Gunnar Bratlie

Gunnar and Jørgen Gulbrandsen on Gunnar's 1924 Excelsior 1000 ccm. Jørgen drove Taxi-cab for Gunnar. Photo courtesy of Med Motorsport i Blodet - En Fartsfyllt Historiebok.

A photo of Gunnar's Shell station at "Korsvegen" in Hunndalen taken in 1937. Photo courtesy of Med Motorsport i Blodet - En Fartsfyllt Historiebok.

Gunnar's Taxi-cabs next to the bus. From left to right, a 1930 Chevrolet bus with license plate E-1454, a 1927 Buick with license-plate E-640 and a 1930 Chevrolet 7-seater with license plate E-3312. Photo courtesy of Med Motorsport i Blodet - En Fartsfyllt Historiebok.

Hans Udahl next to Gunnar's 1937 Plymouth with license-plate E-830. Hans drove for Gunnar. Photo courtesy of Med Motorsport i Blodet - En Fartsfyllt Historiebok.

Gunnar Bratlie and Paulus Berger. Gunnar is the one with the helmet. Paulus bought GB1 from Gunnar and named it PB.

Gunnar Bratlie's 1937 Hansa. The car is the same as Trond Kindseth ran in KNA's Aftenløp in October of 1937. Back then it had registration number C-1333.

An ad for the Norwegian assembled 1939 Plymouth. The car could be seen and tried at Gunnar Bratlie.

Gunnar Bratlie (1907 - 1969) of Gjøvik, Norway is a Norwegian racing legend. 15 years old, Gunnar was sent to Oslo, to learn the saddler trade from his uncle. His apprenticeship didn't last long, and after a short period he moved back to Hunndalen in Gjøvik to become a chicken farmer. At age 17 Gunnar started as a hairdresser apprentice in Gjøvik. He was supposed to be an apprentice for 3 years, but after 3 months he quit and went on to open his own salon in Hunndalen. Growing up, Gunnar had always been interested in cars. He bought an old Model T Ford that he used as Taxi after the barbershop had closed at night. Being an aspiring entrepreneur, Gunnar bought a Shell gas station located at "Korsvegen" in Hunndalen. Two newer Taxi-cabs were also bought along with a bus. At age 23, Gunnar had retired as a hairdresser, and he devoted his time to the gas station, taxi-cabs and the bus he had bought. Business was good, and in 1937 Gunnar opened up a car dealership in Heknebygarasjen in Gjøvik selling Plymouth and Adler cars and Fargo trucks assembled at Den Norske Automobilfabrikk in Kambo. He kept the taxi-cabs and the gas station for some few more years, but the car dealership took more and more of his time.

In 1937 Gunnar competed in his first auto race. The race was held at Randsfjordisen, and Gunnar drove a Fiat 508 C to 2nd place. He went on to race a BMW and a small Amilcar-racer.

In 1943 Gunnar moved with his family to Mustadroa, were he had bought a small farm. In 1946 he was hired as Sales Manager at AS Gjøvik Auto.

Gunnar owned and raced a Norwegian special racer named GB1. Later on he acquired and raced another special racer that he named GB2.

Gunnar Bratlie's Cars

GB1
GB2
Gunnar Bratlie's 1937 Hansa