Kuchen 2.0 V8
Bremgarten, Switzerland 1952, saw the debut of the Kuchen two litre V8 in the Formula One World Championship. Kuchen had been travelling in such chassis as Alex von Falkenhausen Motorenbau (AFM) in Formula 2, as well as Polensky and Holbian who were smaller manufactures than AFM.
During 1949 Richard Küchen, a former chief constructor of the Zündapp motorcycle factory, had begun with the design of a completely new 2-litre V8 engine. Kuchen relied on his motorcycle expertise to build the two litre V8, which was a 94-degree light-alloy engine weighing only 100kg. Configured with a double ignition and fitted with eight motorcycle carburettors the Kuchen 2 litre had a claimed power output of around 155hp, which was good enough to challenge the might of the Ferrari V12.
Only three Kuchen 2 litre V8’s were built and two of those were bought by Hans Stuck who had also invested in some AFM chassis. It was reported that Stuck payed for the engines through a mortgage on his home. Quashing any claims of a connection between AFM and Kuchen as Stuck was a private customer using Kuchen engines for his own campaign, rather than AFM investing in Kuchen engines. However, Stuck was unable to capitalise on the Kuchen light weight engines.
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Bremgarten, Switzerland 1952, saw the debut of the Kuchen two litre V8 in the Formula One World Championship. Kuchen had been travelling in such chassis as Alex von Falkenhausen Motorenbau (AFM) in Formula 2, as well as Polensky and Holbian who were smaller manufactures than AFM.
During 1949 Richard Küchen, a former chief constructor of the Zündapp motorcycle factory, had begun with the design of a completely new 2-litre V8 engine. Kuchen relied on his motorcycle expertise to build the two litre V8, which was a 94-degree light-alloy engine weighing only 100kg. Configured with a double ignition and fitted with eight motorcycle carburettors the Kuchen 2 litre had a claimed power output of around 155hp, which was good enough to challenge the might of the Ferrari V12.
Only three Kuchen 2 litre V8’s were built and two of those were bought by Hans Stuck who had also invested in some AFM chassis. It was reported that Stuck payed for the engines through a mortgage on his home. Quashing any claims of a connection between AFM and Kuchen as Stuck was a private customer using Kuchen engines for his own campaign, rather than AFM investing in Kuchen engines. However, Stuck was unable to capitalise on the Kuchen light weight engines.
Statistics
| Statistic | # | Percentage | First | Last |
| Number of Grand Prix | 1 | 100% |  1952 | 1952 |
| Number of starts | 1 | 100.00% | 1952 | 1952 |
| Number of retirements | 1 | 100.00% | 1952 | 1952 |
| Seasons: | 1 (1952) | ||||
| Points: | 0 | ||||
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| Team: | Alex Falkenhausen Motorenen | ||||
| Driver: | Hans Stuck (2) | ||||
| Chassis: | AFM (1952) | ||||
Created by: system last modification: Friday 08 of July, 2005 [16:05:48 UTC] by Sennaesque
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