However, the Austrians took it for a quick spin and found several areas that needed improvement. Austrian motorists zig-zagging across the Alps in Steyr’s pocket-sized 500 quickly concluded the model would be a blast to drive if the accelerator pedal unlocked more power. Mercedes wanted to offer an alternative to the Land Rover widely used in rural and mountainous parts of Europe. Opinions and comments published on this site may not be sanctioned by and do not necessarily represent the views of CleanTechnica, its owners, sponsors, affiliates, or subsidiaries. Placing an order for Steyr’s prototype would have at least kept Fiat in the equation, but Italian officials gradually replaced the Campagnola with the Land Rover Defender. The humble 500 had morphed into a true high-performance machine. Steyr’s 500 sold 60,000 examples, mostly on the Austrian market. By using our website, you are agreeing to cookies being stored and Google Analytics being used on your device in order to offer the best possible service. Called 650 T, it became a common sight at motorsport events held in Austria. Tesla Cybertruck-Inspired Micro Tiny Home for Homeless: Q&A With Alekz Londos (Part 4). The Magna Steyr manufacturing division is a … Find their customers, contact information, and details on 375 shipments. Steyr also offered the 500 with a full metal roof; Austrians commuting to work in the middle of winter presumably didn’t appreciate the luxury of a sunroof. Magna-Steyr participated in the project, and the issues it encountered with the tonneau cover quietly forced Lincoln to delay the truck’s launch. They’re also a relatively common sight during the Historic Monte-Carlo Rally. Combined with our own Fisker developed IP, the new FM29 platform is projected to deliver class-leading range, interior space with third-row seating and overall vehicle performance. Built using unibody construction, the Type 50 featured a water-cooled, 978-cc four-cylinder engine that delivered 22 horsepower at 3800 rpm. The TRs elbowed their way into FIA-sanctioned Group II events around Europe; Polish driver Sobiesław Zasada notably raced a 650 TR in the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally, and he won the 1966 European Rally Championship in a nearly identical car. Volkswagen never envisioned the Polo as a convertible, so the conversion process was easier said than done. The Magna Steyr plant in Graz plays a special role within Magna. Steyr and Mercedes knew the G would need to fill many roles. It could carry four passengers at 55 mph. The two companies kept close ties, and Fiat sought Steyr’s help to turn the Panda city car released in 1980 into a go-anywhere off-roader capable of taming the Alps. MAGNA STEYR Aerospace is a business area of MAGNA STEYR Fahrzeugtechnik AG & Co. KG, a subsidiary of MAGNA Int. It is a subsidiary of Canadian-based Magna International and was previously part of the Steyr-Daimler-Puch conglomerate. What you may not know is that Magna is a carmaker in its own right, and Magna Steyr — based in Graz, Austria — has been building cars under contract for companies like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and even Chrysler since the 1970s. And yet, each traces its roots to the same company based in Graz, Austria. It was a one-off that decision makers at the Swedish brand didn’t want. Steyr sought a more civilized replacement for the Haflinger—the G was code-named H2 (Haflinger 2) internally during its development phase. Mercedes-Benz is celebrating an important milestone for the G-Class, with the 400,000th example produced in Graz, Austria, by Magna Steyr. Instead, they hoped to sell the basic design to a manufacturer or government looking for a fast, relatively affordable, turn-key way enter the segment. Austria. An all-wheel-drive second-generation Saab 9-3 convertible? CleanTechnica is the #1 cleantech-focused news & analysis website in the US & the world, focusing primarily on electric cars, solar energy, wind energy, & energy storage. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Appreciate CleanTechnica’s originality? It’s unlike any museum I’ve ever seen, and it’s fascinating to walk through. The Austrians had created a Jeep Wrangler-esque off-roader scaled for Europe. Graz-built 500s featured several visual tweaks, including a brand-specific front end, bigger rear lights fitted to some variants, and a redesigned engine lid with lower, wider air vents. The car has a lithium-ion battery and electric motor with a 150km range, but Magna has no … The older examples serving in the Italian Army’s fleet had started to retire, and there was nothing with local roots capable of replacing them. Magna Steyr's engineering services include production, product development, design concepts, simulation, prototyping, vehicle safety, and road testing. The Magna platform itself was designed to be shared amongst other OEMs, allowing Magna to drive costs down as the single supplier for everyone. Steyr replaced it with a 493-cc flat-twin tuned to 16 horsepower and bolted to a fully synchronized four-speed manual transmission. With over 100 years of vehicle production experience, Magna is the leading brand-independent engineering and manufacturing partner for OEMs and new entrants. The content produced by this site is for entertainment purposes only. Instead of using in-house technology, executives solicited Steyr’s help to design and build the Syncro system made available on the Vanagon and its derivatives between 1984–1992. Engineers deemed the 500’s flat-twin too gutless to power the roadster, so they fused two of them together to create an air-cooled, 985-cc flat-four. Those who wanted performance on par with the car’s head-turning design could pay extra for a 75-horsepower, 1.6-liter four-cylinder sourced from the Polo GT. Jo Borrás I've been involved in motorsports and tuning since 1997, and have been a part of the Important Media Network since 2008. Demand for beach cars must have been at an all-time low, because the production-ready prototype remained just that. The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, sometimes called G-Wagen (short for Geländewagen, "terrain vehicle"), is a mid-size four-wheel drive luxury SUV manufactured by Magna Steyr (formerly Steyr-Daimler-Puch) in Austria and sold by Mercedes-Benz.In certain markets, it has been sold under the Puch name as Puch G.. Earn free nights, get our Price Guarantee & make booking easier with Hotels.com! Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers. Magna Steyr is a globally leading engineering and production partner for automobile manufacturers Get more details about the success story! It has also produced its own vehicles, either after designing them in-house or purchasing a license from the firm that created them. “Further, having Magna take such a committed position in the project and our company demonstrates the depth of this cooperation. Mercedes-Benz and Steyr began working on the G-Class project in 1972. Steyr developed a 643-cc evolution of its flat-twin that made up to 25 horsepower and installed it in the wagon model based on the 500 Giardiniera. Both companies needed the model. There were no mechanical modifications under the sheet metal. The four-wheel-drive system was developed in conjunction with Steyr-Daimler-Puch (currently Magna Steyr), who manufactured the Mercedes-Benz G-Class in Austria. The Type 50 remained available when the war ended, but it was far less appealing because by then it was over a decade old. The company also offers contract assembly for various niche or low-volume auto models including Mercedes-Benz G class and BMW X3. The 650 TR launched in 1964 benefitted from a 660-cc engine with 27 horsepower, while the 650 TR II released the following year pushed the performance envelope further thanks to a 41-horsepower evolution of the twin. I loved it. The question of what company is going to build the SUV was answered a few days ago: Austria's supplier giant Magna Steyr will produce the Ocean in Europe, initially on an exclusive basis. “We chose to leverage the Magna EV architecture after detailed due diligence on several options, and in consideration of our own product and technology strategy,” he explains. The company estimates that it can now process purchase orders and issue them to suppliers up to 90% more quickly than before. Present! Tags: Fisker, Fisker Ocean, Henrik Fisker, Magna, Magna Steyr, volkswagen, VW. Yep—Steyr designed and manufactured the available all-wheel-drive system. Fiat stopped making the Campagnola, a Land Rover-like off-roader, in 1987. Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik AG & Co. at Liebenauer Hauptstraße 317, Steyr Daimler Puch, 8041 Graz, Austria. There are hundreds of bicycles, mopeds, scooters, and motorcycles displayed in and above the museum. Steyr helped make it a reality. Sign up for our free daily newsletter or weekly newsletter to never miss a story. It looks like a Beetle viewed through the wrong end of a telescope, but the two cars share no components and they have no common heritage. It remains one of the underappreciated companies in the automotive industry; many motorists rely on Steyr’s technology every day without knowing it’s there, and the museum is just as inconspicuous. Magna Steyr Again Eyeing North American Plant Beyond its home base in Graz, Austria, the contract vehicle assembler has expanded recently with new … The first redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee has rolled off the line at the Magna Steyr manufacturing facility in Graz, Austria. This further demonstrates the automotive supplier's experience in electrification and electromobility. These engineers only work contractually and so it can be declared that Magna Steyr is not a car marque. This family-friendly model wasn’t exactly sporty, though. Housed in a low-key warehouse on the north side of Graz, the collection is made up of dusty, leaky, and generally neglected-looking production models, could-have-beens, should-have-beens, one-offs, and b-sides. Cancel free on most hotels. These days, the hodgepodge of manufacturers associated with the company lives on—the BMW-platformed 2020 Toyota Supra? BMW developed the roadster at its Munich headquarters, but it asked contract manufacturer Magna Steyr to … On its way to … Production for the European market finally ended in 1992, but Volkswagen’s South African factory continued manufacturing the model until 2002. Turin-based Fiat heard the call from across the Alps and wasted no time answering. Magna Steyr, a subsidiary of Canada's Magna International, is a contract manufacturer with a plant in Graz, Austria. This combination made driving the 500 in the Alps far less of a chore. They move people from point A to point B, but they’re two completely different answers to the same question. Enter your email and tell us about yourself. Steyr never planned to bring the model to production on its own. Steyr turned the second-generation Golf into the off-roading Golf Country; one of the roughly 6300 examples built lives in the museum. Has Henrik pulled a fast one on Magna, and maybe VW, or is the Fisker brand big enough that Magna and VW might actually benefit from getting onboard? They’re mechanical mercenaries, willing to help design, build, and develop vehicles for whatever automaker contracts their services. In the 1950s, the firm found itself searching for an economy car to build in Graz and sell locally. And yet, each traces its roots to the same company based in Graz, Austria. However, the most interesting part of walking through the aisles of the Steyr museum is seeing the wide array of cars the company touched. 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