AutoCult Kamm K3 (1939) (Germany)

About the Original:

The Third of Four

Wunnibald Kamm, born in Basel 1893, became primarily known for his design of an aerodynamic drag reducing car rear. His invention is car historically known, even today, as the so-called “Kamm Rear”. Its byword is a suddenly precipitous rear.

In the 1930s he designed and built four car bodies fitted with his special rear by himself. The third vehicle, the K3, was based on the chassis of a Mercedes-Benz 170 V. By the standards of the time he designed a progressive and consummated car body. Most notable difference compared to other production cars was the absence of externally mounted parts. This especially applied to the fenders. The long-drawn-out fenders at the front only rudimentarily stuck out from the rest of the car body. They were such cleverly integrated that, in retrospect, the car already looked like a post-war design. Both rear fenders were almost fully integrated into the car body and were only marginally adumbrated. The result was a particular chubbiness of the car. These stylistic elements admittedly showed Kamm’s foresight, but his focus was mainly on the rear of his newly designed Mercedes. Although the transition of the roundish car body into the cut off end appears slightly strange at first sight, one cannot deny the Kamm-Car a certain elegance.

The Kamm K3 has survived until today and shows very impressively how advanced the knowledge in terms of aerodynamics of passenger cars already was in the 1930s.