Selve

Selve was a German automobile marque and manufacturer associated with Selve Automobilwerke AG of Hameln, near Hanover. The company operated in the period when Germany’s automotive industry was consolidating around specialist engineering firms, regional manufacturers, and established engine suppliers. Its automotive activities were connected with Basse & Selve engines, which had already supplied power units for vehicles and other industrial applications. After the First World War, Selve absorbed the Northern German Automobile Works, or Norddeutsche Automobilwerke. That company had produced the Colibri and Sperber automobiles. The absorption expanded Selve’s position from an engine-related industrial business into a vehicle manufacturer with a broader passenger-car range. Selve’s early postwar automobiles included a 24-horsepower model with a 1.5-litre engine and a 32-horsepower model with a 2-litre engine. The company subsequently developed larger and more powerful cars, including a 40-horsepower model initially displacing 2,090 cc and later enlarged to 2,352 cc. A 65-horsepower sporting version was also offered on this platform. Selve’s range moved progressively toward larger six-cylinder automobiles. Six-cylinder models with approximately 2.85 litres of displacement appeared in 1925, while the Selecta, introduced in 1927, used a 3.075-litre engine. The 12/50 was another significant six-cylinder model. Its 3,097 cc engine produced 50 horsepower, and the car was reported to have a top speed of about 90 km/h. It was offered in open and closed body styles, including a convertible and a six-seat saloon. The model’s substantial dimensions and weight reflected the market for relatively large German touring automobiles of the 1920s. Selve also explored technical alternatives. A front-wheel-drive six-cylinder automobile designed by Paul Henze was displayed at the 1928 Berlin Automobile Exposition, but the design did not enter series production. This illustrates the company’s interest in modern engineering concepts, although the available record does not show that the exhibition prototype became a commercially successful product. Automobile production continued until 1929, when the economic crisis led Selve to suspend car manufacturing. The company therefore belongs to the group of German automobile makers whose development was interrupted by the severe economic conditions at the end of the 1920s. Selve is remembered primarily for its Hameln production base, its absorption of Norddeutsche Automobilwerke, its Basse & Selve engineering connection, and its succession of medium-to-large cars rather than for a surviving mass-market automotive operation.

Selve’s automobile history is rooted in the engineering and manufacturing environment of northern Germany. The firm was already associated with Basse & Selve engines before it became known primarily as a car maker. Following the First World War, Selve absorbed Norddeutsche Automobilwerke, also known as the Northern German Automobile Works. That company had produced the Colibri and Sperber, giving Selve access to an existing automotive manufacturing tradition and product heritage. The first automobiles attributed to Selve after this expansion included a 24-horsepower car with a 1.5-litre engine and a 32-horsepower car with a 2-litre engine. The company then developed more powerful models, including a 40-horsepower car with an engine displacement of 2,090 cc. A later version increased displacement to 2,352 cc, and a 65-horsepower sporting variant was available. These vehicles placed Selve in the market for conventional German passenger cars while allowing the company to emphasize its engine-building background. During the middle and late 1920s, Selve increasingly concentrated on larger six-cylinder automobiles. Six-cylinder models with engines of about 2.85 litres were produced in 1925. In 1927, the Selecta expanded the range with a 3.075-litre engine. The Selve 12/50 used a 3,097 cc six-cylinder engine producing 50 horsepower. Its published specifications included a 90 km/h top speed, fuel consumption of approximately 15 litres per 100 kilometres, a 3,250 mm wheelbase, and a length of roughly 4,500 mm. Body configurations included a convertible and a closed six-seat version, with the latter weighing about 1,600 kg. Selve also demonstrated an interest in alternative chassis engineering. At the 1928 Berlin Automobile Exposition, the company displayed a front-wheel-drive six-cylinder automobile designed by Paul Henze. The design remained a show or development project and was never placed into production. The economic crisis of 1929 brought the company’s automobile manufacturing to an end. Selve suspended car production in that year, making its automotive operation part of the large group of German manufacturers unable to maintain production through the worsening economic environment. The surviving account does not establish a later revival of the Selve automobile marque. Its historical importance rests on the transition from engine manufacture and regional automotive production to a range of increasingly large passenger cars, followed by withdrawal from automobile manufacturing at the close of the 1920s.

• 1929

  Automobile production is suspended

  [1]Selveen.wikipedia.org

  Selve halted automobile manufacturing during the economic crisis of 1929.

• 1928

  Front-wheel-drive prototype displayed

  [1]Selveen.wikipedia.org

  Paul Henze’s front-wheel-drive six-cylinder Selve design was presented at the Berlin Automobile Exposition but did not reach production.

• 1927

  Selecta expands the product line

  [1]Selveen.wikipedia.org

  The Selecta joined the range with a six-cylinder engine displacing approximately 3.075 litres.

• 1925

  Six-cylinder models enter the range

  [1]Selveen.wikipedia.org

  Selve produced six-cylinder automobiles with engine displacement of approximately 2.85 litres.

• Norddeutsche Automobilwerke is absorbed

  [1]Selveen.wikipedia.org

  After the First World War, Selve absorbed Norddeutsche Automobilwerke, the maker associated with the Colibri and Sperber automobiles.

A German manufacturer of technically ambitious, medium-to-large passenger cars and touring automobiles, with a product range that progressed from smaller four-cylinder models to larger six-cylinder vehicles.

• Passenger car

  Selve 24 hp

  One of Selve’s early postwar passenger cars, this model used a 1.5-litre engine rated at 24 horsepower. It represented the smaller end of the company’s early range before Selve moved more strongly toward larger and more powerful touring automobiles.

• Passenger car

  Selve 32 hp

  The 32-horsepower model used a 2-litre engine and formed part of Selve’s initial postwar passenger-car program. It sat above the 24-horsepower car and helped establish the marque as a producer of conventional German automobiles.

• Passenger car

  Selve 40 hp

  Selve’s 40-horsepower model initially used a 2,090 cc engine and was later associated with a larger 2,352 cc version. A 65-horsepower sporting derivative was also offered, extending the platform toward higher performance.

• Passenger car

  Selve 6/20

  The 6/20 was a Selve automobile from the 1920s. Historical references associate a green example with Adolf Hitler, who was reportedly chauffeured in it during that decade. The available source does not provide a complete technical specification for the model.

• Touring car · 1925

  Selve six-cylinder models

  Selve produced a succession of larger six-cylinder automobiles, including models with approximately 2.85-litre engines from 1925 onward. These cars reflected the company’s movement into the upper portions of the German touring-car market.

• Six-cylinder touring car · 1927

  Selve Selecta

  The Selecta was a large Selve automobile introduced in 1927 with a six-cylinder engine of approximately 3.075 litres. It represented the mature end of the company’s pre-1929 passenger-car range.

• Six-cylinder touring car

  Selve 12/50

  The 12/50 used a 3,097 cc six-cylinder engine producing 50 horsepower. It could reach approximately 90 km/h and was offered as a convertible and as a closed six-seat automobile. Reported dimensions included a 3,250 mm wheelbase and an overall length of about 4,500 mm.

• 1929

  Suspension of automobile manufacturingStrategy

  Background

  The economic crisis of 1929 severely affected automobile manufacturers, including Selve.

  Action taken

  Selve suspended production of automobiles.

  Aftermath

  The decision ended Selve’s documented passenger-car manufacturing period and left the marque as a historical German automobile brand.

  Source

• 1928

  Display of a front-wheel-drive six-cylinder prototypeProduct launch

  Background

  Selve investigated front-wheel-drive construction at a time when manufacturers were experimenting with new chassis layouts.

  Action taken

  The company displayed a six-cylinder front-wheel-drive design created by Paul Henze at the Berlin Automobile Exposition.

  Aftermath

  The prototype was not developed into a production automobile.

  Source

1. 1Selveen.wikipedia.org