Enzmann 506

Bruno von Rotz gave his Milano GT an outing last weekend, taking it to the prestigious Altburon Bergprufung 2009 hillclimb in his home country, Switzerland (where Colin McA happens to be at the moment). He was pleased to report that the car went well but it also received considerable attention due mainly to its rarity over there and people were drawn to it by "its remarkable sound and beautiful shape".

In his blog he mentioned some very fine cars that were there, including an Aston Ulster and a very nice Matra coupe (I've only ever seen one like it in Australia) but he also mentioned how amazing it was to see 3 Enzmann 506s all in the same place (see below). Well, I don't know about you but I had never heard of an Enzmann 506.

So a visit to Wikipedia tells me that the Enzmann 506 was a Swiss automobile manufactured from 1957 until the late 1960s. The company purchased new Volkswagens, unbolted the Beetle shells from the floorpans, and refitted them with elegant fibreglass bodywork produced by a boatyard in Grandson. (Note the lack of doors). Some 100 cars were produced, and you could also buy separate fibreglass bodies to make the assembly yourself.

The car's name-506-was nothing more than the stand number under which Enzmann debuted their creation at the Frankfurt Auto Show. Volkswagen engines, naturally, were fitted as standard, but the similar Porsche 356 powerplant was also easy to fit into the Beetle chassis. Some owners were bold enough to add Okrasa tuning parts to these engines, with MAG or Judson Superchargers.

In 2009, it was reported that one could still buy an Enzmann body kit from the descendants of the car's creator.

Website : http://www.enzmann-506.ch/