Adler Trumpf Junior

Adler Trumpf Junior
Adler Trumpf Junior (1936 – 1941) with the standard "Jupiter" Ambi-Budd all-steel sedan/saloon body
Overview
Manufacturer	Adlerwerke
Also called	1934-35: Adler Trumpf Junior (1G) 1936–41: Adler Trumpf Junior (1E) 1935–37: Adler Trumpf Junior Sport
Production	1934-35: (1G) 24,013 units 1936-41: (1E) 78,827 units
Assembly	Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Designer	& Josef Dauben
Body and chassis
Body style	“Cabrio-Limousine” (2-door Saloon/sedan with fold-away canvas roof) “Limousine” (2-door Saloon/sedan) 2- door Cabriolet Sports (Roadster) Also offered in “bare chassis” configuration 1938/39
Layout	FF layout
Powertrain
Engine	995 cc 4 cylinder in-line side-valve
Transmission	4-speed manual. No synchromesh.
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,630 mm (103.5 in)
Length	1934-35 (1G): 3,860 mm (152.0 in) 1936-41 (1E): 4,250 mm (167.3 in)
Width	1934-35 (1G): 1,450 mm (57.1 in) 1936-41 (1E): 1,470 mm (57.9 in) 1935-37 (Sport): 1,520 mm (59.8 in)
Height	1934-35 (1G): 1,460 mm (57.5 in) 1936-41 (1E): 1,520 mm (59.8 in) 1935-37 (Sport): 1,360 mm (53.5 in)

The Adler Trumpf Junior is a small family car introduced by the Frankfurt based auto-maker, Adler early in 1934. The Adler Trumpf had by now been available for two years, and the Trumpf Junior was conceived as a similar but smaller car which would broaden the range and claim a share of a growing market which DKW were creating with their F1 model, and its successors, for small inexpensive front wheel drive cars.

The Trumpf Junior’s development was a shared responsibility between (1895 – 1937) and his colleague and friend, Adler chief engineer Josef Dauben .

The engine was a four cylinder four stroke 995 cc side-valve unit. Claimed maximum power was of 25 PS (18 kW; 25 hp) at 4,000 rpm. This supported a claimed top speed of 90 km/h (56 mph). Power was delivered to the front wheels via a four speed manual transmission controlled by means of a column mounted lever.

When launched at the start of 1934 the car came with a choice between a small two door “Limousine” (sedan/saloon) with a recommended price of 2,750 Marks and small two door “Cabrio-Limousine” which was effectively a two door sedan/saloon with a canvas foldable roof, available for only 2,650 Marks. Comparisons with the smaller engined DKW Meisterklasse F4 were unavoidable: DKW’s recommended price for the DKWs was 2,500 Marks and 2,600 Marks respectively for their Limousine and Cabrio-Limousine bodied cars.

For 1935 Adler broadened the Trumpf Junior range, now offering in addition to the Limousine and Cabrio-Limousine, two and four seater cabriolets and 2 seater sports models. The range was topped off by a version of sports model with its maximum engine power raised to 25 PS (18 kW; 25 hp), priced at 4,150 Marks.

The bodies on the 1935 cars were of lightweight timber frame construction, covered by a synthetic leather skin. This followed the structural choice still used by DKW for their small front wheel drive DKW Meisterklasse F4. However, the use of synthetic leather skin which had a tendency to rot, attracted adverse comment for both manufacturers and by 1935 buyers of the Adler Trumpf Junior saloon/sedan could pay an extra 200 Marks for a timber frame car covered not by synthetic leather but by sheet steel.

At the start of the 1930s timber frame construction would have been a natural choice for small inexpensive cars. It relied on timber based craft skills that had been developed over generations in the carriage building trade and were still readily available. However, all-steel car bodies were already increasingly mainstream in North America where they had been introduced before the First World War, and they offered clear advantages in terms of reduced weight, increased strength, a better view out (because the strength of the steel allowed for larger windows), and a reduced propensity to burn uncontrollably if an engine caught fire, which in the 1930s engines regularly could. Adler’s own Standard 6 model had, in terms of the German auto-industry, pioneered the use of all-steel car bodies from its launch in 1927. Much of the extra expense of producing steel bodied cars arose before a single car had been produced, with a high capital outlay being needed for investment in the heavy presses and dies needed to produce the pressings for the body panels. But with market demand for small cars growing rapidly in the 1930s, economies of scale entered the picture, and if a manufacturer could amortise the initial capital costs for a single model over many tens of thousand of cars, the unit cost of an all-steel body was no longer prohibitive. In 1936 Adler started to produce the Trumpf Junior saloon/sedan with an all-steel body and priced the car at 2,950 Marks, which was exactly the same price that they were now asking for the same car with a timber frame body. Both body types continued to be listed until 1939, but following a 250 Mark price reduction for the steel bodied car in 1937, it was the steel bodied car that came with the lower price. The standard all-steel bodies were provided by Germany’s larger supplier of steel car bodies, Ambi-Budd of Berlin. Slightly unusually for a car-body design, this one had a name, and the steel bodied Trump Juniors were known as the “Jupiter” bodied Trumpf Juniors. However, the name was one which was shared with the slightly larger steel bodied Adler Trumpf which had been available with an all-steel “Jupiter” steel body from Ambi-Budd since 1932.