The Zbrojovka Z 18 was a car produced by
Československá Zbrojovka in the 1920s. Derived from the more powerful of two Z 26 designs developed following the
Disk, the Z 18 was first produced in 1925. The car was produced in a variety of body types, including a four seat open-top
phaeton fitted with one, two and four doors,
limousine
A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment.
A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a pr ...
and
landaulet and a two-door
roadster. It had a two-stroke two-cylinder engine which enabled the car to reach a speed of . A total of 2,510 vehicles were produced before production ceased in 1930.
Background
After the failure of the Disk, Zbrojovka was determined that its next car design would be a success. The company had a new engineering team that included the talented František Mackrle and he designed two new designs, both named Z 26, with different engine sizes.
The Board liked the more powerful version, but required the prototype to undergo rigorous testing, including driving over across Europe, crossing the Dolomite and Alps and driving as far as Hamburg.
The car passed the tests and entered production as the 4/18 or Z 18 in 1925.
[
]
Design and development
The Z 18 had a rectangular frame with rigid axles.[ The water cooled, two-stroke two-cylinder engine drove the rear wheels through a three speed gearbox. It had a bore of and stroke , capacity of and a Zenith carburettor.]
The standard car was fitted with 730 x 130 disc wheels, although more expensive versions had Rudge-Whitworth
Rudge Whitworth Cycles was a British bicycle, bicycle saddle, motorcycle and sports car wheel manufacturer that resulted from the merger of two bicycle manufacturers in 1894, Whitworth Cycle Co. of Birmingham, founded by Charles Henry Pug ...
wire wheels. The basic body style was a four seat phaeton which cost 35,000 Kčs in 1926. It was open-top with a single door on the left, steering wheel on the right and a bench seat that was accessed by lowering the left front seat.[
The range of body types available increased over the car's production life. In September 1926, a ]limousine
A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment.
A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a pr ...
version was launched at the Prague Motor Show at a price of 40,500 Kčs. This had a fixed roof with four side windows and more equipment, including an electric cigar lighter and coat hanger. A sports roadster was also available, priced at 45,000 Kčs. Gradually over time, two and four door phaetons, landaulets and other custom designs were added to the range.[ There was also a pickup truck capable of carrying a payload.]
The Z 18 could reach a top speed of and had a typical fuel consumption of between .[
]
Production
2,510 vehicles, including 1,000 commercial vehicles, were sold between 1926 and 1930.[
]
References
{{reflist
Cars introduced in 1926
Cars of the Czech Republic
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles