Cars
Auto Union Type 52: A Quirky Dream of Ferdinand Porsche Comes to Life 90 Years Later
The Auto Union Type 52, a never-realized design by Ferdinand Porsche, was showcased at Goodwood Festival of Speed. Built with period-accurate plans, it features a rear-mounted 16-cylinder engine and was driven by Tom Kristensen and Hans-Joachim Stuck.
The original design of the Auto Union Type 52 has been found in the Porsche archives. This is not surprising, as it was Ferdinand Porsche who conceived and created the famous rear-engine Auto Union cars that often won Grand Prix races in the 1930s. The project of transforming a Grand Prix single-seater into a spectacularly high-performance sedan with a rear-mounted 16-cylinder engine producing 200 horsepower is reminiscent of recent luxury sports cars like Bugatti.
The car, built according to the period plans and with the precision of the final drawings, was showcased at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, driven by Tom Kristensen and Hans-Joachim Stuck. It was a great gift to enthusiasts who had the chance to see a model that never actually came to be, as after the initial designs in 1933 and development the following year, the project—despite a test car being built—was never realized.
