This small streamline sedan was built by Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG.
This German company was producing passenger cars (including the famous rear-engine Kommissbrot) as early as the 1920s but they struggled financially through that decade. In 1931, Hanomag had 25% of the small-car market in Germany, trailed by DKW (19%) and BMW (17%). The following year they gambled on concentrating on a single series–the 1.1 Liter (later renamed Garant). The gamble worked, and soon it was necessary to run the plant two-shifts to meet the demand. By 1936, Hanomag would celebrate building 65,000 cars. The same year the company introduced their first Diesel passenger car, the Rekord (sic!) 1.9 Liter.
The Hanomag you see here was introduced in 1939 as a modern, streamlined, economical middle-class family car with a self-supporting body. It was built for one year and never received a “real” name but was always referred to as the “1.3 Liter.”
via Bernd Lange @ Flickr
Actually, the 32 hp engine was just one cc short of 1.3 L (1299 cc), allowing for speeds up to 115 km/h (72 mph). The gearbox was four-speed manual.
Falling roughly in the same category with the KdF-Wagen aka the Beetle, this streamliner was much more expensive (no government funding!). It's competition were the Opel Olympia and Ford Taunus, both powered with a 4-cylinder water-cooled engine and belonging to the same price range, 2000-2500 Reichsmark, while the 'People's Car' price tag was 990 Reichsmark. To serve a pleasant reminder: in 1939, the exchange rate was 2.50 Reichsmark for 1 US Dollar.
via Raymondx1 @ Flickr
1939 Hanomag advertisement from Berlin Auto Salon brochure
By 1940 Hanomag turned to war production and began producing 4.2 liter, 6 cylinder Maybach engines for military vehicles. The 1.3 Liter model (9,187 units produced) would be Hanomag’s last prewar passenger car.
Source: Lane Motor Museum
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