Bungartz Butz

The Bungartz Butz was a small automobile developed and built in Munich in 1934 by Bungartz & Co., a newly established German company associated with Dr. Everhard Bungartz. It emerged from Bungartz’s effort to create an inexpensive, technically distinctive small car based on patents and ideas associated with engineer Josef Ganz. Toward the end of 1933, Bungartz contacted Ganz with the intention of developing and producing such a vehicle. The Butz followed a rear-swing-axle, mid-engined layout and used a tubular chassis. Its independent suspension and compact mechanical arrangement placed it within the innovative small-car experiments that appeared in Germany during the early 1930s. In several respects, its engineering concept was closely comparable to that of the Standard Superior, a small car introduced a year earlier. The shared technical characteristics included a tubular frame, a centrally positioned engine, and independent suspension with swing axles at the rear. Two principal body versions were offered: the Butz Cabrio-Limousine and the Butz Touren-Wagen. Both were two-seat cars intended for lightweight, economical personal transport rather than family motoring. The body was made from plywood and covered with artificial leather, while separate metal wings protected the wheels and lower bodywork. Period color combinations included silvery gray, dark blue, sea green, and beige, generally paired with black wings, wheel rims, and chassis components. Bungartz also offered a small purpose-built trailer for the Butz. The trailer used a backbone chassis and swing-axle suspension, echoing the unusual engineering layout of the automobile itself. This accessory indicates that the vehicle was conceived not only as a minimal runabout but also as a practical light transport solution. The Butz belongs to the short-lived and technically experimental generation of German small cars developed before the Second World War. Available historical material documents its 1934 production and engineering characteristics but does not establish a sustained production run, sales volume, surviving production numbers, or a continuing corporate successor. The model is therefore best understood as a historically significant but discontinued automobile rather than an active consumer brand. Its importance lies mainly in its connection with the early German small-car movement, the Ganz patent network, and the effort by Bungartz & Co. to bring a compact mid-engined design to market.

The Bungartz Butz was developed during the German small-car experimentation of the early 1930s. Bungartz & Co. was newly established in Munich when its director, Dr. Everhard Bungartz, approached engineer Josef Ganz toward the end of 1933. Bungartz sought to develop and manufacture a small automobile based on Ganz’s patents and design concepts. The resulting car, introduced and built in 1934, used a compact architecture that was technically close to the Standard Superior, which had appeared the previous year. Its principal engineering features were a tubular chassis, a mid-mounted engine, and independent suspension incorporating swing axles at the rear. This arrangement was unusual for a small car of the period and reflected the broader search for efficient, lightweight alternatives to conventional front-engine designs. The Butz was produced in two basic body forms. The Cabrio-Limousine was a small open or semi-open touring-style body, while the Touren-Wagen represented the model’s touring version. Both were configured as two-seaters. Their lightweight bodies were constructed from plywood and covered with artificial leather. Metal wings were fitted around the wheels and were normally painted black along with the wheel rims and chassis. Documented body colors included silvery gray, dark blue, sea green, and beige. A matching small trailer was also available. Like the car, it used a backbone chassis and swing-axle suspension, giving the accessory a mechanical identity that went beyond a conventional simple trailer. The trailer was intended to expand the practical carrying capacity of the small automobile. The available historical record identifies the Butz as a 1934 automobile built by Bungartz in Munich, but it does not provide reliable figures for production volume, pricing, commercial performance, or the number of surviving examples. Nor does the cited material establish a long-running model range or an active successor brand. The Bungartz Butz is consequently treated as a discontinued historical automobile. Its lasting relevance comes from its connection with Josef Ganz’s engineering work and from its place among the technically adventurous German small cars of the prewar period.

• 1934

  Bungartz Butz built in Munich

  [1]Bungartz Butzen.wikipedia.org

  Bungartz & Co. built the Butz, a compact two-seat automobile featuring a tubular chassis, mid-mounted engine, and rear swing-axle suspension.

• 1933

  Bungartz contacts Josef Ganz

  [1]Bungartz Butzen.wikipedia.org

  Toward the end of 1933, Dr. Everhard Bungartz, director of the newly established Bungartz & Co., contacted Josef Ganz about developing a small automobile based on Ganz’s patents.

A lightweight, compact German two-seat automobile positioned for economical personal transport and distinguished by an experimental mid-engined layout, tubular chassis, and rear swing-axle suspension.

• Automobile · 1934

  Bungartz Butz Cabrio-Limousine

  One of the two documented basic versions of the Butz. It was a two-seat lightweight car with a plywood body covered in artificial leather, metal wings, and the model’s characteristic mid-mounted engine, tubular chassis, and independent rear swing-axle suspension.

• Automobile · 1934

  Bungartz Butz Touren-Wagen

  The second principal Butz body version, configured as a two-seat touring car. It shared the lightweight construction and unusual chassis layout of the Butz range and was offered in period colors including silvery gray, dark blue, sea green, and beige.

• Automobile trailer · 1934

  Bungartz Butz trailer

  A small trailer designed for the Butz was offered as an accessory. It used a backbone chassis and swing axles, mechanically echoing the automobile’s lightweight and unconventional construction.

1. 1Bungartz Butzen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Bungartz historical informationbungartz.nl
3. 3Bungartz technical and historical archiveweb.archive.org
4. 4Joseph Ganz Archivejoseph-ganz.org