Adler Standard 6

Overview

Adler Standard 6

aka	Adler Standard 6 10/45 Adler Standard 6 12/50 Adler Standard 6 (3U)
manufacturer	Adlerwerke
production	1927 – March 1934 21,249 units
assembly	Frankfurt am Main
successor	Adler Diplomat 12/60
body style	"Pullman Limousine" ("six-light 4 door saloon) Various coach built bodies supplied in relatively small numbers by a number of coach builders.
engine	1927 - 1926 2,540 cc 6 cylinder in-line 1928 - 1934 2,916 cc 6 cylinder in-line
layout	FR layout
transmission	1927 – 1934 3-speed manual 1933 - 1934 4-speed manual with lockable freewheel (new bodied "3U" model only)
length	1927 - 1933 4270 mm (standard bodied cars) 1933 - 1934 4750 mm (new bodied "3U" model)
width	1927 - 1933 1650 mm 1933 - 1934 1740 mm (new bodied "3U" model)
height	1927 - 1933 1825 mm 1933 - 1934 1650 mm (new bodied "3U" model)
wheelbase	1927 - 1933 2840 mm or 3140 mm 1933 - 1934 3200 mm (new bodied "3U" model)
designer	Prof. Dr. Ing. Gabriel Becker

The Adler Standard 6 was the most important newcomer at the Berlin Motor Show in October 1926.[1] It was a substantial six cylinder "limousine" (saloon) built by the Frankfurt auto-maker, Adler. Other body styles were available from coach builders. The model continued to be produced until 1934.

The Standard 6 shared its wheel base with the less expensive four cylinder Adler Favorit which appeared early in 1929. The Standard 6 was also in most respects the blueprint for the longer more powerful eight cylinder engined Adler Standard 8 which arrived in 1928.[2]

Inspired by Chrysler

The basic architecture of the car with its rigid axles, high body and "overslung" [3] chassis was in essence copied from Chrysler models of the time. One result of this was that the Adler Standard 6 was the first volume-produced German car able to compete effectively with the Chryslers which in the 1920s competed powerfully with Germany's domestic auto-makers in this class.

Evolution

Adler Standard 6N 10/45 (1927 – 1930)

Following its motor show launch in October 1926, volume production of the Adler Standard 6 got under way during the early part of 1927.

The six cylinder side-valve 2,540 cc engine [5] drove the rear wheels through a three speed gear box and provided a claimed maximum output of 45 PS at 3,000 rpm. The figures 10/45 in the car's name referred respectively to the Tax horsepower (on which car tax was based till 1928) and actual horsepower in PS (i.e. applying the German standard formula).

The car was offered with a standard wheelbase of 2840 mm or a longer wheelbase of 3140 mm. The Shorter wheelbase Standard 6N continued as the entry-level model until 1930, but the longer wheel base ceased to be available with the 6N's engine before the end of 1928.[6] The standard body was made from steel which at this time was a common feature on North American cars but still unusual in Europe.

By 1930 Adler had produced 6,533 of their Standard 6Ns.

Adler Standard 6A 12/50 (1928 – 1933) & Adler Standard 6S 12/50 (1928 – 1934)

The Standard 6A and 6S had been added to the range by the end of 1928. They still featured straight six engines, but the bore was increased and the total engine size was 2,916 cc.[7] Claimed maximum power from the 2,916 cc engine was 60 PS. Apart from the cylinder bore, the engine was little changed from the 2,540 cc unit of the Standard 6N, but the compression ratio was slightly raised, and during the production run a Stromberg U1 carburetor replaced the Pallas SAD 3 carburettor which initially was carried over from the 6N.[8]

Adler Standard 6 (3U) (1933 – 1934)

The rebodied Standard 6 (3U) appeared at the Berlin Motor Show in February 1933. The 2,916cc 60 PS side-valve six cylinder engine was carried forward from the existing Standard 6. The new car had a lower body frame and independent suspension at the front like the smaller engined Adler Favorit which appeared in the same year. Attention also focused on the new ZF four speed transmission and the standard all-steel body which, as before, came from Ambi-Budd in the Spandau district of Berlin.[9]

400 of these cars were built before the model was replaced by the Adler Diplomat which came with a new engine, a new name and a year later, from 1935, a new body. The change of name had become necessary following a rash of new model launches across the German auto-industry in the early 1930s causing the name "Standard" – which has a meaning in German not dissimilar to its meaning in English - to become unappealing in a decade of growth and an increasingly competitive market for new cars.[10]

Adler Standard 6

Inspired by Chrysler

Evolution

Adler Standard 6N 10/45 (1927 – 1930)

Adler Standard 6A 12/50 (1928 – 1933) & Adler Standard 6S 12/50 (1928 – 1934)

Adler Standard 6 (3U) (1933 – 1934)

Celebrity architects

Celebrity global circumnavigation

References