[Will is back and he has one of the most interesting vehicles I have never heard of. The pre-WW2 years in Germany, for better or worse (well, for worse), must have been some of the most interesting times in terms of enginering ingenuity and this is just another example of that. This reminds to read a few more books about Europen history between 1930 and 1960. -Kamil]

Take a central tube frame, two free swinging axles, two two-stroke engines, and a few odds and ends, and put it all together. What would you get? Well, either a big pile of parts or an innovated German off-road vehicle.

The Vidal & Sohn Tempo-Werk GmbH, also known as Tempo built this vehicle in 1936. The Tempo 1200, as it was called, used two two-stroke engines, one in the front and one in the back. The setup could provide traction to all four-wheels or power one set of wheels thanks to one of the engines being shut off. The 1200 also came with four-wheel steering.

The body sat on a flexible tubular frame which allowed the front axle and engine to move around as the vehicle was going over terrain. Tempo also fitted free swinging axles to help the 1200 get through obstacles, no matter the terrain.

When Tempo offered the 1200 to the German Military, they weren’t interested, despite the 1200 being triumphant in many off-roading challenges. No one knows exactly how many 1200s were built in 1936. Estimates put it at around 1300 vehicles, with most being exported out of Germany.

[youtube width=”560″ height=”315″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hQaoE0iIZ8[/youtube]