The Steyr 2000 was the car with which Steyr-Daimler-Puch returned to passenger car production after the war. It combined the bodies of the Fiat 1400 and 1900 with engines of Steyr’s own design, taken from the lorry programme, and it was built in three series between 1953 and 1959.
Steyr 2000 at a glance
| Maker | Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, Steyr |
|---|---|
| Production | 1953–1959 |
| Bodies | Fiat 1400 and Fiat 1900, built under licence |
| Engine | Steyr WB 405 four-cylinder, overhead valves |
| Engine details | aluminium housing, wet liners, five-bearing crankshaft |
| Gearbox | four-speed (Fiat) or five-speed in the luxury models |
| Layout | front engine, rear-wheel drive |
| Power, first series | 65 PS in both engine versions |
| Power, 2000 A | 70 PS, optional 80 PS |
| Power, 2000 B | 86 SAE-PS |
| Steyr 2300 Sport | 2,240 cc, 95 SAE-PS, about 154 km/h |
| Replaced by | Steyr-Fiat 1800 and 2100 in 1959 |
History of the Steyr 2000
Steyr’s own cars that never were
After the Second World War Steyr wanted to build cars again and had Karl Jenschke design two, a middle-class and an upper-class model, to be powered by lorry petrol engines and styled like the pre-war Steyr 50 and 55. The Steyr 70 was to be a luxury saloon with a V8, the Steyr 60 a middle-class saloon with a two-litre four, and an estate version was to be called the Steyr 160. None of them reached series production. What survived was the engine planned for the Steyr 60, the WB 405, which from 1951 was tried in one of the licence-built Fiat 1400s. The short-stroke four had overhead valves, an aluminium housing with wet liners and a five-bearing crankshaft, sat at the front and drove the rear wheels through the standard Fiat four-speed gearbox. In that combination the car went into production two years later as the Steyr 2000 Standard Mod. Fiat 1400.
Three series
Before production began in 1953, Fiat had brought out the 1900 on the 1400 body, with a bigger engine and more luxurious equipment, and Steyr took over both bodies, so that the range was widened before the start with the Steyr 2000 Luxus Mod. Fiat 1900 and the Steyr 2000 Grand’Vue Mod. Fiat 1900. The first series was built from 1953 to 1954: the Standard used the WB 405 b with a four-speed gearbox and the rest of the Fiat 1400 drive train, while the two luxury models received the WB 405 a with a five-speed gearbox. The hydraulic clutch of the Fiat 1900 was taken over although it was not necessary, and the final drive ratio was changed from 9/40 to 8/37. Both engines gave 65 PS. The second series of 1954 to 1956 followed the Fiat 1400 A and 1900 A bodies and was called the Steyr 2000 A; the engines now gave 70 PS, and for the WB 405 a of the luxury models Steyr offered a power increase to 80 PS with a compression ratio of 7.5:1.
The 2000 B and the 2300 Sport
The third series of 1956 to 1959 took over the Fiat 1400 B and 1900 B bodies as the Steyr 2000 B, and a new model joined it, the Steyr 2300 Sport, available as Luxus and Grand’Vue. The 2000 B engine had a compression ratio of 7.5:1 as standard and gave 86 SAE-PS, six more than the Fiat 1900 B, with a torque of 15.2 kpm against the Fiat’s 13.9. The 2300 Sport used the WB 405 e1 derived from the 2000 B engine with a bore enlarged by 5 mm, which brought the displacement to 2,240 cc; with a compression ratio of 8:1 it gave 95 SAE-PS and 17.5 kpm, and with the standard final drive of 10/41 it reached about 154 km/h, or 162 and 170 km/h with the optional ratios. In 1959 the licence-built Fiat six-cylinder models, sold as the Steyr-Fiat 1800 and 2100, replaced all of these cars, and with them the production of Steyr passenger cars ended.
Design and features
- Fiat bodies, Steyr engines: the 1400 and 1900 coachwork with the Austrian WB 405 four.
- Lorry-derived engine: an aluminium four with wet liners and a five-bearing crankshaft.
- Three levels of trim: Standard, Luxus and Grand’Vue, the last on the 1900 body.
- 2300 Sport: the largest version, 2,240 cc and about 154 km/h.
Steyr 2000 versions
- Steyr 2000 (1953–1954): Standard, Luxus and Grand’Vue, 65 PS.
- Steyr 2000 A (1954–1956): new bodies, 70 PS, optional 80 PS.
- Steyr 2000 B (1956–1959): 86 SAE-PS and more torque.
- Steyr 2300 Sport (1956–1959): 2,240 cc, 95 SAE-PS.
The pre-war cars it echoed were the Steyr 50 and 55, and the firm behind it is described with the Steyr-Daimler-Puch article. More cars are in the Steyr collection.
Sources
- Steyr 2000, German Wikipedia: project cars, engine, three series, 2300 Sport, end of production
- Fiat 1400 and 1900, English Wikipedia: the Steyr 2000 as the Austrian version with a 2.0-litre Steyr engine
