Fritz Fiedler (born Potsdam 9 January 1899: died Schliersee 8 July 1972), was an automotive engineer. His projects included the BMW 328 sports car, the ex-BMW Bristol straight-six engine, and the BMW New Class sedan.
Fritz Fiedler (born Potsdam 9 January 1899: died Schliersee 8 July 1972), was an automotive engineer. His projects included the BMW 328 sports car, the ex-BMW Bristol straight-six engine, and the BMW New Class sedan.
Fiedler began his career in engineering at Stoewer and moved to Horch in 1924, where he eventually became chief engineer. [2] He designed 8-cylinder and 12-cylinder cars at Horch.[ citation needed ] He left in 1932 when Horch became part of Auto Union. He then went to BMW on the recommendation of his former assistant Rudolf Schleicher, who had joined Horch from BMW in 1927 and returned to BMW in 1931. Fiedler became chief engineer at the age of 32 over former chief engineer Alfred Böning who became head of the automotive drawing office. [2]
In 1933 Fiedler was given the project to design the M78 six-cylinder engine for the BMW 303. [2] The first car that Fiedler was fully responsible for was the BMW 326 saloon that was shown at the International Automobile Ausstellung in Berlin in 1936.
While Schleicher was at Munich on motorcycle development and the competition side of BMW motor car activity, Fiedler was at Eisenach in overall command of the car side of BMW, specialising in chassis, suspension and aerodynamic design and development. His last automotive design from Eisenach was the 3.5-litre 6 cylinder BMW 335 saloon, a fine 90 mph car for the German autobahns. During the war he was occupied with military vehicle design and development and finished up at Munich, so that after the war he was in the American zone. During the war he was a Director of BMW, but left the board in 1945.
In 1947 Fiedler joined AFN Ltd at the persuasion of H.J. Aldington. Although he was lent to Bristol as a consultant on their Type 400 project, he did most of his work in England at Isleworth, where he was always known as Dr Fiedler, although he did not have that title in Germany. He was very popular with the workforce at AFN, most people describing him as a kindly and charming man, and everyone admired his engineering qualities. He took charge of the development of the post-war Frazer Nash, dealing with chassis, suspension, body design and construction and development of the FNS Bristol engine. On the Isleworth dynamometer he got over 100 bhp from the Bristol engine before the Bristol men did.
After three years with AFN Ltd, Fiedler returned to Germany. He returned to BMW as chief engineer in 1952 after working at Opel for a short time. [4] He took over responsibility for the ongoing V8 engine project and was responsible for the BMW 503 and BMW 507. [5] He was chairman of BMW AG from 1955 to 1956 and he finally retired in 1966, after a long and active life devoted to BMW, but he attended the firm each day as a consultant for a further two years and died in 1972.
The BMW 328 was a sports car offered by BMW from 1936 to 1940, with the body design credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II.
Bristol Cars was a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars headquartered in Bristol, England. After being placed in receivership and being taken over in 2011, it entered liquidation in February 2020.
Ernst Loof was an automotive engineer and racing driver from Germany. He contributed to the design of the BMW 328 sports car in the late 1930s.
The BMW New Class was a line of sedans and coupes produced by German automaker BMW between 1962 and 1977. These models ensured BMW's solvency after the company's financial crisis of the 1950s and established the identity of BMW automobiles as sports sedans.
Frazer Nash was a brand of British sports car manufactured from 1922 first by Frazer Nash Limited founded by engineer Archibald Frazer-Nash. On its financial collapse in 1927 a new company, AFN Limited, was incorporated. Control of AFN passed to Harold John Aldington in 1929.
The BMW 3/15 was BMW's first car, produced in its first version as a "Dixi" between 1927 and 1929 and then, following BMW's acquisition of the Dixi business in October 1928, in three subsequent versions as BMWs from July 1929 till March 1932, when BMW gave up the licence under which the Austin designed cars were produced.
The BMW 507 is a roadster that was produced by BMW from 1956 until 1959. Initially intended to be exported to the United States at a rate of thousands per year, it ended up being too expensive, resulting in a total production figure of 252 cars and heavy financial losses for BMW.
The BMW 303 was a small family saloon produced by BMW in 1933 and 1934. It was the first BMW motor car with a six-cylinder engine and the first BMW motor car with the "kidney grille" associated with the brand. The platform developed for the 303 was used for several other BMW cars, including the BMW 309, a four-cylinder version of the 303, the BMW 315, a 1.5-litre version of the 303 which replaced it in 1934 and was built until 1937, the BMW 319, a 1.9-litre version of the 303 produced alongside the 315 from 1935 to 1937, and the BMW 329, a development of the 319 with styling based on the newer, larger BMW 326, that briefly replaced the 319 in 1937.
Robert Eberan von Eberhorst, later known as Robert Eberan-Eberhorst, was a noted Austrian engineer, who designed the Auto Union Type D Grand Prix motor racing car.
The official founding date of the German motor vehicle manufacturer BMW is 7 March 1916, when an aircraft producer called Bayerische Flugzeugwerke was established. This company was renamed to Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) in 1922. However, the BMW name dates back to 1917, when Rapp Motorenwerke changed its name to Bayerische Motoren Werke. BMW's first product was a straight-six aircraft engine called the BMW IIIa. Following the end of World War I, BMW remained in business by producing motorcycle engines, farm equipment, household items and railway brakes. The company produced its first motorcycle, the BMW R32, in 1923.
The BMW 501 was a luxury car manufactured by BMW from 1952 to 1958. Introduced at the first Frankfurt Motor Show in 1951, the 501 was the first BMW model to be manufactured and sold after the Second World War, and as the first BMW car built in Bavaria. The 501 and its derivatives, including the V8 powered BMW 502, were nicknamed “Baroque Angels” by the German public. The BMW 502 was the first postwar German car to be manufactured with a V8 engine.
The BMW 503 is a two-door 2+2 gran turismo manufactured by German automaker BMW from 1956 until 1959. The company developed the 503 alongside the 507 roadster in an attempt to sell a significant number of luxury cars in the United States. The 503 and 507 cost about twice their projected price and did not recover their costs. During production from May 1956 to March 1959, 413 units of the 503 were built. Even though it was a prestige model it resulted in heavy losses for BMW.
The BMW 326 is a medium-sized sedan produced by BMW between 1936 and 1941, and again briefly, under Soviet control, after 1945. The 326 was BMW's first four-door sedan. It had an innovative design and sold well despite its relatively high price. It also had an unusually involved afterlife.
The BMW 335 is a six-cylinder sports sedan produced by the Bavarian firm BMW between 1939 and 1941.
The BMW 3200 CS was a sports touring car manufactured by BMW between January 1962 and September 1965. It was designed by Bertone and was introduced at the 1961 Frankfurt Motor Show. More than five hundred were built.
The BMW 321 is a compact six-cylinder automobile produced by the Bavarian firm between 1938 and 1941. After 1945, production of the 321 resumed at the Eisenach plant and continued until 1950.
William Munger Heynes CBE, born in Leamington Spa, was an English automotive engineer.
The automotive industry in Germany is one of the largest employers in the world, with a labor force of over 857,336 (2016) working in the industry.
Einheits-Pkw der Wehrmacht – literally: "standard passenger motor-car of the Wehrmacht" – was the Nazi German plan for a new, multi-purpose fleet of four-wheel drive, off-road capable cars and light trucks, based on just three uniform chassis, specifically designed and built for the Wehrmacht, formulated in 1934, and built from 1936 to 1943.
Alfred Böning (1907-1984) was the chief engineer at BMW in the 1930s who was responsible for designing many iconic BMW motorcycles and motorcars. He reigned over the BMW design studio as a chief engineer before being replaced by chief engineer Fritz Fiedler and was promoted to become head of the automotive drawing office. Among his designs were the legendary 1934 BMW R7 motorcycle, that never saw the light of the day.
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