1934 Stoewer V8 Greif

Brothers Emil and Bernhard Stoewer founded a company in 1896 for the purpose of manufacturing sewing machines in Stettin. A few years later, in 1899, they founded the firm Gebruder Stoewer, Fabrik für Motorfahrzeugen to produce automobiles. Their first vehicle was the Grosser Motorwagen (meaning large motor car) that had a two-cylinder, 6.5 horsepower engine and a top speed in the neighborhood of 11 mph. A four-cylinder engine became available in 1904. In 1908, the Stoewer G4 was introduced and it became one the company's earliest successes, with over 1,000 examples built.

The company introduced the D-Type line in the mid-1920s, in both four and six-cylinder capacity. The S8 and G14 models, with their eight-cylinder engines, followed near the close of the 1920s. In the 1930s, the G15 Gigant, M12 Marschall, and P20 Reprasentant were introduced.

In 1931, Stoewer introduced a front-wheel drive car, the V5, with its twenty-five horsepower engine.

Emile left the firm in 1932.

The Greif Junior model was built under the license of Tatra, and was followed by the V8 Greif, the last car being constructed by Stoewer. The V8 Grief was designed by Bernhard Stoewer and was a front-wheel drive car powered by a 2488cc V8 light-alloy engine.

From 1899 through 1945, the company produced about 40,000 vehicles, and about 250 vehicles are known to have survived.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2014