Stoewer was a German

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

manufacturer before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

whose headquarters were in Stettin (now

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

, Poland).

History

The first company was founded by the Stoewer brothers, Emil (lived 1873 – 1942) and Bernhard (1875 – 1937) in 1896 for manufacturing

sewing machine Diagram of a modern sewing machine Animation of a modern sewing machine as it stitches A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolutio ...

s in Stettin. In 1899, the Stoewer brothers founded the firm ''Gebrüder Stoewer, Fabrik für Motorfahrzeugen'' and started to produce automobiles. Their first automobile was the

Großer Stoewer Motorwagen Großer Stoewer Motorwagen is the convertible concept car manufactured by Stoewer automotive company in 1899. It was designed by Bernhard and Emil Stoewer, and was the first car presented by the company. History The concept car was designed by ...

, with 6.5 hp (4.8 kW) and maximum speed. In 1908 Stoewers constructed the ''Stoewer G4''. This model was successful for them at the time – 1070 cars were built. In 1910, Stoewer cars were built under licence by Mathis of Strassburg. In 1916, the family-owned company was transformed into a limited company under the name of ''Stoewer-Werke AG, vormals Gebrüder Stoewer''. In the mid-20s a new class of cars was introduced: the ''D-Types'' included ''D3'', ''D9'' and ''D10'' with four-cylinder engines, as well as ''D5'', ''D6'' and ''D12'' with six cylinders. Something special was the 1921 ''D7'' with a proprietary six-cylinder

aero engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Aircraft using power components are referred to as powered flight. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbin ...

with . Of the fifty "D10" made, the only survivor was in Melbourne, Australia in original condition. It was on display at the 2014 MotorClassica. It is now in Germany. Stoewer R200 special

In 1928 the company started to build ''S8'' and ''G14'' models with eight-cylinder engines. At the beginning of the 1930s Stoewers delivered their highlights: ''G15 Gigant'', ''M12 Marschall'' and ''P20 Repräsentant'', each with eight-cylinder engines, with 60 to 120 hp (45 to 90 kW) and maximum speed. The production of these cars had to be cancelled after 2,500 vehicles being produced due to worldwide economic troubles. In 1931 Stoewer constructed one of the first cars with

front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of internal combustion engine, engine and transmission (mechanics), transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature ...

at all, class ''V5'' 25 hp (19 kW), maximum speed. The model named ''Greif Junior'' was built under the licence of Tatra.Odin, L.C. ''World in Motion 1939, The whole of the year's automobile production''. Belvedere Publishing, 2015. ASIN: B00ZLN91ZG. Its successor ''V8 Greif'' was the last car constructed by Stoewer himself; class ''Arkona'' and ''Sedina'' were the last civilian cars produced by the company. In 1936 the Stoewer factory developed the 'uniform light off-road car' (''le.E.Pkw'', leichter geländegängiger Einheits-PKW) for the

German army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

, a versatile

four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...

car, the Stoewer R200 initially (until 1940) equipped with four-wheel steering. Due to capacity-limitations, the cars also had to be produced by BMW-Factory Eisenach, as BMW 325, and by

Hanomag Hanomag (Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG, ) was a German producer of steam locomotives, tractors, trucks and military vehicles in Hanover. Hanomag first achieved international fame by delivering numerous steam locomotives to Finland, Romania and ...

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

as the Type 20B. Together the three manufacturers made a total of ca. 13,000 units. Stoewer was one of many German companies that exploited slave labour during

and had its own camp for prisoners.Pomorze Zachodnie na przełomie dwu epok, 1944-1946 Kazimierz Golczewski Wydawn. Poznańskie,page 29, 1964 After World War II, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

seized the remaining production facilities, dismantled the factory and sent the equipment to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The company subsequently ceased to exist.

Passenger car models

References

External links

Stoewer Museum
* {{Authority control Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1896 Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany History of Szczecin Companies of Prussia Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1945 1896 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany Companies involved in the Holocaust Companies based in Szczecin

History

Passenger car models

See also

References

External links