HOFFMAN: MILLION DOLLAR MIDDLEMAN
(Veloce)
Myles Kornblatt
ISBN 978 1 787115 03 3 Review copy supplied by the publisher
Born in Austria, Max Hoffmann (he later dropped the second ‘n’ from his surname) gained an early appreciation of machinery through his father’s sewing machine business, an appreciation that would later lead to motorcycle racing. Successful on the track, he became a factory racing driver for Amilcar’s licensed builder in Austria. It was during these times that he began to develop contacts within the automotive world, contacts he would use to his advantage when, in 1941, Jewish-born Hoffman fled Europe as it came under the control of Nazi Germany.
Arriving in New York in June 1941, Hoffman’s first business venture was manufacturing and selling jewellery featuring an innovative gold plating process. However, following the end of WWII, it would be Hoffman’s career as the USA distributor of European cars that would put his name up in lights.
Taking advantage of the post-war British ‘export or die’ policy, he developed a network to sell Jaguar cars, lured by the appeal of the brand new XK120. Indeed, his enthusiasm for this car would be one of the factors that saw Jaguar’s boss, William Lyons, switch the XK120 from a limited-edition alloy-bodied sports car to a full production car with a simpler-to-build and cheaper steel body. Although Hoffman’s dodgy dealings – and his later involvement with Jaguar’s great rival, Mercedes-Benz – would eventually sour his dealings with Lyons, Hoffman had set out his store and over the following years he would champion Porsche (being responsible for the evolution of the Speedster, a name he coined), VW, Fiat and Lancia. As well as his involvement with the development of the Speedster, he was also a key factor in classics such as the 300SL ‘Gullwing’, Alfa Romeo’s Giulietta Spider and the BMW 507. Through his work setting up dealerships for these marques, Hoffman became the ultimate middleman, and in that role his knowledge of the US market allowed him to accurately forecast what cars would sell.
There was a darker side to Hoffman’s auto empire. As manufacturers became more successful and began setting up their own dealership network, Hoffman bit back and it soon became well-known that cutting him out of the equation would inevitably lead to legal action and, in most cases, big payouts to compensate loss of business.
It’s a fascinating story, with the author choosing to order the book in a series of chapters concentrating on each marque Hoffman was involved with, rather than employing a straight chronological narrative. Even if you’ve read about Max Hoffman before, this book provides lots of additional information and busts a lot of the myths and legends that surround Hoffman’s business dealings.
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