Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Hans Ledwinka
Ledwinka, Hans (born in Klosterneuburg (Lower Austria),1878, died in Munich (Germany),1967) was an Austrian automobile designer. Before World War I, Ledwinka worked for Nesselsdorfer and designed Type U. In 1917, he joined Steyr. From 1921 to 1945, he was chief designing engineer of Tatra company in Kopřivnice, Czech Republic (the successor company of Nesselsdorfer). He invented the frameless central tubular chassis (so called backbone chassis) with swing axles, all-independent suspension and rear-mounted air-cooled (so called "pancake") engines.
Ledwinka discussed design ideas with Ferdinand Porsche, and the similarity between his designs of Tatra cars and Porsche's 1938 Kdf-Wagen (known as the VW Beetle after World War II).
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