Erling Poppe (12 November 1898 – 1970) was an Austrian-born English-raised motor vehicle designer who studied engineering in Birmingham, England, and designed

Packman & Poppe Motorcycles Packman & Poppe (P&P) was a British motorcycle manufacturer. Founded by Erling Poppe and Gilmour Packman the first motorcycle was produced in 1922 with a two-stroke engine. This was followed by a side-valve machine with a JAP V-twin engine in ...

Sunbeam motorcycles A sunbeam, in meteorological optics, is a beam of sunlight that appears to radiate from the position of the Sun. Shining through openings in clouds or between other objects such as mountains and buildings, these beams of particle-scattered sunl ...

and Gordon three-wheeler cars.

Early life

Poppe was born in

Steyr Steyr (; Central Bavarian: ''Steia'') is a statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd l ...

, Austria, 12 November 1898, the son of Norwegian

Peter August Poppe Peter August Poppe (17 August 1870 – 13 February 1933) was a Norwegian-born engineer, designer and developer of engines and complete motor vehicles for the British motor industry. He was a co-founder of the engine manufacturer White and Poppe. ...

and Frederikke Emilie Poppe,1911 census Findmypast while his father had been on loan to

Steyr Mannlicher Steyr Arms () is a firearms manufacturer based in Sankt Peter in der Au, Austria. Originally part of Steyr-Daimler-Puch, it became independent when the conglomerate was broken up in 1989. Prior to 1 January 2019, the company was named Steyr M ...

. The whole family were settled in Coventry by February 1901 when their next child was born.

Motor cycles

At Packman & Poppe Motorcycles in 1922 Erling Poppe was responsible for their first motorcycle which featured a 250 cc two-stroke engine, a 976 cc side-valve machine with a

JAP ''Jap'' is an English abbreviation of the word "Japanese". Today, it is generally regarded as an ethnic slur. In the United States, some Japanese Americans have come to find the term very offensive, even when used as an abbreviation. Prior to t ...

V-twin engine in 1923 and the ''Silent Three'' using a 350 cc Barr and Stroud sleeve-valve engine. Poppe designed the

Sunbeam S7 and S8 The Sunbeam S7 and S8 are British motorcycles designed by Erling Poppe with styling loosely based on the BMW R75 designs that were acquired as war reparations by BSA (full rights to the Sunbeam brand had been acquired from AMC in 1943). ...

motorcycles based on the

BMW R75 : ''For the 1970s 750 cc motorcycles see BMW R75/5, BMW R75/6, or BMW R75/7'' The BMW R75 is a World War II-era motorcycle and sidecar combination produced by the German company BMW. The BMW R75 stands out by its integral two-wheel drive des ...

designs that were acquired by BSA (together with the full rights to the

Sunbeam A sunbeam, in meteorological optics, is a beam of sunlight that appears to radiate from the position of the Sun. Shining through openings in clouds or between other objects such as mountains and buildings, these beams of particle-scattered sunl ...

brand) at the end of World War II. Built in Redditch, the engine layout was an unusual in-line 500 cc twin with a shaft drive to the rear wheel.

Motorcars

At Gordon, Poppe designed a three-wheeled two-seater with a single front wheel. The single-cylinder, 197 cc, Villiers engine was mounted next to the driver (RHD), outside of the body with an external chain-drive to one rear wheel. Access to the interior was via a single door. The steel body had a folding fabric roof, and at £300 it was the cheapest car on the UK market.The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. Edited by

G.N. Georgano George Nicolas "Nick" Georgano (29 February 1932 – 22 October 2017Nick Georgano
Alvis Archive Bl ...

. Published by George Rainbird Ltd, 1973.Linz, Schrader: ''Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie.''Georgano: ''The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poppe, Erling British automobile designers Norwegian emigrants to the United Kingdom Alumni of the University of Birmingham 1898 births 1970 deaths