# Erling Poppe

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{{Short description|Austrian-born English car and motorcycle designer}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
[[File:Sunbeam S8 1951.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|1951 [Sunbeam S8](/source/Sunbeam_S7_and_S8)]]
'''Erling Poppe''' (12 November 1898 – 1970)<ref>[http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/search/results?firstname=erling&lastname=poppe&sourcecategory=births%252c%2bmarriages%2b%2526%2bdeaths England and Wales marriages and deaths] Retrieved 2014-12-19</ref> was an Austrian-born English-raised motor vehicle designer who studied engineering in [Birmingham](/source/Birmingham), England, and designed [Packman & Poppe Motorcycles](/source/Packman_%26_Poppe_Motorcycles), [Sunbeam motorcycles](/source/Sunbeam_S7_and_S8) and [Gordon](/source/Gordon_(1954-1958)) three-wheeler cars.

==Early life==
Poppe was born in [Steyr](/source/Steyr), [Austria](/source/Austria), 12 November 1898, the son of Norwegian [Peter August Poppe](/source/Peter_August_Poppe) and Frederikke Emilie Poppe,<ref name=cenFMP>1911 census [Findmypast](/source/Findmypast)</ref> while his father had been on loan to [Steyr Mannlicher](/source/Steyr_Mannlicher). The whole family were settled in Coventry by February 1901 when their next child  was born.<ref>1901 census [Findmypast](/source/Findmypast)</ref>

==Motor cycles==
At Packman & Poppe Motorcycles in 1922 Erling Poppe was responsible for their first motorcycle which featured a 250&nbsp;cc two-stroke engine, a 976&nbsp;cc side-valve machine with a [JAP](/source/JA_Prestwich_Industries) V-twin engine in 1923 and the ''Silent Three'' using a 350&nbsp;cc Barr and Stroud sleeve-valve engine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iomtt.com/TT-Database/Events/Races.aspx?meet_code=TT25&race_seq=4|title=TT 1925 Lightweight TT Results |accessdate=2008-07-11}}</ref>

Poppe designed the [Sunbeam S7 and S8](/source/Sunbeam_S7_and_S8) motorcycles based on the [BMW R75](/source/BMW_R75) designs that were acquired by [BSA](/source/Birmingham_Small_Arms_Company) (together with the full rights to the [Sunbeam](/source/Sunbeam_Cycles) brand) at the end of [World War II](/source/World_War_II).<ref name="Kemp">{{cite book | last = Kemp | first = Andrew | title = Classic British Bikes | publisher = Bookmart Ltd | year = 2001 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofcl0000unse_q3v0/page/124 124–125] | isbn = 1-86147-058-4 | url = https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofcl0000unse_q3v0/page/124 }}</ref>  
Built in [Redditch](/source/Redditch), the engine layout was an unusual in-line 500&nbsp;cc twin with a shaft drive to the rear wheel.

==Motorcars==
At [Gordon](/source/Gordon_(1954-1958)), Poppe designed a three-wheeled two-seater with a single front wheel. The single-cylinder, 197&nbsp;cc, [Villiers](/source/Villiers_Engineering) engine was mounted next to the driver (RHD), outside of the body with an external chain-drive to one rear wheel. Access to the interior was via a single door. The steel body had a folding fabric roof, and at £300 it was the cheapest car on the UK market.<ref name="Georgano">The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. Edited by [G.N. Georgano](/source/G.N._Georgano). Published by George Rainbird Ltd, 1973.</ref><ref name="Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie">Linz, Schrader: ''Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie.''</ref><ref name="Beaulieu">Georgano: ''The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.''</ref>

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Poppe, Erling}}
Category:British automobile designers
Category:Norwegian emigrants to the United Kingdom
Category:Alumni of the University of Birmingham
Category:1898 births
Category:1970 deaths
Category:People from Steyr

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Erling Poppe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erling_Poppe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erling_Poppe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.