Horch 853 Sport Cabriolet, Voll & Ruhrbeck, #853558, 1937

Location:
Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, 2009

Owner: Robert M. & Anne Brockington Lee | Sparks, Nevada

Prologue:

Image Source: Nikon D200 (10.2 MP)

Though to most it is an obscure marque, Horch was a formidable competitor of Mercedes-Benz in Germany, and the 853 sold very well against Mercedes' premier offering, the 540K. A strong, yet pedestrian (Horch would have said refined, and therefore adequate) cast iron 8-cylinder motor powers the chassis, providing about 105 brake horsepower to move nearly three tons of automobile. The modified 853A offered more power thanks to an alloy head and cam refinement, but the standard 853 was something of an aristocratic Clydesdale.

Contrary to its conventional powerplant, the Horch 853 benefited from an advanced chassis design of early independent configuration at all four points. In particular, the rear assembly came about through a contract with Ferdinand Porsche, who in 1931 had been granted a patent for his independent, torsion bar unit.

Subsequent to an extensive restoration, this Horch won Best of Show at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, which is of course where these photographs were taken. The car is a quintessential Pebble Beach car, an immense confection of chrome and curves. Later, in 2014, chassis #853558 won Best of Show at Amelia Island.

The world knows little of this chassis' origins, the Voll & Ruhrbeck factory having been destroyed in World War II, obliterating all build and delivery records. The car was at one point claimed by the French army, and after the War surfaced in Switzerland. Although the car was close to complete upon arrival in the U.S., late owner Robert M. Lee and RM Restorations used period photographs to fabricate new front and rear bumpers, and a new bonnet. All remaining panels are original. The full restoration consumed about five years, with half the time dedicated to chrome, upholstery, and woodworking details.

The pewter finish on the car, with its uncharacteristically dull metallic tone, was created to mimic the fischsilber paint Horch developed in the classic era. Fischsilber was so named because it used actual fish scales to achieve a reflective appearance.

Motor: 4,944 cc straight 8-cylinder

Valvetrain: SOHC, 2 valves per cylinder

Aspiration: single Solex 35 JFF carburetor

Power: 105 bhp @ 3,200 rpm

Drivetrain: ZF Aphon 4-speed gearbox, rear-wheel drive

Front Suspension: independent, upper A-arms with lower transverse semi-elliptic leaf springs, hydraulic shock absorbers

Rear Suspension: de Dion axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs and hydraulic shock absorbers, Porsche-designed double-jointed axle shafts

Architecture: steel frame

Kerb Weight: 2,630 kg (5,800 lbs)

Wheelbase: 3,450 mm (135.8 inches)

0-60: why?

Top Speed: 130 km/h (about 80 mph)

Etymology:

'Horch' was the surname of founder August Horch. Incidentally, after his ouster from his eponymous firm in 1909, Horch established a second company, this time using the Latin derivation of his surname. 'Horch' is the imperative form of the verb, 'to hear,' or 'horchen.' Thus Audi was born, imperative form of the verb, 'audire.' Of the 853 numerical designation, the '8' refers to the number of cylinders, whereas '5' refers to the near 5-litre capacity. The last digit, '3' in this case, refers to the model sequence, which began in 1935 with the 850. Concurrently, Horch produced the 830 series, which were initially powered by a 3-litre V-8 motor. The term 'Sport' may be a misnomer given the car's extraordinary berth, yet it does do with only two doors and two seats. 'Cabriolet' is rather truthful. I also included the chassis number and coachbuilder in the title.

Figures:

Few coachbuilt Horch automobiles were completed. Similar designs as this from Voll & Ruhrbeck were executed on cars finished to 853A specification with its alloy head. An interesting point, when the car appeared at Pebble Beach in 1999 prior to its nut-and-bolt restoration, the show plate stated that #853558 was a 1938 car, and that it was powered by a 120 brake horsepower motor. At this stage we can only accept that the old information was wrong, particularly since the marque and model read only 'Horch 1938 Sport Cabriolet.' This merely brings up a point that, even today, concours programs and show plates alike carry misinformation. Moreso, I issued a hard reset on my own site in order to clear away information I either knew was wrong, or suspected was poorly substantiated.

Svelte Locomotive: Size and Stature of the Horch 853

Nearly six tons of steel, aluminum, chrome, wood, glass, and leather spread across one of the largest luxury chassis of pre-War German imagination—this is the Horch 853, comparable to the imposing Maybach, or the odd Daimler. The grille itself would be intimidating enough, but German coachbuilders demonstrate how to fill out the fenders in the creation of a unified plow. And so the entire fascia imposes a singular, barrel-chested presence. Very interesting, the headlamps and marker lights are attached to long, fluted drops of chrome, which makes them look as if to rise up and peak over the crest. In spite of the refinement, the effect can be cartoonlike, because headlamps simply do not do what these do.

To make an immense length of sheetmetal appear fluid, the Voll & Ruhrbeck coachwork uses a pair of extraordinarily long headlamp pods, probably the longest of any such car in existence. Viewed from the rear perspective, the pods extend along the seam of the front fenders almost the entire length of the bonnet. A similar gesture, the marker lights flow into a chrome strip that runs the length of the fender, joining the running board as one of four speedstrips, and terminating at the base of the rear fender. There, another length of chrome feeds itself up and over the skirt, where it expands into a corn housing the rear marker light, but allowing the chrome to continue in a long loop under and completely around the continental kit. The game, then, is not so much how to consume the length, but how to extend it farther still.

Full Cradle: Wrap-Around Continental Design of the Voll & Ruhrbeck Tail

The rear fenders do not merely occupy the aft flanks of the car, but reach around the tail and join together, forming a cradle for the double continental kit. True that some classic roadster designs display a similar affinity for wrapped up tails—even those of Alfa Romeo and Bugatti—but none go so far in creating a concentric shelf at the back of the car.

Standard Fare: Common Features of the Horch 853 Design

Common to other 853 and 853A cars, the bonnet and its heavy treatment of rectangular louvres appears with consistency across the range. So too are the wheels an elegant, standard treatment for Horch. The grille shroud contains the crowned 'H' of Horch, center top, while the four rings of Auto Union are pinned clumsily to the vertical divide. See the Production tab for an explanation of how that Auto Union emblem relates to Audi of today. Far less than common is the sweeping chrome streak that dives to a point just behind the door, a decidedly French touch. Also peculiar is the chrome Art Deco motif on the rear skirts.

Notable in the first three images, you will see evidence of the Horch's centrally controlled, hydraulic jacking system. When deployed, posts at each corner lift the car for repairs.