Protos of Nonnendamm
Protos was a German automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturer in Berlin.
Company History
The company was founded in 1898 by engineer Alfred Sternberg and Oskar Heymann engine factory in Berlin Protos. 1906, the headquarters of the Schöneberg Großgörschenstraße was moved 39 to Berlin -Reinickendorf. The Siemens -Schuckert -Werke took over in 1908 Protos completely and moved the company to the Nonnendamm, where the name Protos car plant Nonnendamm GmbH was created. 1911, the company name (company) has been changed to Protos Automobile GmbH. Protos also developed electric vehicles, some of which were produced in the mountainous man power plants in Berlin Wilhelmsruh. In 1926 the company was sold to AEG, the Protos with the NOS ( National Automobile Company, a subsidiary of AEG) merged. The company NAG - Protos AG stock had only one year to 1927. The Company nos took little later, the Dux Presto works. Thus went out the name part Protos.
The vehicles from Protos
Around 1908 built Protos on Nonnendamm in Berlin an electric trucks for municipal purposes. Designers of commercial vehicles were, inter alia, Valentin Ernst and Franz Starkloph. The vehicle was driven by the rear wheels of two wheel hub motors. In addition to the normal steering wheel were right and left on the outside of the truck additional steering wheels that could be the driver, who was walking alongside the vehicle to be operated. This facility was, inter alia, also with Faun. This community e- truck was also built by Protos as a normal e- truck with four tons of payload and e- bus. The chassis were manufactured by the Siemens - Schuckert and the motors from Siemens & Halske. 1911, the commercial vehicle industry for electric vehicles has been set. In addition to cars and vans again truck and bus types have been from 1913 as a front handlebar with 2.5 tons and made up to 30 hp. During the First World War, many trucks came with 40 hp and 3 t payload as so-called three-ton rule. In addition, a type of truck was built with 50 hp and 4.5 t payload. The automobile AG ( CISA) took over the sale and distribution of the truck. After the war, no longer needed trucks that were stockpiled were until the 1920s still available. The production was limited to passenger cars and vans.
The car - manufacture and models from 1905 to 1927
The car models that were very similar to the former van, at that time enjoyed a good reputation, and Protos was a car manufacturer with a very high appreciation for reliability. This was also mainly from the - sponsored victory of the endurance race from New York to Paris in 1908 - but later knew. However, the vehicle used was a converted truck easier.
A Protos luxury sedan of the Brazilian foreign minister is in the Museum of Rio de Janeiro.
The first car trip around the world
Legendary was the Protos as a participant of the then longest automobile race in the world, went from New York to Paris 1908. The route led across Canada, Alaska, China, Mongolia, Siberia and Russia. Of the six participating starters Protos with Lieutenant Hans Koeppen reached on the steering wheel on 26 July 1908 as the first destination in Paris. They were later on place 2 reset because they were never in Alaska. The first car trip around the world had thus won Thomas (USA). On February 12, 1908 started just six of 13 actually registered vehicles, except the Protos nor the car manufacturers De Dion -Bouton, Motobloc, Sizaire - Naudin, Züst and Thomas (USA) mitmachten.
The Protos car for the World Rally made 40 hp and was a Berlin body corporate, the car factory Jos. Neuss, built just for this purpose. The chassis alone already weighed 1.1 tons; fully equipped and fueled with 800 gallons of gasoline it came to 2.7 t.
The globetrotting Protos can be admired at the Deutsches Museum. The exhibit gave the Siemens - Schuckert 1908 the museum opened five years earlier.