VEHICLE EXHIBITION 2026: AVIS TYPE 3

The AVIS dates back to a brief, now almost forgotten period in Austrian motoring history. The AVIS factory in Brunn am Gebirge produced passenger cars, sports cars, taxis and delivery vans and was also the site of the first new aircraft factory set up by the recently formed Austrian Republic.

The Type 3 succeeded the virtually identical Type 2 in 1925. As the differences were minimal, both designations are still frequently used interchangeably. Its 20 hp output may seem modest, but the compact car’s light weight and simple design made it suitable even for hills, poor roads and unpaved tracks.

On 19th January 1926, an Austrian factory team set out from Vienna to compete in the Monte Carlo Rally under Austria’s red-white-red flag for the very first time. The small production car from the AVIS factory stuck to its planned schedule for long stretches at a time as it tackled a route that no other competitor had to even think about attempting.

The journey came to an end at the Italian border, as snowdrifts towering up metres high and a lack of snow-clearing equipment made it impossible to continue. The AVIS was not stopped by a technical fault but by ‘force majeure’, and the reception committee in Monaco were disappointed that the Austrian car never managed to reach them.

The old, original dashboard of the restored AVIS had only one instrument, namely a speedometer, so for the long trip to Monaco, sensors have had to be fitted to monitor various parameters, including engine rpm and oil temperature. This equipment was installed to provide vital operating data but in a manner that could easily be reversed so that the vehicle’s historic character would not be changed by the addition of more permanent, modern modifications – a prudent use of modern accessories respecting vintage character.

This vehicle is the last known surviving example of its type, with which the first works team from the Republic of Austria competed in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1926. Although these once-common small cars shaped the streetscape during the interwar period, they have virtually all fallen victim to the passage of time. Following a scientifically supervised restoration, this road-legal car is the first “Avis” to take to the roads again in this millennium.

It is also the first vehicle of the marque to be registered in the international FIVA Register of Historic Vehicles (Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens), the global umbrella organization for historic mobility. This means that these Austrian pioneers are represented in the register for the first time as well. State-of-the-art methods have made it one of the best-documented historic vehicles of its era and provenance. As the official vehicle accompanying the historic journey to Monaco, it offers further highlights—including being one of the oldest cars ever to take part in an international philatelic journey—and is now in the process of making history once again.