Details of Cars

Veritas RS: a BMW-engined sports car in Formula One

VERITAS

Veritas RS of 1950
Veritas RS, 1950. Photo by Charles from Port Chester, New York, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Veritas RS was a German sports-racing car built around the BMW 328, and it is the model with which the small Veritas marque appeared in Formula One. Between 1952 and 1953 it took part in five World Championship Grands Prix, its best result a seventh place at the 1952 German Grand Prix driven by Fritz Riess.

Veritas RS at a glance

Veritas RS key facts
Maker Veritas
Model RS (Rennsport)
Production 1949–1950
Basis BMW 328
Engine 2.0-litre BMW 328-derived, 125 hp (93 kW), up to 135 hp (101 kW) in some cars
Later engine 2-litre Heinkel unit of 1998 cm³
Formula One races five World Championship Grands Prix, 1952–1953
Best Formula One result 7th, 1952 German Grand Prix, Fritz Riess
Road version Veritas Komet coupé (1949)
Works location Muggensturm, from 1949

The article is based on one source, the English Wikipedia page on the Veritas RS.

History of the Veritas RS

The BMW 328 connection

The Veritas RS grew out of the BMW 328, the pre-war sports car whose engine and running gear formed the basis of the new machine. Work on the racing sports car was completed in 1949, with the engine output raised to 125 hp (93 kW); some cars reached up to 135 hp (101 kW). The photographs of surviving cars show an open two-seat Spyder body, the layout used for sports-racing cars of the period.

Veritas RS of 1950, another view
Veritas RS, 1950. Photo by Charles from Port Chester, New York, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Formula One

With the RS, Veritas entered five World Championship Grands Prix: the 1952 Swiss, Belgian and German Grands Prix and the 1953 Belgian and German Grands Prix. The best result came at the 1952 German Grand Prix, where Fritz Riess finished seventh. In those years the World Championship was run for Formula One cars, and a two-litre sports-racing car of this kind could still be entered alongside the specialist single-seaters.

The Komet and the move to Muggensturm

1949 also brought the Veritas Komet coupé, a road version of the RS for customers who wanted the car for the road rather than the circuit. In the same year the firm moved to Muggensturm, and there it gave up the two-litre BMW engine of the 328 in favour of a two-litre engine of 1998 cm³ made by Heinkel.

The end of series production

The cars attracted attention: Veritas received 200 orders for its motorised models. The orders were not enough to save the company, however, and poor financial management brought series production to an end in 1950. The RS thus had a short life as a production model, although the cars continued to be seen in competition afterwards.

Design and features

  • BMW 328 basis: the chassis and engine layout came from the pre-war BMW sports car.
  • Tuned two-litre engine: 125 hp as standard, with some cars reaching 135 hp.
  • Formula One record: five World Championship starts in 1952 and 1953, with a best finish of seventh in Germany.
  • Open Spyder body: a two-seat sports-racing layout, as shown by the surviving cars.

Veritas RS versions

  • RS racing car (1949–1950): the BMW-engined sports-racing model.
  • Heinkel-engined cars: after the move to Muggensturm, the BMW unit was replaced by a 1998 cm³ Heinkel engine.
  • Komet coupé (1949): the road version of the RS.

The RS is the racing model of a small German marque; more cars of the make are in the Veritas collection.

Sources