Hitler's Third Reich and World War II in the News is a daily edited review of WWII news, providing thought- provoking collection of hand-picked WW2 information.

Category: World War II Cars  -- See latest WWII news here. See also 'WWII Jeeps', 'Vintage Military Vehicles, Battle Tanks'.

Dictator Benito Mussolini's car, Pescara Spyder, sells for record
A classic sports car, owned by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, has been sold for a record price for the model of vehicle. The 1935 2-seater Pescara Spyder, only 60 were made, got just a few bids when it went under the hammer in Feb. 2008, and the owner chose not to sell. A private buyer has now purchased it for £550,000. Damian Jones said: "It's not really your average dictator's car. It didn't have armour plating or bullet-proof glass." The vehicle was built in 1935 and archive footage shows the dictator saluting crowds as he stands in the passenger seat.     [ bbc :: 2008-03-18 :: World War II Cars ]

Replica of 1940s Czech "snow car" going to American museum
A replica of the Czech made Tatra aero sledge, made for the Germans during World War II, has been made for a American collector. The little car with skis instead of wheels and a propeller at the back was planned to serve the Wehrmacht in Russia. The new replica of the Tatra V 855 aero sledge is based on the only existing model, owned by the Tatra Technical Museum. The origin of the unique snow vehicle is not clear. "Around 1941 the German Army wanted to provide their units, especially the reconnaissance units... [with] equipment within their project Drang nach Osten, or Expansion to the East."     [ radio.cz :: 2008-02-28 :: World War II Cars ]

Alfa Romeo sports car of Benito Mussolini may fetch £1m
An Alfa Romeo sports car that belonged to Benito Mussolini is awaited to get £1 million at auction. Mussolini had the 100mph dark red 2-seater 6C 2300 Pescara Spyder built in 1935. He had the engine tuned from 68bhp to 95bhp and it was driven in the 1936 Mille Miglia, the road endurance race round Italy, by Mussolini's chauffeur, the former Alfa Romeo test driver Ercole Boratto. The auctioneer H&H Classic Auctions has laid an estimate of £600,000-£800,000 on the car.     [ bbc :: 2008-01-23 :: Benito Mussolini ]

1937 Autobahn Cruiser: Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster
Coach-built 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster was recently sold at auction for over $2.5 million. Upping the ante in the 1930s horsepower race, Mercedes-Benz designers introduced the 8-cylinder 500K model in 1934. The supercharger boosted power from 100hp to 160hp, and the external exhausts set the style that would carry the company through the decade. By 1940, 419 cars had been built in 11 body styles. This 540K roadster was constructed by the Mayfair Carriage Company in London. Records indicate the chassis was shipped Oct. 7, 1936 to the factory outlet in Paris - an odd destination for a right-hand-drive car that would later get an English body.     [ businessweek :: 2007-11-03 ]

10th Exhibition of Vintage Cars in Moscow
On October 19-22 Ilya Sorokin`s X Oldtimer-Gallery takes place in Moscow. Amongst the wheeled mechanisms presented at the spacious hall the visitors can see a "white crow", a small military boat. This is a relic of WWII: a boat from the fascist cruiser Emden that was bombed by the allies in April 1945. The boat that survived the bombardment was brought to the USSR as a trophy. The visitors can also see several rare USSR cars. Amongst them is a pick-up truck GAZ-415, produced in limited quantities up to 1941. The majority of these cars were destroyed during World War II.     [ russia :: 2007-10-20 :: World War II Cars ]

Amphibious Landing Vehicles of World War Two
Amphibious vehicles were a great asset in World War II for many reasons. A couple of the amphibious vehicles that were produced and that were popular during WWII are the Ford GPA, and the Volkswagen Schwimmwagen. One of the best designed amphibious automobile was the Volkswagen Type 166 - This 4-wheel drive could actually be driven in water. Not only is it known as the single most produced amphibious car but it also was very successful for use by the Germans. The Ford GPA was a later model from the Ford GPW Jeep - many of them sank because of the weight when any large waves happened to come by.     [ carjunky :: 2007-06-12 :: World War II Cars ]

D-Day "time capsule" found in vintage car
A "time capsule", An Allied banknote issued on the eve of the landings and a packet of Navy Cut cigarettes, has been found in a vintage yellow 1926 Citroen B12 Bolangerie hidden away during the Nazi occupation of France. Llangollen Motor Museum owner Gwilym Owen said he just started restoring the roof lining when the items fell out. Allied troops taking part in the D-Day landing were issued with a number of social survival items, including the 5-franc note (known as occupation money) and cigarettes. "People hid vehicles and valuables because they would have been commandeered by the Germans."     [ bbc :: 2007-06-07 :: World War II Cars ]

No buyer for world's most valuable car, Hitler-era German race car
After a sale was postponed to answer questions about the car's racing history, a rare 1939 German racing car expected to fetch the highest price on record for any automobile did not find a buyer. The results of the investigation revealed that the car did not have the exact history that was believed. The car, an Auto Union-Grand Prix V12, is one of 5 remaining Auto Union D-Types. D-type cars won several Grand Prix races in Europe. This car was believed to be the one that won a Grand Prix race in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, the last race held in Europe until after the war. In fact, it was not. The car did race on the Nurburgring track in 1939, finishing in 5th place.     [ cnn :: 2007-03-13 :: World War II Cars ]

Rare 1939 German race car sale back on
The auction of a rare 1939 German race car, which had been postponed pending a probe into the car's history, is back on. The car did not have the same history that was believed, but that is not expected to alter its value. The car, an Auto Union-Grand Prix V12, is one of 5 remaining "Auto Union D-Types" - valued at more than $12 million. In 1933 Adolf Hitler offered 500,000 reichmarks to design a race car to show off the nation's technological prowess. Originally, Mercedes-Benz got the nod. But Ferdinand Porsche, an engineer working with Auto Union, was able to get some of that to build a revolutionary car he had designed.     [ cnn :: 2007-03-01 :: World War II Cars ]

A WWII Jeep - Memorabilia and military vehicles
Article no longer available from the original source.
Paul Dooling spends many of his hours toiling away in his garage, or what he calls his "clubhouse" - for big boys that's steeped in history and filled with memorabilia from World War II: including a rebuilt Army Jeep, old military magazines and newspapers, even a parachute that was used for carrier pigeons. I paid $4,000 for the Jeep. I had another one that I put together and last year sold it for $11,000. I also got this ammunition trailer that the Marines used in the Pacific in Iwo Jima in Kings Park. And when I was a mechanic, some of my customers gave me their WWII uniforms and some of the stuff in the trailer.     [ newsday :: 2007-02-22 :: Vintage Military Vehicles (AFV) & Battle Tanks ]

Sale of 1939 Hitler-era German race car postponed
The auction of a rare 1939 German race car, an Auto Union-Grand Prix V12, which had been expected to command the highest price ever paid for any automobile at auction, has been postponed, the Christie said. The auction had been scheduled to take place on Feb. 17, and the car was expected to sell for as much as $12 million. A statement said there would be further exploration into the car's race history, in collaboration with Audi Tradition. In 1933, after becoming chancellor of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler offered 500,000 reichmarks to design a race car to show off the nation's technological prowess.     [ cnn :: 2007-02-11 :: World War II Cars ]

Nazi-era vehicle: Rare race car built under Hitler up for auction
A rare German racing car was displayed for the first time as auctioneers predicted it would become the world's most expensive car to be sold at auction. The grand prix car, a 1939 Auto Union D-Type racer and one of only 5 originals left from the Auto Union series built in Nazi Germany 1933-1939, was expected to fetch $12-$15 million. In 1933, the Nazi Regime under Adolf Hitler paid 500,000 reichmarks to Mercedes and Auto Union to develop revolutionary racing cars. The car won the 1939 French Grand Prix. Historian Thomas Erdmann said the car was the last of its type in the series and there were only 2 C-Types and 3 D-Types left.     [ theage :: 2007-01-27 :: World War II Cars ]

General Motors and Führer worship: Hitler's carmaker - Part II
GM knew what was happening in Nazi Germany. Nonetheless, GM and Third Reich began a strategic relationship. Nazi Germany needed to rise above the horse-drawn divisions. GM Opel built the 3-ton truck named "Blitz" for the Blitzkrieg. In 1937, 17% of Blitz trucks were sold directly to the Nazi military, increasing to 29% in 1938. The Wehrmacht soon became Opel's No. 1 customer by far. GM Opel participated in cultic Fuhrer worship as a part of its daily corporate ethic. Great swastika-bedecked company events were commonplace, as Nazi gauleiters spurred employees to work hard for the Fuhrer and his Thousand-Year Reich.     [ jpost :: 2006-12-05 :: WWII Economy, finance & production ]

A racing car commissioned by Adolf Hitler may set record
A racing car commissioned by Adolf Hitler is expected to become the most expensive car ever sold at auction. The 1939 Auto Union D-Type, thought to be one of only two in existence, was created by Ferdinand Porsche after a personal request from Hitler. The Nazi dictator wanted the car as a propaganda tool to show off the technological superiority of the Third Reich. Almost all the D-Types were destroyed during the World War 2 but this one was taken to Russia for its technology to be studied.     [ ananova :: 2006-12-02 :: World War II Cars ]

How General Motors mobilized Adolf Hitler's Third Reich
May 2, 1934, after practicing his Sieg Heil in front of a mirror, president of the General Motors Overseas James D. Mooney went to meet Adolf Hitler in his Chancellery. As he traversed the long approach to Hitler´s desk, he began to pump his arm in a stern-faced Sieg Heil. But the Fuhrer surprised him by getting up from his desk and meeting Mooney halfway, with a handshake. GM and Opel were indispensable cogs in the Third Reich´s rearmament juggernaut. The documentation reveals that while General Motors was mobilizing the Third Reich, GM was undermining the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt and America´s electric mass transit.     [ jta :: 2006-11-30 :: World War II Cars ]

75 Years of Porsche Engineering Services: Cars and Panzers
On 25 April 1931 Ferdinand Porsche founded an Engineering Office. The Type 64 racing car built in 1938/39 is the original ancestor of all sports cars to follow from Porsche in the decades to come. 1939 Porsche was requested by the German Army to develop a medium-weight battle tank, but work was discontinued due to greater demand for heavier tanks. So developing the Tank 101 "Tiger", Porsche KG submitted its bid to the Army Armament for the building of a tank in the weight category above 50 tonnes. In 1942 Porsche got the assignment to build a very heavy armoured car - known as the Tank 205 "Maus", but only two prototypes were built.     [ paddocktalk :: 2006-04-30 :: World War II Cars ]

For sale: Car given by Mussolini to Hitler's Third Reich
Two history-laden cars will be auctioned, including the only official vehicle used by the two presidents of France's post WWII fourth republic and a car given by Mussolini to Hitler's Third Reich. Lovingly maintained and in perfect working order is a 1938 Lancia Astura, one of four vehicles ordered by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini as gifts for Germany's Third Reich government. This car was used by Magda, wife of Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister, who sent it to Mercedes to have the original cream-coloured interior changed to red.     [ afp :: 2006-04-01 :: Nazi Relics: Personal items of leaders ]

Hitler's affection gives headaches to Mercedes Benz
Hitler's love affair with his Mercedes is giving headaches to the top brass at Daimler Benz - they don't like to be associated with him even though it's a historical fact that the Fuhrer used a Mercedes. Gary Zimet has come in possession of two contracts Hitler entered with the automobile giant, one recording his purchase of a car in 1930 and the other turning over the car to the Nazi Party. The documents however, does not include footage of the Third Reich, though Nazi leaders including Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, who was captured in a bulletproof Mercedes at the end of World War II by US forces used Benzes.     [ newkerala :: 2005-12-07 :: Germanic Culture Now ]

Mussolini - Car for sale and recent evaluations
Mussolini's 1939 Lancia Astura will be auctioned for charity. In recent years some historians have suggested that Mussolini was a relatively Pleasant dictator whose achievements were overshadowed by his errors. The Villa Torlonia on Via Nomentana in Rome, is being restored by Rome city council as a museum. The project has been backed by Romano Mussolini, 78, who recently published an affectionate memoir of his father. The Duce's villa on Lake Garda is now a luxury hotel, and in July his villa at Riccione, on the Adriatic Coast, opened as as a museum after a restoration costing £680,000.     [ Times :: 2005-10-12 :: World War II Cars ]

See also

'WWII Jeeps'

'Vintage Military Vehicles, Battle Tanks'.

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