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The Aero Minor is a Czechoslovakia automobile that was manufactured by Aero from 1946 to 1952. It was designed by Jawa Motors engineers on their previous Jawa Minor design; they worked on it secretly during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia.[1] It have a two-cylinder, two-stroke engine with 615cc displacement and front wheel drive. The car reached speeds of up to 90 km/h. The engine produced 20 hp and it had a fuel consumption of 8 l/100 km.[2] It carried saloon and station wagon bodies.
The Aero Minor excelled in its time with its spacious body, quiet operation, low fuel consumption and long service life. A total of 14,178 cars were produced, half of the cars were exported to 23 countries, mainly to the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland. Many long-distance and demonstration rides were undertaken with the Aero Minor. In 1947, the famous traveler František Alexander Elstner set out from Prague to Africa across the Sahara to the Gulf of Guinea and back. In 1948, another Aero Minor reached the Arctic Circle as the first car to reach these places in the winter.
The car was also successful in car competitions and on the racetrack. A sports version Aero Minor Sport competed at 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1949, where it won in its class the second place.[3] For racing purposes, the engine was re-drilled, increasing the displacement to 744 cm3 and power increased to 23 kW (30 hp) at 5000 rpm. This race car was used by many successful Czechoslovak car racers.
References
- ^ "Za první republiky vyráběly osobní auta. Připomeňte si pohrobky českých automobilek". Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). 11 January 2020.
- ^ "Small Car". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Unikátní české auto soupeřilo s Ferrari. Aero Minor Sport, hvězda závodu Le Mans". Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). 21 October 2018.
Sources
^ Hans-Otto Neeubauer, "A.A.G.", in G.N. Georgano, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars 1885-1968 (New York: E.P. Dutton and Co., 1974), pp.28. Library of Congress Card No 68-22674.