The Amazing Denzel Sports Car
JAMES S PERRIN & MARK R BRINKER, Magnificent Denzel LLC, £154, ISBN 979 8 218 08079 2
It has the same inverted-bathtub shape as a Porsche, it was based on the same VW underpinnings as the original 356, and, like Porsche, it was built in Austria – but the Denzel is a much rarer fish. At one time, estimates for total production ranged up to 350; now the coauthors of this two-volume definitive history have whittled that figure down to 62 cars completed. Of those, just 32 are definitely known to survive.
Wolfgang Denzel was a keen motorcycle racer before World War Two, and post-war he developed an automotive import business that is still one of Austria’s top 100 companies. He’s also credited with developing the BMW 700 that helped transform the German car-maker’s fortunes during the late 1950s.
Denzel’s passion,