpler. Perhaps even comically so, the engine is nearly dwarfed by the air cleaner, and most of the engine compartment is filled with wide open spaces.

Suzuki’s Suzulights were the first Japanese production vehicles with front wheel drive. And the 1959 Suzulight 360 TL bears an uncanny resemblance to the 1959 BMC Mini, not just outwardly but on the inside as well - with its transverse engine and front wheel drive as well as two-box body, the Suzulight 360 established the outline for many cars Japan would build in the future. The Suzulights themselves are remarkable, albeit forgotten vehicles worthy of an article on their own.

But Lloyd’s influence doesn’t stop there. Fuji Heavy Industries also looked at the little Lloyds and they too were inspired. However they had some reservations - they reasoned the axles needed for front wheel drive would be too difficult to produce cheaply enough for their car. And they were right, the Subaru 360 came out with an air-cooled 2-stroke twin mounted in the back instead of the front - and it was cheaper than and greatly outsold the costlier Suzulights. When Subaru did decide to try front wheel drive they looked at the Lloyd’s larger relative, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! - which used a horizontally opposed four banger. The Goliath is long forgotten - but the water-cooled boxer motor remains Subaru’s signature component to this day.

So what about the Lloyd? After the war some of the people who had worked for DKW had a hand in designing a new small car - like the old DKWs it had front wheel drive, a transverse 2-stroke engine, and transverse leaf spring suspension. But to make the car simpler and lighter it was air cooled, much smaller, and the body was made of wood and leatherette - until enough steel became available to make an entire car out of. Despite its crudeness it was actually a pretty brilliant design so far as getting the most car out of the least materials is concerned. And at the time they sold very well. At one point Lloyd was the third largest manufacturer of cars in Germany.

Unfortunately Lloyd was also the entry level brand for the Borgward group. And when Borgward went bankrupt - controversially, and prematurely it seems - they dragged Lloyd into the grave with them. And just like that one of the most influential car companies in history became - well - history. Unlike other companies who continuously blow their own trumpet to remind people of their past innovations - nobody is around to champion Lloyd. Today Lloyd is a lost company. Their success and innovation aren’t secret - but you also have to know where to look to find evidence of them.

However if it is any consolation, millions of Trabants would pay homage to the little Lloyd for decades to come. Spreading the joys of front wheel drive, 2-stroke motoring all around the Eastern Bloc. And although it is not well known or commonly acknowledged, the Lloyd played an important part in providing inspiration for future achievements of the Japanese auto industry. The small shadow of Lloyd is cast thinly over one of motoring’s most conspicuous anachronisms as well as some of its most advanced successes.

PS: by the way, through DKW the Lloyd is your Audi Quattro’s uncle.

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KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Berang 08/20/2015 at 07:31

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So through DKW, we also find the two stroke influence at Saab with the Saab 92.

#SwedishConnections

Berang > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs 08/20/2015 at 07:35

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DKW is the Kevin Bacon of the auto industry.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Berang 08/20/2015 at 07:52

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Great article mate! Loved the read! I’ve actually thought about importing a Trabant for fun someday down the road to Canada (along with the FIAT 126 I want as well! :P ), and it’s interesting to know where it’s technical heritage lies!

Berang > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 08/20/2015 at 08:13

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I just find it fascinating that there is a whole family of related cars made by different companies, but at the same time they reflect the particular circumstances of their region’s history.

Another fun thing is how Suzuki flipped the engine and trans around for the RHD.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Berang 08/20/2015 at 09:11

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And yet, I would wager over 98% of the public (90%+ of car enthusiasts) would tilt their head and say “who?” at a mention of Lloyd, Goliath, or Borgward.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Berang 08/20/2015 at 09:17

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505Turbeaux has been AWOL a lot lately, but he has or was going to have a Goliath 1100 at some point. In his area:

Berang > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 08/20/2015 at 09:18

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98% of the public wouldn’t be able to tell a beetle from a 2cv either though.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Berang 08/20/2015 at 09:19

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Good point. I may have lowballed that number. Might be 99.8%+

Berang > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 08/20/2015 at 09:28

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And it’s a wagon! Must be saved.

Jonee > Berang 08/20/2015 at 13:36

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Good post. Lloyd was a fascinating and really important car maker. People who couldn’t get or afford a Beetle, bought a Lloyd and it put many folks back in a car after the war. Funny you posted this the same day I put up my Goggomobil piece.

Berang > Jonee 08/20/2015 at 13:53

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As I was researching it I found that when Lloyd switched to 4-stroke motors they lost their price advantage over the Beetle. But people still bought them anyway. Given how simple the Lloyd is, Volkswagen’s economies of scale must have been doing them a lot of good by the end of the 50s that they could edge their standard beetle below the Lloyd Alexander.

Jonee > Berang 08/20/2015 at 14:59

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Yeah, as VW production ramped up and they pumped those things out by the minute, they got the price way down. That combined with an improving economy put most of the Lloyds and micros out of business. At first, the Beetle was a car for the middle class. Poor folks had to buy used, exported ones.

wkiernan > Berang 08/22/2015 at 21:33

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I was surprised to see one of these in a parking lot in St. Petersburg, Florida a little while ago, so I took a couple pictures and posted them to Oppo.