The Avia III, a unique BMW's 750cc engined race car

ONE-OFF Sometimes the state's uncomfortable and unfavorable conditions that must be felt by automotive activists due to non-technical factors such as politics, ideology and others, do not always automatically kill their creativity either. 

1956 Avia III made of aircraft grade aluminum and built by Miroslav Jurca. (Picture from: Bringatrailer)

Well, at certain moments able to produce a work that is quite brilliant such as a unique car which was originally built from a motorcycle called the Avia III (chassis VH500328PT003) which was built in 1956. This BMW motorcycle engined race car specifally built in an aircraft factory near Prague by an employee, doctor, and pilot as well as a racer named Miroslav Jurca.

1956 Avia III built by Miroslav Jurca has a view out front over those highly swept fenders must be resembled of a half-scale of the Auto Union streamliner. (Picture from: Bringatrailer)

In terms of form, the body design of this racing car looks very unique made of aircraft grade aluminum. The race car is engineered and assembled to very impressive standards. Once completed, it was seen at various local racing events in Czechoslovakia and driven by Jurca himself.

1956 Avia III'’s cabin is extremely minimal but nicely finished, with visual highlights including the tiny, button-like brake and clutch pedals, exposed shifter mechanism and cord wrapped steering wheel. (Picture from: Bringatrailer)

As is known at the time, (the country was still called Czechoslovakia) and the communist government was in power there. And everything of westernized is considered against the state's policy and prohibited, so that when this racing car was completed to build, reportedly was confiscated by the communist government in the 1960, it presumed to be destroyed and lost.

Then the race car was rediscovered and restored by an American car collector but misidentified while was resurfaced again in the German's museum after its confiscation in 1960, which according to the car's document dated to 1987 as the 1948 Veritas-Loof monoposto.

1956 Avia III built by Miroslav Jurca powered by a 750cc BMW's motorcycle engine. (Picture from: Bringatrailer)

It was also stated that the race car restoration process was carried out in New Zealand by Barry Leitch in 1988 commissioned by an American client named Bruce McCaw then sold to the Pat Hart Collection, after which it was occasionally raced and shown Stateside. The race car participated as the 1996 Pebble Beach Concours entrant.

In 2008, Jurca's American grandson, David, became the first family member to see the car since the state-sanctioned heist nearly 50 years earlier. And since then it has been intensively sorted and raced extensively including HMSA and CSRG events such as the Monterey Historics, etc. At the racing event, it can be said that the Avia III managed to prove is faster than the race cars that are much bigger and more powerful ones.

1956 Avia III described to have the performance as similar to that of the open wheel, single-seater junior motor racing formula called Formula Vee or Formula Volkswagen. (Picture from: Bringatrailer)

The car’s cabin is extremely minimal but nicely finished, with visual highlights including the tiny, button-like brake and clutch pedals, exposed shifter mechanism and cord wrapped steering wheel. The view out front over those highly swept fenders must be resembled of a half-scale of the Auto Union streamliner, while the listing describes the performance as similar to that of the open wheel, single-seater junior motor racing formula called Formula Vee or Formula Volkswagen.

It will remain one of the charming and special classic racing cars with the appearance as it is and also worthy of being regarded as a tribute for a talented, determined person like Miroslav Jurca who was restricted to be creative by the communist regim in the country. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | BRINGATRAILER | CONCEPTCARZ ]

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