{"id":497761,"date":"2018-08-21T15:01:41","date_gmt":"2018-08-21T22:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscardigest.com\/\/?p=63857"},"modified":"2024-06-04T19:48:54","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T19:48:54","slug":"1958-zundapp-janus-250","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/1958-zundapp-janus-250\/","title":{"rendered":"1958 Z\u00fcndapp Janus 250"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four-seater, mid-engined, sequential gearbox, what\u2019s not to like? Short descriptions can be deceiving, but if you\u2019re interested in an unusual and very versatile car, then the 1958 Z\u00fcndapp Janus 250 may be for you.<\/p>\n

Once again, a trip to the Lane Motor Museum (www.lanemotormuseum.org<\/a>) in Nashville resulted in a car that had to be experienced. The Z\u00fcndapp Janus is an interesting solution to moving four people cheaply and providing interior flexibility not seen in many, if any, other automobiles. Z\u00fcndapp is not known for automobiles, although there were some notable exceptions. It is best known for its motorcycles\u2014some of which were just beautiful\u2014and scooters.<\/p>\n

\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The company came into existence in Nuremberg in 1917 thanks to Fritz Neumeyer, Friedrich Krupp AG, and a machine tool manufacturer called Thiel. It was first named Z\u00fcnder und Apparatebau, German for \u201cIgniter\u201d and \u201cApparatus\u201d to produce detonators for the German military. Toward the end of WWI, Krupp and Thiel lost interest, and Neumeyer became the sole owner of the company. He added motorcycles after the war and renamed the company Z\u00fcndapp, taking the first four letters of the former first part of its name and the first three letters from the second.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
1938 Z\u00fcndapp K 800 4-cylinder motorcycle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A particularly nice example of the motorcycles the company produced is the 1938 K 800. It is a 4-cylinder, horizontally opposed, shaft-driven motorcycle and it was the only 4-cylinder motorcycle used by the Bundeswehr during WWII. Post WWII, Z\u00fcndapp left the large motorcycle market and concentrated on scooters and small motorcycles, including a 125-cc bike with which Andr\u00e8 Mahlerbe won the European motorcross championship in 1973 and 1974.<\/p>\n

\"Digital<\/a>
Recreation of the 1931 Porsche Type 12.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The company\u2019s first excursion into auto production appears to have happened together with Ferdinand Porsche in 1931. Together they developed the Auto f\u00fcr Jedermann or \u201cCar for Everyone,\u201d aka People\u2019s car, aka Volkswagen. The Porsche Type 12 was not much like the VW known today as it used a 1.2-liter Z\u00fcndapp 5-cylinder radial engine. Sadly, the three prototypes were destroyed during the war, but a reconstruction of the car exists in the Industrial Culture Museum in Nuremberg.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Roman god Janus \u2013 keeper of time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other than the Porsche Type 12, the only other automobile the company appears to have produced is the Janus 250. The car was named after, the two-faced Roman god, Janus, who was responsible for time, therefore one face looking forward and one back in time. Introduced during the Suez crisis, it is a 4-seater like few others. The driver and front passenger face forward and enter through a forward facing door, like that of an Isetta. The other passengers face backward, and enter through a door in the back and a mirror image of the one in front. A clever design aspect of the interior of the car makes it a car for camping trips. The two seats can be repositioned to make a bed for two.<\/p>\n

\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Between the two seats is a mid-mounted, single-cylinder 250-cc, 2-stroke engine. The Janus was not a unique design by Z\u00fcdapp, but was a Dornier Delta designed by Claudius Dornier, famous for his push-pull airplanes, and built under license.<\/p>\n