Hans Ledwinka (born in Klosterneuburg (Lower Austria),1878, died in Munich (Germany),1967) was an Austrian automobile designer. As a young man, Ledwinka worked for Nesselsdorfer-Wagenbau where he designed the 5.3-litre six-cylinder Type U motor car. In 1917, in the midst of World War I, he left the company to join Steyr. Klosterneuburg is a city in Lower Austria with a population of 24,442. ... Map of Lower Austria showing districts and the four quarters (Waldviertel in green, Weinviertel in red, Mostviertel in yellow and Industrieviertel in blue) Lower Austria (de: Niederösterreich) is one of the nine states or Bundesländer in Austria. ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Munich (German: , pronounced  ) is the capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria (German: ). Munich is Germanys third largest city and one of Europes most prosperous and expensive. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Karl Benzs Velo (vélo means bicycle in French) model (1894) - entered into the first automobile race 2005 MINI Cooper S. An automobile (also motor car or simply car) is a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor. ... Year 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nikolay II Aleksey Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert H. Asquith D. Lloyd George Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna... Steyr-Daimler-Puch was a large manufacturing conglomerate based in Steyr, Austria. ...

Between 1921 and 1945, he was the chief design engineer at the Tatra company in Kopřivnice, Czech Republic (originally Nesselsdorfer-Wagenbau). Here, Ledwinka invented the frameless central tubular chassis (so-called "backbone chassis") with swing axles, fully independent suspension and rear-mounted air-cooled flat engine. His son Erich designed the Steyr-Daimler-Puch Haflinger continued by the larger Pinzgauer High Mobility All-Terrain Vehicle, both on tubular chassis and swing portal axle. Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for full calendar). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Tatra (named after the Tatra mountains) is a vehicle manufacturer in the Czech Republic. ... A swing axle suspension is a simple type of independent suspension used in automobiles. ... An independent suspension is an automobile suspension system that allows the wheels on an axle to move independently of each other. ... In automobile design, a rear-engine design layout places both the engine and drive wheels at the rear of the vehicle. ... Engine cooling is the process of cooling an engine by using either air or liquid. ... The Boxer engine A flat engine is an internal combustion engine with its pistons parallel to the ground. ... Steyr-Daimler-Puch was a large manufacturing conglomerate based in Steyr, Austria. ... For Haflinger horse breed see Haflinger (horse) Haflinger 700 AP 4x4 The Haflinger is a small, lightweight four wheel drive vehicle about 3. ... Pinzgauer is a high mobility all-terrain 4x4 and 6x6 military utility vehicle manufactured in Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom, by Automotive Technik (ATL). ...

Other major contribution of Ledwinka to automobile design is the development of car body streamling and its introduction into mass production. Together with Erich Ubelacker Ledwinka designed the Tatra streamlined models Tatra 77, 87, 97, all with rear air-cooled engines.

Ledwinka's concept was copied by Ferdinand Porsche, whose successors later had to acknowledge the influence of Ledwinka's Tatra models on the Porsche-designed Kdf-Wagen of 1938 (later known as the VW Beetle), a post-war lawsuit resulting in a DM3,000,000 settlement paid by Volkswagen to Ringhoffer-Tatra. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Volkswagen Beetle or Bug is a small family car, the best known car of Volkswagen, of Germany, and almost certainly the world. ...

After the Second World War Ledwinka was unjustly accused of collaboration with the German occupation forces and jailed for five years in Czechoslovakia by the Soviet installed Stalinist government. After his release in 1951 he retired to live in Munich, Germany. In 1992, after the fall of Communism, Ledwinka was fully rehabilitated by the Czech authorities. Soviet redirects here. ... Stalinism is a brand of political theory, and the political and economic system implemented by Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union. ... Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. ...

In 2007 Hans Ledwinka was included in the European Automotive Hall of Fame.

References

• Margolius, Ivan and Henry, John G. (1990). Tatra - The Legacy of Hans Ledwinka. Harrow: SAF. ISBN 0946719063. 

External link

• http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.l/l358333.htm;internal&action=_setlanguage.action?LANGUAGE=en