The Zundapp Janus- one of the worst cars ever
January 8th, 2008
Time Magazine one of the world’s most respected magazines has voted today’s car, the Zundapp Janus one of the ‘50 worst cars ever made’. We found this interesting little pink car in Germany at the Sinsheim Auto & Tecknic Museum. The car was actually German, it was built in Nuremberg and this model is from 1958. The vehicle was made by a motorbike factory after motorbike sales fell off during the 50’s. The company thought (wrongly) they should get into the car market. Probably the best bit of this car was the rear seat, it faced backwards so you could see people behind you frustrated with the single cylinder twin stroke 14hp engine running at a snail like pace and the fear of seeing much faster and better cars rear ending you. The car had two doors, one at the back and one at the front making it really difficult to see which end was which. Safety on the Zundapp Janus wasn’t an option either- there was none. 6902 of the vehicles were produced in the 18 months or so production before the factory was sold to Bosch.
1 Comment Add your own
1. Jim Hacking | May 23rd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
This Chap who wrote this article does not know what he’s talking about. the Zundapp Janus is a car developed in 1957 well ahead of its time, it had a steering lock , engine immobiliser independent suspension rear, and swinging arm front , fan cooled large hydraulic brakes, centre engine and the seats made into a double bed, rear seat rear facing a proven safety factor, not just a car but a camper car as well, excellent road handling .
Tell me of any other car with these atributes in 1957.
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