A Little Bit Of History Repeating..
The Enzmann 506

The return of the Enzmann

Anyone familiar with the history of the Beetle will know something of the many derivatives built by small specialist firms using the humble Bug as the basis. Alongside the more familiar names like Rometsch, Dannenhauer and Stauss, and Beutler were several others of significance including Enzmann. The Enzmann 506 was debuted at the 1957 Frankfurt Motor Show and took its model designation from the number of the stand it was displayed on. The 506 was the creation of Emil Enzmann who probably drew up the original design sometime around 1953, Emil was one of six brothers and grew up around cars, his family running a Fiat and Citroen garage near Lucern in Switzerland and this left him with more than a passing interest in cars which resulted in the birth of a futuristic sports car.

The first Enzmann at Frankfurt 1957

Emil originally built a steel version of his two-seater around a Beetle chassis but in the quest for better performance decided that the production car needed to be made of either aluminium or fibreglass, eventually opting for the latter. Though common now, the idea of using fibreglass was quite novel in the 50's and was chosen as it offered Enzmann the chance to make a very light car without sacrificing strength. The car was actually shaped from single sheet of fibreglass and other than its futuristic shape one of the more striking features of the car was its lack of doors the inclusion of which would have weakened the car. The construction meant that the car ended up with a low centre of gravity and as well as feeling sporty, handled well and was economical. It was ideal for motoring around the mountain passes of its birthplace.

The Enzmann Showroom

The 506 however was not simply an elegant two-seater, Emil had qualified as a Doctor and as such was interested in driver comfort and safety. Due to this the car featured a superb driving position and several safety features including extensive padding and seatbelts, features that were not common in the 50's. Because Enzmann was a small firm and built cars to order, no two have the same specification beyond the basics and one even left the factory on a Porsche Carrera floorpan inheriting considerably more horsepower.

The futuristic Enzmann softtop

Generally people buying this type of car were not too interested in the economy offered by the 1200 VW engine and a common option was the fitment of an Okrasa high performance unit as found in many Beetles of the period. By the time production ended in the mid 60's over 100 Enzmanns had been built and very few now survive.

There is currently only one of these in existence in the UK as far as I am aware, but I am willing to bet that this will change as the news is that the Enzmann will be available once again in the very near future. A while back Kari Enzmann, Emil's son found and restored the only 506 purpose built for racing and the interest in it was such that he started to consider the possibility of making some new bodies. A recent mail from Kari confirmed that the first all new Enzmann body for 35 years or so will be completed sometime around May or June. This is being made using the original form and as such will be identical to the earlier cars, it is not a replica and is a genuine Enzmann in every sense. Planned production was initially for 10 cars but this number may increase due to the number of potential buyers that have been in touch with Kari. It is amazing to see a car like this resurrected and opportunities like this are few and far between. If you want to own a beautifully crafted piece of VW history then this is your chance, originals are very rare and if you were lucky enough to find one for sale you could bet that it would set you back a fair bit more than the 5 or 6 thousand pounds the new bodies are expected to sell for. For my money one of these in Silver with a few choice performance parts would make a great sports car and would really turn heads around town and could end up costing less than any two-seater currently on the market. I think it's a winner and it would be great to see a few make their way to the UK. Unfortunately the new car is unlikely to be at any shows in the UK this year as there is a lot of work to do producing them but if you want to see one for yourself I am told that they are expecting to take one to some shows in Switzerland and Germany.

The new Enzmann rear view

For more information the contact details are as follows:

Address: New Enzmann
Garage Karosserie
Obere Bisruetistrasse 6
CH- 9220 Bischofszell
Telephone: +41 71 422 38 41

E-Mail: enz.506@gmx.ch

Updated information will also be available on their homepage as the new bodies take shape: http://www.enzmann-506.ch/

Photos: Property of and used with the permission of Kari Enzmann.

Matt Sanchez