Project Tempo: July 2013

Oskar Vidal and Sohn founded Tempo Werkes of Hamburg in 1924 to build motorised triporters. These little three-wheeled delivery vehicles proved to be extremely popular and became the foundation of the company's success. The initial series were a very basic, motorcycle-like construction, but by the 1930s were more substantial vehicles, with a fully enclosed drivers cab and powered by a 200 or 400cc Jlo propriertory two-stroke engine mounted over the front wheel. These were popular selling vehicles as they could be driven without a driver's license and did not pay road tax.

In the mid-1930s, Tempo introduced a new four-wheeled light truck, the Tempo A600. These were powered by a 600cc twin-cylinder two-stroke motor. These sold well but not in the same numbers as their three-wheelers due to their increased road tax and licensing obligations.

In 1936 Tempo-werke responded to a Landwehr (army) contract for a four-wheel drive light utility vehicle and their response was uniquely unorthodox. The G1200 was based on the earlier A600, but powered by two 600cc Jlo motors, one in the front and one in the rear. Each engine had its own gearbox and separately drove the front and rear independently suspended axles. The engines could be operated together for full four-wheel drive or they could be run independently for either front-wheel or rear-wheel drive operation.

The car had high ground clearance and with the body floating over its independent suspension it was able to comfortably traverse even the roughest ground. Top speed was 70 kilometres per hour. Fuel economy was a reasonable 12 litres per hundred kilometres, which could be reduced further by running on one engine alone.

Despite the versatility of the vehicle, the Landwehr were prejudiced against two-stroke engines in both cars and motorcycles, even refusing DKW, then Germany's biggest motorcycle manufacturer, an army contract, so it came as little surprise that they showed no interest in Tempo's offering. Tempo however were not disheartened and successfully shopped the G1200 to other European armies, including Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Croatia, Czechoslovakia and Romania. The G1200 was even sold as far afield as Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. See this link for a multilingual advertising for the G1200. http://tempohanseat.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/1939-tempo-g1200-review.html

Contemporary off-road trials footage.

The Second World War put an end to Tempo's export market. The German army seized some of those in foreign service and pressed them into army service. They were mainly used as auxiliary vehicles by police and home defense forces, rather than entering front-line service, despite the fact they would have been extremely well suited to service on the Russian Front. Production ceased in 1943 after only 1335 were built.

After the war Tempo reverted to its trusty three-wheeled product which revived the company's fortunes. The Hanseat tricycle continued in production until 1956 until it was replaced with a modern, four wheeled van called the Matador. After a turbulent history Tempo would be absorbed by Mercedes-Benz in the 1970s.
http://tempohanseat.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/the-history-of-vidal-sons-tempo-werkes.html