Something I found on eBay: an 'original' 1945 Kettenkrad. This is for sale for a very affordable $146000, and is located in South Africa. ORIGINAL WW2 GERMAN KETTENKRAD NSU HK101, 1945 | eBay As a side note, did they even make these things in 1945? I thought they stopped around 1943.
8345 officially Produced from '40-'44, in the main by NSU & Stoewer with some parts contributions from French firms. But NSU continued assembling pretty standard machines from parts & recoveries until a few years postwar, so there's no reason to suspect a 1945 one isn't an 'Original German WW2' machine. There was also French postwar production of what's basically a Kettenkrad for agricultural use, pretty substantially modified with a backwards drive setup. Sure I've seen some restorations of these to conventional spec. Lovely looking item for sale there anyway, seems familiar so there might well be a specific restoration page out there somewhere. Rich man's game eh? Previous examples spotted in the classifieds: http://www.ww2f.com/wwii-today/20891-kettenkrad-sale.html Or the next 'Death in the desert' sorta documentary... ~A
Always fancied owning a Kettenkrad but never had a spare 80 grand hanging around. Spotted this one at a re-enactors encampment in Normandy, earlier this month.
There is another possibility as per the "year" of the unit. Even here in America many times in the pre-war auto industry a car built in one year is called another year's model. That comes about when the "built" car isn't sold immediately, and then the title is registered in another year. The car then becomes that "model year" rather than the year it was produced. Perhaps, as "Von Poop" mentions it is a "reissue" from parts, or perhaps it was repaired and reissued in 1945. Just another thought on the "production year" number.
No matter the year, I'd gladly drive one to the baker's every day, but I don't have the money either.
Here in Montana it would register as an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle), tracked just like the left over Studebaker "Weasels" do I'm sure. Now while those aren't "cheap" to licence, they can be a one time deal like a classic car. That is how many of the old WW2 Dodge Power Wagons and GMC CCKWs are registered, a classic vehicle for personal use. The plates are NOT transferable, if you sell one the new owner has to go through the whole business over again.
Are registered ATVs road-legal on country roads in Montana? Up here, they aren't. As a loophole, you can register vehicles that don't really fit into any defined category as a "farm vehicle", and you can take those on country roads. Technically you don't even need a license, but it is recommended that you drive as far into the ditch as possible so you don't impede other vehicles. The only catch is that if you get pulled over, you have to prove you are going to one of your fields. That's probably the only way to get a Kettenkrad registered up here in Ontario. Unfortunately, tracked vehicles aren't road-legal up here. I've always wanted a M3 Half track..... I've had some fun registering some "obscure" vehicles with the MTO (DMV eqivilant) up here. Registering a FV622 Stalwart for the road was fun, but paled into comparison to getting it registered as a boat (its amphibious, in case you are wondering).
My jealousy knows no bounds... Still got your Stolly? Some mad Norwegians you've doubtless seen: [video=youtube;3mr_pCrhTkk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mr_pCrhTkk[/video] Back to Kettenkrads. Whoops! [video=youtube;EQTurAvx5Xk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQTurAvx5Xk&feature=related[/video] ~A
Yep. I've had it for almost four years now. Its been into the lake about half a dozen times. Its a fun truck to have - not that easy to park, but still lots of fun. Its has great mobility off road. The Rolls-Royce engine is loud, and I'm sure my neighbors wonder what the heck we're doing when we start it up. On the water: Off the roads: And that's the classic video. When people ask "what is that", I'll pull up the video. You would be amazed over how many people think an "amphibious vehicle" means "goes UNDER the water".
Anyway, back on topic: That video was good. You could tell by the look on the driver's face (over-eager) that something bad was going to happen. And it looks like he lost his Panzerfaust.
I'm glad these guys didn't work for the Nazis. YouTube - Howe & Howe Tech - Trailer | Badger Resurrection‏
That is an interesting question, now the rubber wheeled ATVs are legal on "some" back roads, and the rules change by county, some tracked vehicles are legal, but only on gravel roads, and pavement if they have the rubber inserts and the speed is kept down. The rules aren't "state-wide" on the use of them, and the license amounts also change by county, but the overall rules are state-wide (I think). I've only dealt with four different counties myself, and those were all alike for the most part, just the fees were different.
UPDATE: The Kettenkrad on Ebay didn't sell! Now, if the seller relists it with a 'buy it now' price of around £200 I'll be interested. Dream on!!!
