Stunning and Rare Images of The 1935 Adler Diplomat 8 Wheels

The Adler Diplomat is a substantial six-cylinder “limousine” built by the Frankfurt auto-maker, Adler. It was introduced in March 1934 as a direct replacement for the manufacturer’s Standard 6. Less directly the six-cylinder Diplomat also replaced the Adler Standard 8 since Adler’s large eight-cylinder car was discontinued in 1934 without a direct replacement of its own.

The Diplomat initially, in 1934, took over the body from the previous year’s Adler Standard 6. However, the Standard Six had received an all new body for its final year of production, and for keen eyed observers the final year’s Standard Six was differentiated from the first year’s Diplomat by redesigned fender aprons. The chassis which had been a defining feature of the 1933 Standard 6 had been of an underslung design whereby the axles emerged directly above the principal chassis members: this allowed for a lower centre of gravity and a lower-bodied car than the overslung chassis, with axles mounted directly below the chassis, which had left the earlier Standard Six looking unfashionably high-bodied in the early 1930s.

h/t: vintag.es

The four-door “Limousine” (sedan/Saloon) came with an all-steel body from Ambi-Budd, the country’s largest specialist steel body producer, based in the Spandau district of Berlin. A longer wheel base six light “Pullman-Limousine” with six seats was also offered, its body probably also from Ambi-Budd. There were in addition two cabriolet-bodied cars offered.

For 1935 the Diplomat received new bodywork which now featured a bulging (and more streamlined) front grill and more shapely wings over the wheels. The six-light limousine still had a relatively vertical rear, but the other cars now had a far more streamlined tail section than the 1934 Diplomats. The 1935 upgrade left the car with longer overhangs, notably at the back, which increased the car’s length by 150 mm (5.9 in). However, the 3,200 mm (130 in) and 3,350 mm (132 in) wheelbase, respectively for four-seater and six-seater cars, was not changed in 1935.

The four front wheels of this novel car turn in unison for steering. The wheels are grouped in two sets of four each at the front and rear of the machine—an arrangement imposing an unusual mechanical problem in the design of steering apparatus. The inventor has overcome this difficulty by adapting the two forward pairs of wheels so that they swing in unison for making turns.

The Adler Diplomat was no longer offered for sale in 1939, although records show that a few cars were built on 1939 and in 1940, presumably for military use or export.