1949 Veritas C90 Spohn Coupé
When Veritas GmbH was first founded in 1948, their primary vocation was taking pre-war BMW components and converting them into the competitive racecars called the Rennsport (RS). These worked remarkably well given the limited availability of resources in the immediate post war period. To complement these efforts, a Coupe was designed with a possible limited production run of 10 or 15.
Carosseriebau Hermann Spohn was founded as early as 1920 in Ravensburg, Germany and built up a great reputation building bodies for firms like Maybach. In 1948 Spohn began to fabricate aluminum bodies for the successful Veritas Rennsport. The small Veritas firm was treated with the same high standards as Spohn’s luxurious pre-war models.
Spohn didn’t just fit a top to the Rennsport’s existing aerodynamic design. Instead, full width suicide doors were integrated into the design with functional rolling windows. The interior was fully trimmed, with a new custom dashboard, full instrumentation and leather upholstery. Furthermore, a removable roof was integrated along with a trunk large enough to fit it. Other details such as two-piece bumpers and running lights were added.
The Veritas Coupe, chassis number 5056, stayed in Germany for many years until it was bought by a German journalist in America who drove it from New York to California. It changed hands once, then ended up with a long-term collector in 1966. It was restored and matched with a similar Rennsport under the same owner for nearly 40 years. The pair was sold to the Blackhawk Collection and offered at their annual 2008 Pebble Beach Sale.
In Detail
| type | Concept / Prototype Car |
| built at | Meßkirch, Germany |
| coachbuilder | Carosseriebau Hermann Spohn |
| production | 1 |
| engine | BMW Inline-6 |
| position | Front Longitudinal |
| aspiration | Natural |
| block material | Cast Iron |
| valvetrain | Pushrod OHV |
| displacement | 2000 cc / 122.05 in³ |
| body / frame | Aluminum Body over Steel-Tube Frame |
| driven wheels | RWD |
