DKW


DKW was a German car and motorcycle marque. DKW was one of the four companies that formed Auto Union in 1932 and thus became an ancestor of the modern-day Audi company.
In 1916, Danish engineer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen founded a factory in Zschopau, Saxony, Germany, to produce steam fittings. That year he attempted to produce a steam-driven car, which he called the DKW. That steam car was unsuccessful, and in 1919 he made toy two-stroke engines under the name Des Knaben Wunsch – "the boy's wish". He put a slightly modified version of the toy engine into a motorcycle and called it Das Kleine Wunder – "the little wonder", and by the late 1920s DKW had become the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer.
In September 1924, DKW bought, saving them from Germany's hyperinflation. Rudolf Slaby became chief engineer at DKW.
In 1932, DKW merged with Audi, Horch and Wanderer to form Auto Union. After World War II, DKW moved to West Germany. The original factory became MZ. Auto Union came under Daimler-Benz ownership in 1957 and was purchased by the Volkswagen Group in 1964. The last German-built DKW car was the F102, which ceased production in 1966. Its successor, the four-stroke F103, was marketed under the Audi brand, another Auto Union marque.
DKW-badged cars continued to be built under license in Brazil and Argentina until 1967 and 1969 respectively. The DKW trademark is currently owned by Auto Union GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Audi AG which also owns the rights to other historical trademarks and intellectual property of the Auto Union combine.

Automobiles made between 1928 and 1942

DKW cars were made from 1928 until 1966, apart from the interruption caused by the Second World War. DKWs always used two-stroke engines, reflecting the company's position by the end of the 1920s as the world's largest producer of motorcycles. The first DKW car, the small and rather crude Typ P, emerged on 7 May 1928 and the model continued to be built at the company's Spandau plant, first as a roadster and later as a stylish if basic sports car, until 1931.
More significant was a series of inexpensive cars built 300 km to the south in Zwickau in the plant acquired by the company's owner Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen in 1928 when he had become the majority owner in Audi Werke AG. Models F1 to F8 were built between 1931 and 1942, with successor models reappearing after the end of the war in 1945. They were the first volume production cars in Europe with front wheel drive, and were powered by transversely mounted two-cylinder two-stroke engines. Displacement was 584 or 692 cc: claimed maximum power was initially 15 PS, and from 1931 a choice between 18 or. These models had a generator that doubled as a starter, mounted directly on the crankshaft, known as a Dynastart. DKW in Zwickau produced approximately 218,000 units between 1931 and 1942. Most of those cars were sold on the home market and over 85% of DKWs produced in the 1930s were the little F series cars: DKW reached second place in German sales by 1934 and stayed there, accounting for 189,369 of the cars sold between 1931 and 1938, more than 16% of the market.
Between 1929 and 1940, DKW produced a less well remembered but technically intriguing series of rear-wheel drive cars called Schwebeklasse and Sonderklasse with two-stroke V4 engines. Engine displacement was 1,000 cc, later 1,100 cc. The engines had two extra cylinders that acted as air compressors for forced induction, so they had the external appearance of a V6 engine but without spark plugs on the front cylinder pair.
In 1939, DKW made a prototype with the first three-cylinder engine, with a displacement of 900 cc and producing. With a streamlined body, the car could run at. It was put into production after World War II, first as an Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau F9 in Zwickau, East Germany, and shortly afterwards in DKW-form from Düsseldorf as the 3=6 or F91.
Saab used DKW engines as a model for the Saab two-stroke in their first production car, the Saab 92.

Automobiles made after 1945

As Auto Union was based in Saxony in what became the German Democratic Republic, it took some time for it to regroup after the war. The company was registered in West Germany as Auto Union GmbH in 1949, first as a spare-part provider, but soon to take up production of the RT 125 motorcycle and a new delivery van, called a Schnellaster F800. Their first line of production took place in Düsseldorf. This van used the same engine as the last F8 made before the war.
Their first car was the F89 using the body from the prototype F9 made before the war and the two-cylinder two-stroke engine from the last F8. Production went on until it was replaced by the successful three-cylinder engine that came with the F91. The F91 was in production 1953–1955, and was replaced by the larger F93 in 1956. The F91 and F93 had 900 cc three-cylinder two-stroke engines, the first ones delivering, the last. The ignition system comprised three independent sets of points and coils, one for each cylinder, with the points mounted in a cluster around a single lobed cam at the front end of the crankshaft. The cooling system was of the free convection type assisted by a fan driven from a pulley mounted at the front end of the crankshaft.
The F93 was produced until 1959, and was replaced by the Auto-Union 1000. These models were produced with a 1,000 cc two-stroke engine, with a choice between or S versions until 1963. During this transition, production was moved from Düsseldorf to Ingolstadt, where Audi still has its production. From 1957, the cars could be fitted with a saxomat, an automatic clutch, the only small car then offering this feature. The last versions of the Auto-Union 1000S had disc brakes as option, an early development for this technology. A sporting 2+2 seater version was available as the Auto-Union 1000 SP from 1957 to 1964, the first years only as a coupé and from 1962 also as a convertible.
In 1956, the very rare DKW Monza was put into small-scale production on a private initiative, with a sporting two-seater body of glassfiber on a standard F93 frame. It was first called Solitude, but got its final name from the long-distance speed records it made on the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy in December 1956. Running in Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile class G, it set records including 48 hours at an average speed of, 10,000 km at and 72 hours at. The car was first produced by in Stuttgart, then by Massholder in Heidelberg and lastly by Robert Schenk in Stuttgart. The number produced is said to be around 75, 50 survived. Production finished by the end of 1958.
A more successful range of cars was sold from 1959, the Junior/F12 series based on a modern concept from the late 1950s. The range consists of Junior made from 1959 to 1961, Junior de Luxe from 1961 to 1963, F11 and F12 from 1963 to 1965, and F12 Roadster from 1964 to 1965. The Junior/F12 series became quite popular, and many cars were produced. An assembly plant was licensed in Ballincollig, County Cork, Ireland between 1952 and c.1964 and roughly 4,000 vehicles were assembled, ranging from saloons, vans and motorbikes to commercial combine harvesters. This was the only DKW factory outside Germany in Europe and for many years after its closure its large DKW sign could be visible on the wall of the factory. The building was demolished in the late 2000s and was redeveloped into a German Aldi store and a McDonald's drive-thru.
All the three-cylinder two-stroke post-war cars had some sporting potential and formed the basis for many rally victories in the 1950s and early 1960s. This made DKW the most winning car brand in the European rally league for several years during the fifties.
In 1960, DKW developed a V6 engine by combining two three-cylinder two-stroke engines, with a capacity of 1,000 cc. The capacity was increased and the final V6 in 1966 had a capacity of 1,300 cc, which developed at 5,000 rpm using the standard configuration with two carburettors. A four-carburettor version produced, a six-carburettor one. It weighed only. The V6 was planned to be used in the DKW Munga and the F102. About 100 engines were built for testing purposes and 13 DKW F102 and some Mungas were fitted with the V6 engine in the 1960s.
The last DKW was the F102, coming into production in 1964 as a replacement for the old-looking AU1000. However, the F102 sold poorly, largely due to its two-stroke engine technology which was at the limit of its development. Auto Union's parent, Daimler-Benz, decided to offload the company to Volkswagen. The car was re-engineered with a four-stroke engine and relaunched as the Audi F103. This marked the end of the DKW marque for cars, and the rebirth of the Audi name.
From 1956 to 1961, Dutch importer Hart, Nibbrig & Greve assembled cars in an abandoned asphalt factory in Sassenheim, where they employed about 120 workers, two transporter, that collected SKD kits from Duesseldorf and built about 13.500 cars. When the DKW plant moved the import of SKD kits stopped, as it became too expensive.

DKW Worldwide

  • Brazil
From 1957 to 1967, DKW cars were made in Brazil by the local company Vemag. Vemag was assembling Scania-Vabis trucks, but Scania Vabis became an independent company in July 1960. The original plans were to build the Candango off-roader, a utility vehicle and a four-door sedan, called Vemaguet and Belcar respectively. The first model built was the 900 cc F91 Universal but the Belcar and Vemaguet names were applied later.
In 1958, the F94 four-door sedan and station wagon were launched, in the early 1960s renamed Belcar and Vemaguet. The company also produced a luxury coupe and the off-road Munga. In 1960 Vemag cars received the larger one-litre, engine from the Auto Union 1000.
Vemag had a successful official racing team, with the coupe GT Malzoni, with fiberglass body. This project was the foundation of the long-lasting Brazilian sports car brand Puma. The Brazilian F94 line has been improved with several cosmetic changes and became more and more different from the German and Argentine models. Vemag had no capital to invest in new products and came under governmental pressure to merge. In 1964–1965 Volkswagen gradually took over Auto Union, a minority holder in Vemag, and in 1967 Volkswagen bought the remainder of the stock. VW quickly began phasing out DKW-Vemag production and introduced the Volkswagen 1600 sedan to the old Vemag plant, after a total of 109,343 DKW-Vemag cars had been built.
Year19571958195919601961196219631964196519661967Total
Candango811741968248115826152000007848
Utility Vehicle11661642Togetherwithpassengercar↓↓↓↓↓2808
Passenger Car02189429775439337149291406812704152601481511393106535
Cars Total11663831429775439337149291406812704152601481511393109343
Total117450066265 1002410919155441408812704152601481511393117191

Data from GEIA 1959
Data from anfavea
  • Argentina
DKW vehicles were made in Argentina from 1960 to 1969 by IASF S.A. in Sauce Viejo, Santa Fe. The most beautiful were the Cupé Fissore, which had many famous owners. Other models are the Auto Union 1000 S Sedán and the Auto Union 1000 Universal S. and the Auto Union Combi/Pick-up.
The last version of the Auto Union Combi/Pick-up, launched in 1969, survived a few months and was bought out by IME, which continued production until 1979.
Year1960196119621963196419651966196719681969Total
Pick up Frontal0110060050094216410069352253735
1000 SF0028002881320000700
1000 S904180020002400335036863978218286563221797
Universal01501195537144015126575681931446396
Total90430504075343760205494473528191093100132628

Data from ADEFA 1966
Data from ADEFA 1970
  • Denmark
After the Netherlands, the Danes were the second largest consumers of DKW vehicles. Due to tariffs and import restrictions, DKW was forced to find a solution. Christian Bohnstedt Petersen was a pioneer in Danish aviation. He had obtained the 50th Danish pilot certificate in 1918 and was a manufacturer of both bicycles, motorcycles, automobiles and aircraft. With the Christian Bohnstedt-Petersen Automobile Assembly Factory in Copenhagen, they found a partner who could assemble DKW F5 Meisterklasse cars on site in Denmark from delivered parts. The wooden bodies delivered from Zwickau were mounted onto the also delivered chassis. Subsequently, the artificial leather upholstery was nailed on. After the installation of the engine and electrical system, one vehicle could be delivered per hour. Production was halted after the German Wehrmacht occupied Copenhagen in April 1940. By then, about 3,000 vehicles had been produced. In addition, a few F7 and F8 were built with steel bodies by M.C. Christensen near the city of Silkeborg.
A fifteen-minute film by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation from 1938 shows the following details: View of the free port Frihavnen. Coachwork for DKW cars unloaded from carriages in Frihavnen and transported by lorry to Bohnstedt-Petersen's factory. On the first floor of the factory, the DKW cars are assembled by upholsterers, cabinet makers, mechanics and others who assemble the cars manually. The finished cars are driven down a slideway to the yard where they are filled up with petrol. The cars in the streets of Copenhagen.
  • Switzerland
Holka AG
  • Australia
J. A. Lawton and Sons was a company that supplied bodies for the chassis delivered from Germany. A vehicle with an F7 pickup body is documented. The company from Adelaide, which was located on North Terrace, was already founded in 1865.
Another supplier of vehicle bodies was Kellow Falkiner from Melbourne.
  • Czechoslovakia
Jawa
  • Yugoslavia
The company Agroservice from the Slovenian town of Novo Mesto started as a maintenance company for agricultural machines. Under the new name Moto Montaza, CKD assembly of DKW vans began in 1955. In 1959, the company was renamed IMV . From 1962, DKW passenger cars were assembled from CKD kits. In 1962, a transport vehicle was developed that bore a visual resemblance to the Barkas B 1000. The technical components such as the engine, axles, and other chassis parts continued to come from DKW. The engine of the vehicle called IMV 1000 had a displacement of 981 cc and initially produced 39 hp. Later, up to 44 hp was also achieved. This was sufficient for 100 to 105 km/h. In 1972, engines from British Leyland were supplied for this vehicle. The vehicle designation changed to IMV 1600 B. It is therefore assumed that there was a supply stop by DKW at the end of 1971. The production capacity of IMV was a maximum of 1500 vehicles per year. Exports went to Czechoslovakia and Austria. In Austria, the transporter was sold as Donau 1000.