Champion Automobilwerke GmbH was a German producer of small cars, initially manufacturing in Paderborn. The cars were produced and sold by a succession of businesses between 1952 and 1958. At the outset the cars were impressively simple and inexpensive, but as they became slightly less simple they also lost much of their price advantage. As larger manufacturers moved centre stage in the German auto-market, the producers of the Champion failed to achieve the volumes necessary to justify the investment needed to develop and produce the cars: the brief story of the marque is one of a succession of financial crises and failures.
History
The car originally developed by ZF of Friedrichshafen was a two-seater with a single-cylinder 200 cc rear-mounted two-stroke lawnmower engine supported by a supercharger. Power was delivered to the wheels via a three-speed gear box: despite the low weight of the car, there was also a reverse gear. The first prototype was actually built further to the south at Herrlingen near Ulm in 1948. The car was based around a central steel frame and employed a rear-mounted engine, being clearly inspired...