It was difficult to see what was front and what was rear.
The Zündapp Janus had doors in the front and rear.
Dornier Delta Prototype for the Janus
Zündapp Janus is a microcar model made by Zündapp in Germany between 1957 and 1958. It was the only car ever made by the company. Originally Zündapp made motorcycles, but in 1954 decided to make a more weatherproof vehicle. They looked at designs from Kroboth, Brütsch, and Fuldamobil before settling for a design by Dornier Flugzeugwerke.
The novel design featured a front-opening door for access to the front
seat, as well as a rear-opening door for access to the rear-facing rear
seat; this "coming or going" design was given the name of the Roman god,
Janus,
usually pictured having two faces: one looks forward while the other
one looks back. The car was powered by a mid-mounted 2-stroke single
cylinder 245 cc (15 cubic inch displacement) engine unique to the Janus
developing 14 hp (10 kW), enabling a top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph). The
suspension was of the MacPherson strut type that proved to be very comfortable.
Production started in June 1957. Only 1,731 cars were made in the
first six months. By mid-1958, Zündapp abandoned the project and sold
the factory to Bosch. A total of 6,902 Zündapp Janus cars were made.
While in racing and sports cars the mid-engine configuration leads to optimal car handling, acceleration and braking, the engine was much lighter than the rear passengers, leading to a variable centre of gravity.
In popular culture
In the animated feature film
Cars 2, the secondary antagonist, Professor Zündapp is based on a Zündapp Janus.
Source: Internet
