Towarzystwo Budowy Samochodów AS - Polish Automotive Pioneers

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Vintage car participating in a street event in Indonesia, showcasing classic automotive style.
Credit: pexels.com, Vintage car participating in a street event in Indonesia, showcasing classic automotive style.

Towarzystwo Budowy Samochodów AS was a pioneering automotive company in Poland. They were established in 1896 in Warsaw.

Their early years were marked by innovative designs and production methods. The company's first car, the AS 1899, was a three-wheeled vehicle that showcased their creative approach to automotive engineering.

Towarzystwo Budowy Samochodów AS played a significant role in the development of Poland's automotive industry.

History

Towarzystwo Budowy Samochodów AS was founded in 1924 by Warsaw-based businessman Jan Łaski and engineer Czesław Zbierański.

The company's headquarters were based at 16 Srebrna Street, Warsaw, and the first prototypes of the AS car were made on January 4, 1927.

The car was manufactured in four different body styles: taxi landaulet, convertible, limousine, and panel van.

The taxi landaulet version was the most popular, with around 100 cars made, while the other versions had around 50 cars made each.

You could also order just the chassis, paying a lower price.

For more insights, see: Poland Warsaw Currency

Credit: youtube.com, Historia samochodu

The company was awarded a silver medal for its AS cars at the 1929 Polish General Exhibition in Poznań.

Its cars were praised for their noiseless, non-resistive, and precise way of closing their doors.

Aleksander Liberman bought stock shares in the company from Łaski in 1929 and became the owner.

The car stopped being manufactured in 1930 due to the Great Depression.

A fire in 1932 destroyed most of the machinery in the assembly line, and only a small number of cars from the third series were manufactured.

Here are the different engine options available for the AS car:

  • AS S1/S2 – silnik o mocy 17 KM
  • AS S1/S2 – silnik o mocy 24 KM

Around 150 AS cars were manufactured in total, with three series produced.

Models

Towarzystwo Budowy Samochodów AS offered a range of vehicle models, including a taxi-landaulet and a convertible.

The company's models were also available as a limousine and a delivery van.

Here are some of the specific models available:

  • taxi-landaulet
  • kabriolet (convertible)
  • limuzyna (limousine)
  • furgon dostawczy (delivery van)

Vehicle Models

The Modele section of our article reveals that the available car models were quite diverse. They included taxi-landaulet, cabriolet, limuzyna, and a delivery van.

Credit: youtube.com, New model car releases for late 2025 & early to mid 2026

One of the notable features of these models is that they were offered in various body styles. For example, the taxi-landaulet was a convertible taxi.

Here are some of the car models that were available:

  • Taxi-landaulet
  • Kabriolet
  • Limuzyna
  • Furgon dostawczy

These models were part of a larger range of vehicles that were available at the time.

Pz Inż 403 Lux-Sport

The PZInż 403 Lux-Sport was a Polish car designed to be 100% Polish. It was the result of a team led by Zygmunt Okołow.

This sleek car had an 8-cylinder, wide-angle engine producing 95 horsepower. It could reach speeds of 135 kilometers per hour.

The PZInż 403 Lux-Sport could accommodate up to seven people. It was a large vehicle for its time.

The car was expected to be quite expensive, priced at 40,000 Polish złotys. This was a significant amount of money, especially considering the rapid growth of car sales in Poland before the German invasion.

Curious to learn more? Check out: Lux Industries

Pre-War Vehicles

Towarzystwo Budowy Samochodów AS was a Polish manufacturer that produced pre-war vehicles.

Road in modern city street with lights through car window in rainy weather
Credit: pexels.com, Road in modern city street with lights through car window in rainy weather

The company's first car, the AS 1, was a small, lightweight vehicle designed for the Polish market.

It had a 1.1-liter engine and a three-speed manual transmission.

The AS 1 was a simple, reliable car that was well-suited for the roads of Poland at the time.

The company also produced the AS 5, a larger vehicle with a more powerful engine.

The AS 5 had a 2.5-liter engine and a four-speed manual transmission.

Pz Inż 403

The PZInż 403 was a Polish car designed by the team led by Zygmunt Okołow at Państwowe Zakłady Inżynieryjne.

It was a very modern-looking vehicle with an 8-cylinder, wide-angle engine that produced 95 horsepower.

The PZInż 403 Lux-Sport could reach speeds of 135 kilometers per hour and had a seating capacity of up to seven people.

The car was expected to have a price tag of 40,000 Polish złotys, a very hefty sum at the time.

This was a significant investment, even considering the rapid growth of car sales in the years leading up to the German invasion.

Oscar Lowe

Copy Editor

Oscar Lowe has honed his skills as a copy editor, meticulously refining texts to ensure clarity and precision. His expertise spans a variety of financial topics, particularly those related to banking and financial institutions in Ghana. As a dedicated editor, Oscar has worked closely with the Ghana Association of Banks, contributing to the dissemination of accurate and insightful information on banking practices and regulations.

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