Information
- Very rare sports version, high performances.
- One of the first built.
- Never distributed in Italy.
- Eligible for the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique.
- Complete restoration.
To be registered
Elegibility
- Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. Eligible.
- Giro di Sicilia. Eligible.
- Targa Florio. Eligible.
- Goodwood Revival. Eligible.
- Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti. Eligible.
- Coppa delle Alpi by 1000 Miglia. Eligible.
- Winther Marathon. Eligible.
- Nürburgring Classic. Eligible.
Provenance
Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG was an Austrian group active in various fields, from various types of vehicles (cars, motorcycles, bicycles, buses) to tractors, airplanes and military vehicles, up to some small arms. This name, the result of various mergers between existing companies, was used from 1934 to 1990 and is better known by the abbreviated form Steyr-Puch. The Austrian company has been very active in the off-road sector. From June 1983, it developed and supplied Fiat with the four-wheel drive system for the Panda 4x4. Long before, after World War II, Steyr-Daimler-Puch also became an official Fiat importer, adapting Italian cars to the needs of the Austrian market. From 1957 the Steyr-Puch 500 was produced on the basis of the Fiat Nuova 500, which had been presented the same year. FIAT had a huge success with the "600" model. However, large strata of the Italian population did not have the economic potential to buy a car: a huge pool of potential customers. Vittorio Valletta had commissioned Dante Giacosa to build a "super-utilitarian" car with extremely low purchase, use and maintenance costs. Giacosa based his bodywork and technical plans, including the rear-engine, on the design by Hans Peter Bauhof, a young German employee who had sent the drawings of a micro-car to Turin. For the engine, Giacosa opted for a longitudinal, air-cooled twin-cylinder, which will never be completely free of vibrations due to the economic-design choice of the pistons, rotating side by side. The set-up of the first series was really Spartan even for the time and, just three months later, Fiat ran for cover, updating both the engine and the equipment.The Steyr-Puch 500 is a car produced by the Austrian automaker. It is a version of the Fiat Nuova 500 built under license from the Turin-based company in various displacements and set ups from 1957 to 1973. The differences with the Italian version are characterized by minor interventions on the bodywork and the adoption of a twin-cylinder boxer engine, more powerful of the original Fiat, with displacements starting from 493 cc in 1957. According to the agreement with FIAT the Austrian models could not be sold in Italy and in the countries where the 500 produced in Italy was distributed, although the Steyr-Puch were very much in demand for their performances. In 1962, a new version of the engine was created, instead of 493 cc it now had 643 cc with a power ouput of 19.8 hp, the name of the new model was 650T (as "Thondorf", the production factory), which replaced the 500DL.After a short time the 650 TR model was presented, even more powerful; the "R" stood for "Rallye", but popularly it was called "Rakete" (Rocket). Initially it was intended for authorities like police and gendarmerie, such as emergency vehicles. It was only at the end of 1963 that the 650 TR was made available to the market, responding to a high demand. Almost 60,000 were produced, including all the models, in 16 years.
The car
The Steyr-Puch 650 TR, with chassis no. 5137771 is a 1964 car, one of the first produced. The 650 TR sports model was produced from 1964 to 1968 with a 660 cc engine. The twin-cylinder boxer, in this version, reaches 27 hp (instead of the 16 hp of the original 493 cc) thanks to the displacement’s increase and to a series of improvements; the new double-barrel carburettor, the intake manifold and the valves are new, as well as the pistons, the connecting rods are polished, the flywheel is lighter. In the transmission, the final-drive ratio is changed. The suspensions have shorter rear coil springs, hubs and steering joints are reinforced, the front drum brakes are larger. Outside you can see the widened channel rims and the most obvious detail: the fixed sheet metal roof, which equips the 500 built in Austria since 1959, starting from model D as "Dach", that is, "roof". This fixed roof has a so-called "bürzel", or "rump". By the rear seats, in fact, the fixed roof instead of following the descending line of the cockpit continues with a much flatter curve, ending in a spoiler. Under the spoiler, the rear window has a much more vertical inclination. The car thus gains in habitability and aerodynamics. Designed primarily for life in Austria, the car also gains in comfort in the harsh mountain winters. In any case, the sheet metal roof is removable. The other finishes, as always, reflect the equivalent Fiat model of that year, in the corresponding Puch version. The Steyr-Puch 650 TR, with chassis no. 5137771 has the characteristics of the model produced from 1964 to 1966; the doors, for example, are still hinged to the rear. Compared to the previous model, the larger tail-lights have 3 spots. On the nose, the parking lights/blinkers replace the small ventilation grilles. The model is distinguished by the badge "650 TR" on the rear bonnet. The frieze on the front, covering the horn hole, is the "Puch-Adler", the stylized eagle, symbol of the Puch and is common to the other versions produced in that year. In the cockpit, you can see the glove compartment on the right; this model has the rare additional VDO instruments, optional offered at the time, located in the center of the dashboard. The Steyr-Puch 650 TR, with chassis no. 5137771 has undergone a complete restoration of mechanics, bodywork and interiors, with the utmost respect for the characteristics, details and original colors. It has a white body with cream and two-tone interior, cream and light blue. The dashboard has the typical speedometer with a circular scale anticlockwise and has a scale of up to 120 km/h. Starting up, the double exhaust of the boxer engine immediately reveals an authoritative voice for such a small engine. The Steyr-Puch model 650 TR is a fun, fast and very agile car: truly notable qualities at the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historic, where it can be entered, having participated.
State of the Art
Complete restoration of mechanical parts, body and interiors.