Lutzmann (Anhaltische Motorwagenfabrik)
Dessau , Germany from 1895 to 1898
The Anhaltische Motorwagenfabrik was an early German car manufacturer The brand name was Lutzmann.
History
Friedrich Lutzmann made in 1893 his first vehicle and founded in 1895 the company in Dessau for the production of automobiles. In 1898 the production ended in Dessau. Opel from Rüsselsheim took over the machine and put Friedrich Lutzmann one as director of the motor car production.
A year after Lutzmann's first encounter with the Benz motor vehicle, the first vehicle left the factory floor. Apart from the usual time coach shape and also power transmission belt and chain chains, both vehicles still differ. In addition to the golden ornaments on black lacquer and red rims risen above all the wrought-iron ornaments, which served as a lamp holder. The elegant appearance, also in comparison to rather clumsy carriages of the competition, made it clear that Lutzmann was a trained art-maker. The Lutzmann not only has a different type of steering (Lutzmann's own invention, Patent No. 79039) and a front-mounted on the bicycle front suspension. The engine also differed significantly in its construction from the Benz. Compared to the competition of Benz and Daimler, the Lutzmann motor car had a major advantage: Lutzmann used ball bearings for axles and drive shafts as well as the steering column, which significantly reduced the frictional resistance of the automobile. With rather modest engine powers of 3 to 4 hp, this measure had a noticeable increase in the final speed. Lutzmann made the ball bearings in his own workshop, as the variants available for bicycles were not sufficiently dimensioned.
In the same year, the manufacturer FA Schreiber from Köthen acquired a Lutzmann. Another Lutzmann motor car was even exported to Arab Aden, as the "Bernburger Wochenblatt" reported in August 1895. Over the years, Lutzmann automobiles have also been exported to the UK, the Netherlands and many other countries. Lutzmann employed in his Dessau factory only about 20 workers, much less than about its competitors Daimler and Benz. The company itself did not operate until December 1898 under the name Anhaltische Motorwagenfabrik.
In 1895, Lutzmann also patented a belt transmission (Pat. 87231/93843/109473), which came out with only one lever and was later used in all Lutzmann engine carriages. This resulted in a significant simplification of the operation. For an additional charge, there was also a reverse gear. In addition, the vehicles had a patented freewheel device for the rear wheels, which served the same purpose as later in carded vehicles the differential. As with the Benz motor vehicles of this time, the belt transmissions without clutch came off.
Probably the most significant improvement, however, was probably a running-wind cooled cooling water tank, which significantly reduced the cooling water requirement of Lutzmann automobiles, which was also a great advantage over the competition. A gasoline car of this time had a fuel consumption of 100 litres per 100 km and a cooling water consumption of 150 Litres, a big weak point of the design with simple evaporative cooling. In the course of the production improvements were introduced again and again. The engine had an "automatic" inlet valve controlled by negative pressure. The exhaust valve, however, was controlled by a cam on the crankshaft. Both valves have been combined in one component. All engines were single cylinder with a cubic capacity of 1500 to 3500 cc. The power was about 1.5 to 9 hp at 400-500 rpm. They all already had advanced electrical ignition using Rühmkorff's spark inductor. The motor housings were made of high-quality forged steel, which ensured above-average quality.
Overall, the Lutzmann motor vehicle was offered in at least 14 different variants, most of which were nicknamed "Arrow". Of each of these model variants, at least one specimen was actually built. The smallest model was the relatively light and simple arrow A or its further development, the arrow 0, which were also referred to as "light Jagdwagen". One size bigger were the two-seater arrow 1 and the four-seater arrow 2, which, in contrast to the smaller models, had an axle linkage. The arrow 1 B was a particularly elegant version of the two-seat model with wire spoke wheels instead of the heavy wooden spoked wheels. Because of its lower weight, this vehicle reached a top speed of 30 km / h. The arrow 3 was a likewise equipped with the Lutzmann typical six-seater. Exotic model variants were the arrow 4, a post-carriage-like eight-seater, the arrow 5, which recalled a tram of the time and could carry 12 passengers and the delivery van Pfeil 6. On later models of this type, the cargo box could be removed, so that the car could also be used privately. Not under the "arrow" nomenclature fell the combination vehicle "Break", an open eight-seater with plank-like benches and two different, built on customer request buses for 14 respectively 16 people. With the fashion of that time, Lutzmann also built a motor tricycle.
The first owners of a Lutzmann in the UK were John Adolphus Koosen and his wife Kathleen from Southsea. As late as 1895, Mr. Koosen ordered an "arrow 1" after the two had met Lutzmann's "Dessauer Arrows" on a vacation trip in Germany. However, in order to get his vehicle started, Mr. Koosen finally had to buy a 200-liter barrel of gas from a chemical factory because neither pharmacies nor drugstores sold it in sufficient quantities. In 1896, Mr. Koosen bought a second Lutzmann, this time a four-seater. This is now owned by the Berlin Museum of Transport and Technology. With their "Arrow 1" the Koosens covered more than 100,000 miles (160,000 km).
Mr. Koosen also deserves the dubious honour of having received the world's first "traffic ticket". According to the " Locomotive Act of 1865 ", driving on steam vehicles on public roads was prohibited. At the trial, an expert engineer stated that the motor car was not a steam engine but a gas engine; the judge nevertheless imposed a - more symbolic - penalty of one shilling.Mr. Koosen then submitted a petition to the British Parliament. His efforts contributed significantly to loosening legislation in the UK. From 1896, JA Koosen also became an official dealer for Great Britain and Ireland.
