
Johann Distler founded, in 1895 in Nürnberg, the Metallwarenfabrik Johann Distler KG. Until WW1 they mainly produced Penny Toys. Later they also produced cars, planes and mechanical toys. In 1936 the Company was bought by Ernst Völkl (also owner of TRIX) due to the fact that Johann Distler was Jewish and was forced to sell his company. DISTLER mainly produced for large retailers and mail order. In 1962, production in Germany was seized and the tools were sold to Belgium, where some toys (like the Porsche 356) were still produced for some years.
Very rare and nice one-piece lithographed tinplate body with contour of the roof, sides, front and rear hoods and fenders (with skirts) outlined by pinstripes (white on the blue version and light green on the green version). Tin plate chassis with rear bumper and no motor, free wheeling. A second version had a clockwork motor with a special thumb wheel key. Metal wheels and body is secured to the chassis with 6 metal tabs bent over.
The number of these small KdF models survived are very, very limited. A few dark blue and light blue versions are known to exist. In 2020, a formerly unknown variation surfaced: a dark green color without motor.