1950 Veritas Scorpion Cabriolet
The Scorpion was Veritas’ open two-seater, clothed in aluminum coachwork by Karosseriebau Spohn of Ravensburg, whose pre-war commissions included bodies for Bugatti and Maybach.
For this model, Spohn produced a clean, low-slung shape with a long hood and flowing fenders, a somewhat quieter exercise than the shop’s more extravagant concurrent work, carried on a 102-inch (2,600 mm) wheelbase.
Veritas launched in March 1947 in Hausen am Andelsbach, near Hockenheim, founded by three engineers who’d conceived of the project while serving in wartime France.
Ernst Loof had led BMW’s racing division when the marque won the 1940 Mille Miglia; Lorenz Dietrich was a long-time BMW sales manager; and Georg “Schorsch” Meier had won the 1939 Isle of Man TT on a BMW and was also a pre-war Auto Union Grand Prix driver.
All-independent front suspension with upper and lower control arms, longitudinal torsion bars, and a De Dion rear axle with longitudinal torsion bars gave the chassis a technically sophisticated foundation; rack-and-pinion steering was employed.
A Veritas-designed five-speed gearbox transferred power from the 1,988 cc BMW 328-derived inline-six, which used an OHV valvetrain operated by transverse rocker arms and produced roughly 90 bhp.
Fewer than 78 Veritas cars are estimated to have been built across all models.
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