Adler
From the beginning of the 20th Century until 1957, the German manufacturer Adler produced automobiles, bicycles, motorcycles and typewriters. Adler means “eagle” in German, and the bird can be found on the company’s logo and hood ornaments.
The Emergence of Adler
Before the First World War, Adler used engines (two and four-cylinder) from French manufacturer De Dion, the largest of which was a 9081cc. After the appointment of Edmund Rumpler as technical director in 1902, Adler started to include their own engines in their cars. In the sporting field, their cars were driven to victory at many racing events, piloted by Alfred Theves and brothers Erwin and Otto Kleyer who were sons of Adler’s founder Heinrich Kleyer. Adler models were also often seen on the race track in the 1920s being driven by Karl Irion. The models popular with customers of the time ranged from the 1550cc and 2298cc to the four-cylinder 4700cc and six-cylinder 2580cc. From 1927 to 1934, the bodywork on a number of standard Adler cars was designed by Gropius. The models included the Adler Standard 6 from 1927, which featured a 2916cc six-cylinder engine or a 2540cc engine, and the Standard 8 from 1928 which went into production with an eight-cylinder 3887cc engine incorporated. Two years previously in October 1926, the Standard 6 showcased hydraulic brakes for the first time in Continental Europe during the Berlin Motor Show. Another first was achieved between 1927 and 1929 when Clärenore Stinnes circumnavigated the globe in the Standard 6.
Developments at Adler Beyond 1930
During December 1930 Josef Ganz, editor of Motor-Kritik, was hired as consultant engineer at Adler. Ganz produced a prototype for the Volkswagen with a mid-mounted engine and rear swing-axles. May of that year saw the completion of the Volkswagen which was given the nickname Maikäfer by Ganz, translate to mean Maybug. A change in management at Adler meant development of the Maikäfer stalled as new technical director Hans Gustav Röhr decided to concentrate on cars with front-wheel drive. Adler saw many successes in sport during the 1930s with the introduction of the Trumpf model, which had a four-cylinder flathead engine. There was notable success in the Le Mans competitions. Up until the start of World War II, Adler produced various rear-driven cars including the Diplomat 2916cc and 2494cc six-cylinder models (as well as the four-cylinder 1910cc) and the Favorit 1943cc. The Adler 2.5-Litre in 1937 was the last newly-produced model to be manufactured at Adler, sporting a six-cylinder engine. After the war, the company decided not to continue constructing automobiles; instead, Adler went on to resume motorcycle production from 1949 until 1957. The British manufacturer Ariel was handed Adler’s motorcycle designs as reparation for the war, and they used them to produce their own models. Adler went on to concentrate more on office supplies before merging with Triumpf. In 1957, Triumpf-Adler was bought out by Grundig and then Olivetti.