The Double Racer (German: Rennzweier) is a race car manufactured by the Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft (NW), now Tatra, in 1900. It is sometimes also called First Racing, 12 HP, or Race Car (German: Rennwagen). It was commissioned by Baron Theodor von Liebieg [cs]. Hans Ledwinka, the man behind the famous rear-engined Tatras, and at the time only 20 years old, helped in the production of the car. The car was designed and built in a five week period in April and May 1900. The Rennzweier was the first car designed specifically for racing to be built in Central Europe.[2]
In 1994, a 2 Kč commemorative stamp featuring the Rennzweier, designed by Bedřich Housa [cs], was issued.[5][6][7][8]
After the production of its first automobile, the Präsident, in 1897 – 1898, NW continued producing automobiles that followed the design of the original Präsident.
On 23 October 1899, two of these Präsident-derived cars, the Wien and the Nesselsdorf, competed in the first automobile race held in Austria-Hungary. The race took place in Vienna, on the Trabrennbahn Krieau, a trotting track near the Prater. Competing cars were the Wien, the Nesselsdorf, four Benz cars, and four Dietrich-Bolleé cars. Baron Theodor von Liebieg [cs], driving the Wien, won the race, and the Nesselsdorf came in second.
In March 1900, Liebieg raced the 192 km (119 mi) triangle track Nice – Draguignan – Nice, where he won the second stage outright.[clarification needed] Four days later he won the four-seaters under 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) class in the famous Nice – La Turbie hill climb race.
The Präsident-derived cars Liebieg was competing with were designed for ordinary use, not racing. So after his successes of late 1899 and early 1900, Liebieg commissioned NW to produce a new automobile specifically designed for racing. NW fulfilled this order with the Rennzweier, the first race car built in Central Europe.[9]
Design
The construction was unique at the time. The car was very low, especially the driver's seat. There was no bodywork – all mechanical parts were uncovered. Unlike its predecessors, the steering column was slightly tilted.
The car had a modified Benz engine. It was a two-cylinder spark ignition engine with a power output of about 12 hp (8.9 kW) at 650 rpm.[3] It was transversely mounted above the driven rear axle.
The driver was situated on a heightened seat behind the steering wheel, while the passenger seat was much lower on the frame, so the passenger's legs were sticking out under the car.
The gas tank had a volume of 42 liters,[4] while there was also another tank behind the driver for 15 liters of coolant.
The car was able to reach a maximum speed of 82 km/h (51 mph).
Von Liebieg raced the car in numerous contests. He won the La Turbie race that took place in Nice, and took second position in Salzburg-Linz-Vienna race. He later also took part in the Paris-Vienna race.
A second racing car was made in 1901. This one also made do without bodywork, and this time featured a Hardy engine (flat two, 3188cc, 7,4 kW-8,85 kW (10-12HP)) was used instead of the previous Benz one.[9]
^ abDragoun, Aleš (1996-10-02). "NW Rennzweier (1900)"(PDF). sleeper.ic.cz (in Czech). Archived from the original(PDF) on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
