The Enzmann 506 was a sports roadster based on a VW chassis designed by Emil Enzmann, a doctor from Schüpfheim near Lucerne whose family owned a hotel and a garage.
A prototype of the roadster was shown at the Comptoir Suisse fair in Lausanne in 1956, and in the following year the car was presented at stand number 506 of the Frankfurt Motor Show. “506” then became the definite name of the car. In 1958 production started in a small series. The roadster had a glass fibre body and some very modern features for a 1950s road car, such as bucket seats, safety belts, an integrated roll-bar and a safety paddling in front of the passenger. But the most striking characteristic was the absence of doors – driver and passenger had to climb over the side walls by means of the steps inserted in the niches on both sides of the car. The advantage of this unusual design was high stability and low weight: The complete car weighted only 550 kg.
Most Enzmann customers didn’t choose the standard VW engine, but preferred tuned engines by MAG and Okrasa, and sometimes even more powerful Porsche engines, which made the light car very competitive. A special version prepared for mountain races was equipped with the 130 bhp Porsche Carrera engine. The road car was sold either as a “Spider” with small windscreen or as a “Cabriolet” with larger windscreen and optional soft top. A retractable hardtop was also available. About 100 cars were built until the late 1960s, but since 2001, Karl Enzmann and Werner Schreiber, son and son-in-law of the company founder, have produced replicas of the original Enzmann car to order, now based on a modernized VW Beetle chassis.