What is believed to be the first Scampolo single-seater with builder Walter Komossa behind the wheel. Photos courtesy of 500race.org.
Known as Formula Three, the 500cc racing class of single seaters was always a hotly contested group. The most popular cars were the British-built Coopers with their sleek shapes and fast revving 500cc Norton and JAP air-cooled motorcycle engines. But there was some competition from Germany, in the name of Scampolo.
Two-stroke DKW engine incorporated a DKW front-wheel drive assembly to transmit power to the rear wheels.
Not far from the Netherlands border in western Germany, in the small town of Recklinghausen, two men, Walter Arnold and Walter Komossa, built their own version of a single seater race car during the late 1940s to compete against the Coopers. With the help of engineering students at the Recklinghausen Technical Research Bureau, the first Scampolo was fitted with a two-stroke, two-cylinder DKW water-cooled engine mounted in the rear, just like the rear-engined Coopers.
The drive to the rear wheels was achieved by using a modified DKW front-wheel drive gearbox assembly, along with a De Dion suspension system. As indicated by the website 500race.org, “the car was light and nimble and performed very well, winning nearly all the German races in 1948 in Komossa’s hands.”
Large opening provides much needed air to the air-cooled cylinders. Note opening in bodywork for the shifter.
Subsequent Scampolos were constructed using BMW twins and also Wartburg powertrains. As to the Italian sounding name, Scampolo was the name of a well-known Germany comedy film from 1932 called, “Scampolo, A Child of the Streets.”
Although little else is known about these distinctive looking race cars, or how many were produced, from around 1949 to 1961 Scampolo played a small, yet intricate part of post-war Germany’s racing scene.
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