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I suspect the plate is a take-off of the German word "schnell", which means something like quick or hurry-up.
Many of your points are well-taken mnboxster, however, I still contend that many purchases of enthusiast-type cars are motivated by things other than engineering factors. If that were not true the car companies wouldn't spend the millions and millions they do trying to build an image.
You didn't mention it, but I'm sure you realize that the Auto Union was designed by ol' Ferdy.
The post-WWII Porsche folks also designed a beast called the Cisitalia, intended to compete in the F1 World Championship events that commenced in 1950. After many years of financial tribulations, the project was dropped in the '52 or '53. The final configuration was mid-engine 1500cc supercharged flat 12 cyl. At one time in the development, 4-wheel drive was part of the design.
Many rear-engine cars competed in F1 events prior to the Lotus 25, although they were generally up-rated F2 designs, not full F1 spec. Stirling Moss won the 1958 Argentine Grand Prix in a 2.2 liter rear-engine Cooper, a victory that marks the first post-wwII victory by a rear-engine car. The Lotus 25 was certainly a landmark car, but hardly the first rear-engine post-war Grand Prix design.
Much ado about ancient history, eh?
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