Horch 951 cabrio
Year of Manufacture: 1938
Power: 120 horsepower
Displacement:4,944 cm3
Number of Cylinders/Valves: 8/2
Weight: 3,000 kg
Condition:
Catalogue Number: 102
This is the black pearl from Alois Samohýl’s collection. You cannot escape the history behind this five-liter eight-cylinder engine.
The machine undoubtedly boasts both technical and aesthetic qualities, ingenious solutions, and interesting features. At first glance, you are struck by the wide radiator with the four-ring logo. Yet this is not an Audi, but an older and more elite brand from the same founder, August Horch.
Between 1926 and 1937, 25,000 eight-cylinder cars of this brand were produced. In the category over 5,000 cm3, their sales far outpaced those of competing Mercedes-Benz and their serious rivals were essentially only large-scale American cars with more modern design and lower prices. Horch was designed for more demanding conditions, which it could handle thanks to its sturdy chassis.
The car has an inline eight-cylinder engine with a 5-liter displacement and 120 horsepower. It features a four-speed gearbox and, despite weighing almost 3.5 tons, could reach speeds up to 150 km/h. The chassis is a frame construction, with independent front suspension and a De Dion rear axle. On this chassis sits a true gem.
The Dresden specialist Gläser meticulously crafted the Pullman convertible body. The roof is made of six layers, with a thick padding (“houna”) in the middle. Two to three passengers on the rear bench will appreciate the pair of heating vents in the floor, regulated by rotary dampers. The coachbuilders used plenty of longitudinal space not only to install folding emergency seats for children or subordinates. In this last series of these 951 cars, only three such bodies were made, making it a true unique piece.
And the history of this car? It came to Czechoslovakia in 1939 and served the first man of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, Konstantin von Neurath. His successor, Reinhard Heydrich, preferred Mercedes-Benz cars, so this vehicle was assigned to his deputy, Karl Hermann Frank. Frank used it until the end of the war. There is even evidence that Frank drove in this very car to inspect the burning of the village of Lidice. Thus, the car left a very dark mark in our history. However, after the war, none of that prevented Klement Gottwald from using it for some time. Eventually, it ended up with firefighters in the East Bohemian town of Chroustovice and was modified as a fire engine tractor.
In November 1968, an article appeared in Rudé Právo urging whether the National Technical Museum in Prague should take care of the unique vehicle. However, the museum showed little interest. The opportunity was then seized by the collector from Zlín and the manager of the AZNP brand dealership, Alois Samohýl. He acquired the vehicle in 1977 after lengthy negotiations, during which he promised the firefighters to restore the Horch and not to sell it abroad. The result of three years and 6,200 hours of workshop work today ranks among the most valuable exhibits in the Zlín collection of the Samohýl family.
