Jehle was an automotive company based in

Schaan, Liechtenstein Schaan () is the largest municipality of Liechtenstein by population. It is located to the north of Vaduz, the capital, in the central part of the country. it has a population of 6,039 making it the most populous administrative district in Lie ...

, that operated during the late 1970s to the early 1990s. Founded by Xavier Jehle, it was only one of two automotive companies ever to be based in

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

; the other was

Orca Engineering Orca Engineering was a sports car company based in Liechtenstein. Orca designed and manufactured the Orca 113 platform, as well as the upcoming Beck LM800. Founded in 2003 by René Beck and his son Ralph, the company is most known for the Orca 113 ...

History

Jehle started with two variations on the buggy concept: the Mathies-Buggy and the Jehle Safari. The Mathies-Buggy was not driven by the typical

Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...

engine, but rather the flat

Volkswagen Bus Volkswagen Bus or Volkswagen Van is a type of vehicle produced by Volkswagen/Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. There have been a number of notable versions of it produced. Volkswagen Bus light commercial vehicles Six generations of Volkswagen Transp ...

1600 cc engine, while the Safari was a

Citroën Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...

-Boxer-based fun car similar to the

Citroën Méhari The Citroën Méhari is a lightweight recreational and utility vehicle, manufactured and marketed by French carmaker Citroën over 18 years in a single generation. Built in front-wheel (1968–1988) and four-wheel drive (1980–1983) var ...

, Both were sold as kits. One model, the Saphier, was a wedge-shaped

coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

, whose upper body section opened completely for access to the cockpit; it was offered in a variety of configurations. The basic model was built on a VW Beetle floor plan with a turbocharged

Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates ...

engine, while at the upper end of the lineup was a

mid-engine In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle. History The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout of ...

model with

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

construction, and a tuned 5-liter

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

V8. There were also heavily tuned conversions of the Italian

De Tomaso Pantera The De Tomaso Pantera is a mid-engine sports car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer De Tomaso from 1971 to 1992. Italian for "Panther", the Pantera was the automaker's most popular model, with over 7,000 manufactured over its twenty-year ...

with a

Catalytic converter A catalytic converter is an exhaust emission control device that converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalyzing a redox reaction. Catalytic converters are usually ...

, double turbocharger, and five valves per cylinder, producing up to . The company also built a prototype

V12 V12 or V-12 may refer to: Aircraft * Mil V-12, a Soviet heavy lift helicopter * Pilatus OV-12, a planned American military utility aircraft * Rockwell XFV-12, an American experimental aircraft project * Škoda-Kauba V12, a Czechoslovak experim ...

coupe reminiscent of the

Lamborghini Countach The Lamborghini Countach () is a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini from 1974 until 1990. It is one of the many exotic designs developed by Italian design house Bertone, wh ...

, but with insignificant funds to finish the prototype Jehle folded.

References

External links

*Lawrence, Mike, ''A to Z of Sports Cars''. Bideford: Bay View Books, 1991. *''Auto Katalog'' Motorbuch-Verlag 1979 to 1992 * Bill Hartford: ''Imports & Motorsports'' (Kolumne). In ''Popular Mechanics''. September 1982, Band 158, Nr. 3, ISSN 0032-4558, p. 14 () Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1970 Car manufacturers of Liechtenstein Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Liechtenstein 1970 establishments in Liechtenstein Schaan {{motorvehicle-company-stub