Steyr-Werke in Steyr in eastern Austria was a weapon and bicycle manufacturer. After the First World War, the demand for weapons fell sharply and Steyr's board of directors decreed that the company would try its luck on an automobile. In 1920, the famous designer Hans Ledwinka (famous for the Tatra automobile) designed and built the first Steyr, the Wafenauto. Cars were later built under the leadership of Ferdinand Porsche, who joined the company in 1929 after working for Mercedes.

The company was merged with Austro-Daimler-Puch in 1934. Steyr manufactured a total of 34,776 cars between 1920 and 1940. The 220 was the last pre-war model of World War II built by Steyr. It was available in four body styles, which the Dresden-based body builder provided glasses. All 220s were powered by a six-cylinder in-line engine with a 260 cc overhead valve, which produced 55 hp and was coupled with a four-speed manual transmission.

Only six of these unique Steyr 220 Sport Roadster models with a glass body were built before the Second World War. Three were destroyed in the war, one is exhibited in an Austrian museum and one has been lost. This example is the only one in the US, only one privately owned. It was built as a factory demonstrator of glasses from Dresden and shipped to Berlin in 1938. It includes factory upgrades from Steyr, including dual carburetor and dual carburetor exhaust systems, a longer lasting cam and larger valves. The car was purchased and restored by its current owner in 2011, which was completed in 2012.