ZF inside

Alfa Romeo

The Alfa Romeo story started in 1906 when French car manufacturer Alexandre Darracq set up a car manufacturing plant in the Portello district of Milan. Four years of business failure led to a takeover and name change: Anonima Lobarda Fabbrica Automobili – ALFA. ...more

Aston Martin

ZF has always played an important role in vehicles built by exclusive sports car manufacturers. The Aston Martin DBS is a good example. Nearly 800 hundred units of this sleek coupé were built between 1967 and 1972. ZF supplied the S 5-24/2 5-speed manual transmission and optional power steering. The rotary piston valve and pressure tube for the power steering was supplied by ZF. ...more

BMW

In 1928, BMW took over Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach A.G., producer of the Dixi small car, and thus entered the car manufacturing industry producing its first automobile on 22 March 1929. The car was designated 3/15 PS and was a licensed version of the British Austin Seven. ...more

Büssing

In 1903, Heinrich Büssing established the Heinrich Büssing Motorlastwagen- und Motoren-Fabrik in Braunschweig, Germany. The first Büssing vehicle– the Büssing ZU 550 – was built in October 1903 and is still on display at the Deutsche Museum in Munich. A subsidiary plant was opened in Salzgitter in 1964. The “Burglöwe” model, named after the Braunschweig mountain lion symbol, was the first to be produced and was later followed by a series of buses. ...more

DKW

In 1932, Audi, Horch, Wanderer and DKW merged to form Auto Union AG, with headquarters in the region of Saxony. In World War II, the factory was destroyed, and subsequently expropriated and placed under Soviet administration. The IFA – and later Wartburg – models were manufactured in these plants. However, some of the managers smuggled the plans to Ingolstadt and Düsseldorf, where new factories were built. ...more

Fahr

In April 1870, Johann Georg Fahr established the Maschinenfabrik Fahr in Gottmadingen. He was laying the foundation for an agricultural machinery manufacturer that would grow into one of the biggest in Europe. The company founder began by fabricating fodder shredders, manual threshing machines, beet cutters, straw mills, saws, fruit and wine presses, elevators and brewery equipment. Production of tractors and development of combined harvesters commenced in 1938. ...more

Fendt

When the Fendt brothers started to build tractors with their father, Johann Georg, in a forge they could have had little idea of the immense changes that tractor technology would undergo in the 20th century. Their philosophy was clear from the start: to convince customers with new technical solutions, economy and reliability. The first European small tractor was born in 1930, powered at just 6 bhp. ...more

Ford

In the sixties, Ford built the GT 40 racing car. The company’s patriarch, Henry Ford II, wanted a car to compete with Ferrari. His intention was to show the Italians who was best on the racetrack. The Ford GT 40 became a cult car after the Ford GT 40 Armada finished one-two-three at the 1966 Le Mans – a race that Ferrari had dominated over the previous years. ...more

Hanomag

The Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG, since 1904 named Hanomag, has an exciting history. The company roots go back to the machine factory founded by Georg Egestorff 1835, one of the first locomotive manufacturers in Germany. ...more

Horch

August Horch is one of the great pioneers of motor vehicle technology. His very first car employed revolutionary technology: a front-mounted two-cylinder engine with an aluminum crankcase. He was the first manufacturer in Germany to use aluminum castings in engine and transmission housings, a driveshaft to transmit the engine power and high-strength steel for gearwheels. His achievements also include the first practical implementation of left-hand drive. ...more

Kaelble

In 1933, the German national railway operator, Reichsbahn, developed the “Culemeyer” low-loader to transport railcars on roads. For this purpose, special road tractors were developed by Kaelble, based in Backnang. The company became a preferred supplier to the Reichsbahn and subsequently also Deutsche Bundesbahn. This development led on to the production of trucks and dumpers, in which Kaelble predominantly used ZF steering systems and transmissions, and later also axles. ...more

Krupp

The name derives from the world of Greek gods: when it was introduced in the early fifties, the 210 bhp Krupp Titan was the most powerful German long-distance truck. The Titan became a power legend. The technical details of the Krupp L80 also overshadowed everything else on Germany's roads. ...more

Lotus

ZF had very close links with the legendary Lotus Formula 1 cars in the sixties: Colin Chapman, the creator of Lotus, worked closely with ZF design engineers. Transmissions were developed at the request of Colin Chapman and produced in Friedrichshafen. In the golden years from 1963 to 1968, Lotus won countless Formula 1 races. ...more

MAN

MAN is an acronym, made up from the initials of the two originating mechanical engineering companies in Augsburg and Nuremberg, founded in 1840 and 1841 respectively. The two companies merged in 1898 to form Vereinigte Maschinenfabrik Augsburg and Maschinenbaugesellschaft Nürnberg AG. Ten years later, the company was renamed Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg AG, Augsburg (M.A.N.). ...more

Maserati

Maserati is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Modena that started out on 1 December 1914 as Società Anonima Officine Alfieri Maserati. The company was founded by the Maserati brothers: Alfieri, Bindo, Ernesto and Ettore in Bologna. The Maserati badge takes the form of a trident, after the famous Neptune fountain in Bologna. ...more

Mercedes Benz

Mercedes-Benz is a German car brand that was formed in 1926 by the merger of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, owned by Gottlieb Daimler, and Benz & Cie, owned by Carl Benz. The brand name was created by adding Mercedes (from Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft) and Benz (from Benz & Co.). ...more

Messerschmitt

The motor scooter was an ideal concept for sunny southern Europe. And it wasn’t long before the bubble car – a micro-vehicle powered by a motorcycle engine was introduced for the cooler, rainier climate of northern Europe. These cars were mostly three-wheelers – because this type of vehicle doesn’t need a heavy, expensive differential. Fritz Fend designed the vehicle after Messerschmitt was denied permission to continue producing aircraft after the war. ...more

Peugeot

Peugeot is a French vehicle manufacturer and one of the world’s oldest automobile brands (continuous production since 1891). Together with Citroën, Peugeot is a member of the PSA Group. In addition to motor vehicles, Peugeot also produces motorcycles, scooters, power tools and grinders for the construction industry as well as salt and pepper mills. ...more

Porsche

Porsche was established in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche as a design studio. The company was entered in the Stuttgart commercial register on 25 April 1931 as “Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, Konstruktionen and Beratungen für Motoren und Fahrzeugbau”. The company also had a team of technicians and engineers. ...more

Setra

Porsche was established in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche as a design studio. The company was entered in the Stuttgart commercial register on 25 April 1931 as “Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, Konstruktionen and Beratungen für Motoren und Fahrzeugbau”. The company also had a team of technicians and engineers. ...more