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Johann Puch Museum

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Yesterday, I visited the Johann Puch Museum of Graz. Johann Puch founded a company in Graz that got famous for their bicycles, motorcycles and cars.

I do recommend you to visit the museum on your own since there are many cool artifacts to see.

Here are just a few impressions from my trip.

Bicycles

The longest time, Steyr was producing very reliable bicycles. I was not aware of BMX and a high-riser:

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Steyr Bicycles (click for a larger version)

Nearly indestructible were the famous bicycles named "Waffenrad". You can find many of them still being used by hipsters and such:

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Steyr Waffenräder (click for a larger version)

This was my personal high-light of the show: when I was working as a consultant at Steyr Daimler Puch in the 90s, I was doing business also in the styling and design department. It was there, when I saw this awesome Steyr Puch concept bicycle standing elevated on one of the shabby wooden shelves.

The designers themselves explained me their ideas. For example, below the saddle you can see a small compartment. It was used to store tools and had some spare space for other stuff. The front and back lights were integrated. I instantly fell in love with it. And now I found it in the museum:

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Konzeptfahrrad (click for a larger version)

Here is a nice adaptation of a standard bicycle for riding in show. Instead of a front wheel you can see a skid. The back wheel has some spikes for improving traction:

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Schneefahrrad (click for a larger version)

Motorcycles

Puch motorcycles were a major market share for many decades in Austria. Although, it did not really begin that early as suggested by the following photograph:

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Deco (click for a larger version)

Beautiful old machines are displayed like this sidecar motorcycle:

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Sidecar Motorcycle: Puch-Typ 6 HP V (click for a larger version)

The Puch Maxi was the first motorized vehicle for many generations. And to my surprise, there were some models with an electric drive:

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Elektro Puch-Maxi (click for a larger version)

These are just beautiful to watch:

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caption (click for a larger version)

Cars

The Puch 500 is a very well-known classic here in Austria. This one looks particularly funny with its rally-adaptations:

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Ralley-Puch 500 (click for a larger version)

Everybody who served in the Austrian army knows the Haflinger which is a very small all-terrain vehicle. Or at least it tries to be. In the museum, you can find a snowcat version of it:

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Leichtes Pistengeraet (click for a larger version)

As the Haflinger got a bit old-fashioned for the general market, Steyr Daimler Puch tried to come up with a modernized version with an electric drive. Sadly, it never got into mass production:

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Elektro-Milla Haflinger-Nachfolger (Konzept) (click for a larger version)

Since Steyr Daimler Puch Fahrzeugtechnik and later Magna-Steyr worked for many different automotive companies, they also did some research work for them. This, for example, is a VW Golf with a fuel cell drive:

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Brennstoffzellen-Golf (click for a larger version)

Before I stopped working with and for Magna, there was a very interesting internal project named MILA ("Magna Innovation Lightweight Auto"). It was kept secret even among the employees until it was presented to the public. It is a concept car to demonstrate the ability of Magna to build a modern vehicle from scratch:

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Magna Steyr mila (click for a larger version)

The MILA was not just one single car, it was a concept for a range of vehicles. Therefore, there were several MILA cars that got produces for automotive fairs such as the Geneva Motor Show:

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Magna Steyr mila (click for a larger version)

If you want to see the other concept cars, many more prototypes and single-car adaptations, go and visit the museum in Graz. Explore history.

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