Austro-Daimler ADME. One of the world’s earliest hybrid cars

Austro-Daimler ADM-E (“Electric”)

The Austro-Daimler ADM-E was one of the first hybrid automobiles in the world. Its gasoline engine was started via an electric starter controlled from the steering wheel. The engine was directly connected to a rear-mounted electric generator that powered a controllable electric motor, thereby eliminating the need for a complex gear-shifting system. The ADM-E was rated at 52 HP (38 kW), although some sources cite 60 HP (44 kW). Unfortunately, this prototype never entered mass production.

The development of the ADM-E was likely driven by the search for transmission solutions. Between 1923 and 1935, the vehicle and its creator moved between Austria and Germany. In 1923, Austro-Daimler ended its collaboration with Ferdinand Porsche; he subsequently moved to Stuttgart to take up key positions at Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG), bringing the experimental ADM-E with him. In 1935, after returning to Stuttgart and establishing his own design firm, Porsche donated the car to the Technical Museum in Vienna.