1930s Röhr Tatzelwurm — 🐉 The Forgotten German Car That Looked Like a Mythical Creature

The Röhr Tatzelwurm is one of the strangest aerodynamic automobiles of the 1930s. Built around a Röhr Junior chassis, this tiny German experimental car abandoned the conventional fenders, running boards and upright bodywork of its era and replaced them with an incredibly smooth, rounded shape designed to reduce aerodynamic resistance. The Tatzelwurm featured recessed headlights, sweeping front fenders that flowed directly into the nose, covered wheels and a rounded rear section that made the car look more like a miniature aircraft fuselage than a normal automobile. Even more surprisingly, its roof could be opened and folded toward the rear, allowing the streamlined car to transform into an open-top roadster. Underneath the unusual handmade body was the mechanical foundation of a 1933 Röhr Junior, a compact German automobile derived from the Tatra 75 under license. The chassis featured independent suspension on all four wheels and a central beam-style structure. The special body was constructed from sheet metal with wood used in parts of the structure, creating a remarkably light automobile weighing approximately 1,980 pounds. Power came from the Röhr Junior's 1.485-liter air-cooled flat-four engine, producing around 30 horsepower. The engine was mounted at the front and drove the rear wheels through a four-speed manual transmission. With its modest power and approximately 1,980-pound weight, the Tatzelwurm relied heavily on its aerodynamic body rather than brute force. The standard Röhr Junior was capable of approximately 56 mph, and the Tatzelwurm's lighter, smoother body made its limited power far more effective. The entire concept was based on reducing resistance and mass rather than installing a large engine. The car also had a surprisingly practical life. Rather than becoming a static exhibition piece, the Tatzelwurm was used as a functioning automobile. German authorities later entrusted its creator with work involving measurements of the surface regularity of newly constructed autobahns, and the unusual prototype became his transportation for the job. Remarkably, the car remained with the Ostwald family and was reportedly used as regular transportation for approximately 40 years. That long period of everyday use makes the survival of the original body, chassis and documentation even more remarkable. The chassis number 10227 survived with the automobile, together with period documentation and construction plans. The nickname Tatzelwurm, referring to a mythical German creature resembling a serpent with a cat-like head, is an almost perfect description for a car this unusual. The surviving Röhr Tatzelwurm was eventually offered at the 2023 Artcurial Rétromobile auction and sold for €38,144. Today, it remains an extraordinary example of prewar aerodynamic experimentation — a tiny 30-horsepower automobile that looked as though it had escaped from the future. If you enjoy rare prototypes, strange engineering, aerodynamic experiments and forgotten cars that refused to follow the rules, subscribe to On Wheels for more incredible machines from automotive history. #RohrTatzelwurm #Tatzelwurm #RohrJunior #GermanCars #1930sCars #GermanStreamliner #AerodynamicCars #StreamlinedCars #FuturisticCars #RareCars #ForgottenCars #UnusualCars #WeirdCars #ClassicCars #VintageCars #PrewarCars #PrototypeCars #ExperimentalCars #AutomotiveHistory #OnWheels Support the channel and get exclusive perks:    / @youtubeonwhels