Team story
Origins
Behind Heck, meaning rear in German, was the single-seater built by Ernst Klodwig with its engine behind the driver. The BMW special appeared in East German racing in the early 1950s. Its mechanical layout distinguished it from many other local cars using BMW components, before Cooper made that arrangement dominant in Grand Prix racing.
The Formula 1 journey
Klodwig brought his own car to the Nürburgring for the 1952 and 1953 German Grands Prix, held under Formula 2 regulations. The archive lists him twelfth on the first occasion and fifteenth on the second. He scored no points, but both entries became starts against Ferrari, Gordini and the other international single-seaters.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Heck
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · German Grand Prix
Ernst Klodwig · German Grand Prix 1952. The recorded position is P12; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · German Grand Prix
Ernst Klodwig · German Grand Prix 1952. The recorded position is P12; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · German Grand Prix
Ernst Klodwig · German Grand Prix 1953. The recorded position is P15; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
Heck-BMW was not a BMW works racing department. It was an Eigenbau, a privately built car, with a six-cylinder engine derived from the 328. Klodwig had already experimented with a car using a rear-mounted motorcycle engine; the World Championship venture continued a personal line of development within a mainly domestic racing career.
What remains
The project’s distinctive feature is its architecture, not an outright claim to being first without distinguishing between categories. Klodwig’s work preceded the spread of British rear-engined single-seaters, but did not lead to a series of World Championship chassis. The two German appearances remain the link between a local constructor-driver and the international championship.