Hanomag Rekord History

Introduced in autumn 1933 as the 6/32 PS, Hanomag's mid-size car was officially named the Rekord in February 1934 when the company adopted model names. It used a 1.5-litre straight-four OHV petrol engine producing 32–35 PS, with independent front suspension — a notable engineering feature for the period. It was Hanomag's first mid-size model and was available in an unusually wide range of body styles from the factory.

In 1937 a streamlined rear was added and Hanomag began offering the Rekord with a 1.9-litre diesel engine — making it one of the first mass-produced passenger cars in the world to be sold with a compression-ignition engine. The diesel variant attracted both cost-conscious buyers and engineers interested in the technology's potential.

In 1939 a specially prepared streamlined Rekord diesel set an average speed of 155.954 km/h (96.9 mph) on the Reichsautobahn, demonstrating the diesel car's performance credibility at a time when diesel passenger cars were still a novelty. Total production of all Rekord variants reached 19,104 units before the model was discontinued in 1940 as wartime production demands took over.