Rumpler Tropfenwagen

The Rumpler Tropfenwagen ("Rumpler drop car", named after its raindrop shape) was a car developed by Austrian engineer Edmund Rumpler to be streamlined with a very low drag coefficient.

Introduced at the Berlin Motor Show in September 1921 when the AVUS opened, the tall underpowered passenger car was neither suitable for speeding runs on the AVUS circuit, nor was there any Reichsautobahn highway or paved Reichsstraße road network yet on which it could, as Grand tourer, make good use of its low drag.

Designed with two pointed ends, with the driver sitting in center front, and passenger seats at the widest part of the body, it also pioneered Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout with a long wheel base. Despite the lack of a luggage compartment the Rumpler cars were mainly used as taxis in Berlin where low drag was no benefit, but easy low entry for passengers was, as there was no drive shaft running through the cabin. Combined with a tall ceiling, the Rumpler taxi predates modern low-floor buses, while windscreen-less Rumpler chassis led to modern race cars, as three Benz RH Tropfenwagen raced in the 1923 Italian Grand Prix.