Windhoff in a winter wonderland: vintage motoring in a Swedish snowscape

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Whoever heard of the Windhoff car? It's not one we'd come across before we found these photos, and even the internet can't reveal much, except that the firm is still in business as a maker of railway rolling stock and heavy plant machinery. We must defer, then to Hans-Otto Neubauer, writing in Georgano's The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars 1885-1968, who revealed that Gebr. Windhoff Motoren- und Fahrzeugfabrik GmbH built cars in Rheine, Germany, from 1908 to 1914: "The firm produced automobile parts (engines, radiators, transmissions etc.) before starting to build their own cars. Two 4-cylinder and two 6-cylinder models appeared in 1908 with engine capacities ranging from 2,012cc to 6,125cc. From 1911, overhead inlet valves were used. Windhoff cars were of a high technical standard and good finish. They appeared in various trials, including the Prince Henry, which they finished quite satisfactorily, proving their design as sporting cars of high performance. The 6-cylinder 3.9-litre model in particular was among the best cars of its time. A variety of models was offered until 1914, when car production was discontinued because of the outbreak of World War I."

Windhoff may have hailed from north-western Germany, but this example was photographed in Sweden in 1920 or 1921, which reminds us of our recent article about the sole-surviving Beckmann car, which was also made in Germany but exported to Sweden in 1920. The Beckmann historian Christian Börner has explained that because of the crippling reparations imposed upon Germany for her rôle in the Great War, she had to attract as much foreign investment as possible through the export of goods such as automobiles. The Scandinavian countries, and Sweden especially, were identified as a likely market. Could this Windhoff have arrived there under the same scheme?

We don't know much about this car, except that it apparently belong to a gentleman named Josef Eriksson, although in the lead photograph it is being driven by Yngve Tjerneld (in flat cap and parka), who must have been a friend. The location is said to be Västerhästbo in southern Sweden, about 120 miles north-east of Stockholm. The stationary photograph seemingly taken in front a cliff was actually taken at the Valls kalkbrott (limestone quarry) near Västerhästbo. Apparently, Eriksson owned the car between May 12th, 1920, and July 5th, 1921.

In the pictures, the Windhoff seems to be coping well with the snow, so it must have been a fairly hardy machine. We wonder if any have survived, though, or if they've all succumbed to the ravages of Scandinavian winters? We don't suppose there could possibly any left, but we would have said the same about Beckmanns until the restored car suddenly came into the spotlight a couple of months ago...

Words: Zack Stiling
Photographs: Picryl

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