DKW
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Automobiles, motorcycles |
DKW (Dampf-Kraft-Wagen, English: "steam-powered car", also Deutsche Kinder-Wagen English: "German children's car". Das-Kleine-Wunder, English: "the little wonder" or Des-Knaben-Wunsch, English: "the boy's wish", from when the company built toy
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, called the DKW.[3] Although unsuccessful, he made a two-stroke toy engine in 1919, called Des Knaben Wunsch – "the boy's wish". He put a slightly modified version of this engine into a motorcycle and called it Das Kleine Wunder[3] – "the little wonder" the initials from this becoming the DKW brand: by the late 1920s, DKW had become the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer.
In September 1924, DKW bought Slaby-Beringer [de], saving them from Germany's hyperinflation economic crisis. Rudolf Slaby became chief-engineer at DKW.[4] In 1932, DKW merged with
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[5] and the model continued to be built at the company's Spandau (Berlin) 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 (185 miles) to the south in Zwickau in the plant acquired by
Between 1929 and 1940, DKW produced a less well remembered but technically intriguing series of rear-wheel drive cars called (among other names) Schwebeklasse and Sonderklasse with two-stroke V4 engines.[9] Engine displacement was 1,000 cc, later 1,100 cc. The engines had two extra cylinders for forced induction, so they appeared like V6 engines but without spark plugs on the front cylinder pair.
In 1939, DKW made a
DKW engines were used by Saab as a model for the Saab two-stroke in its Saab 92 car manufacturing venture, in 1947.
Automobiles made after 1945
As Auto Union was based in Saxony in what became the
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 34 hp (25 kW), the last 38 hp (28 kW). 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 44 hp (33 kW) or 50 hp (37 kW) S versions until 1963. During this transition, production was moved from Düsseldorf to
In 1956, the very rare
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 (basic model) made from 1959 to 1961, Junior de Luxe (a little enhanced) from 1961 to 1963, F11 (a little larger) and F12 (larger and bigger engine) 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
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.[11]
DKW in South America
From 1956 to 1967, DKW cars were made in Brazil by the local company Vemag (Veículos e Máquinas Agrícolas S.A., "Vehicles and Agricultural Machinery Inc.").
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 (the DKW Fissore) and the off-road Munga (locally called Candango). In 1960 Vemag cars received the larger one-litre, 50 PS (37 kW) engine from the Auto Union 1000.[14]
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.[15] 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.[14][16]
DKW vehicles were made in Argentina from 1960 to 1969 by IASF S.A. (Industria Automotriz Santa Fe Sociedad Anónima) in Sauce Viejo, Santa Fe. The most beautiful were the Cupé Fissore, which had many famous owners (Julio Sosa, César Luis Menotti, and others). Other models are the Auto Union 1000 S Sedán (21,797 made until 1969) and the Auto Union 1000 Universal S (6,396 made until 1969).[17] and the Auto Union Combi/Pick-up. The last version of the Auto Union Combi/Pick-up (
Vans and utility vehicles
The DKW Munga was built by Auto Union in Ingolstadt. Production began in October 1956 and ended in December 1968, with 46,750 cars built.
From 1949 to 1962, DKW produced the
Motorcycles
During the late 1920s and until WWII broke out, DKW was both the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer,
The motorcycle branch produced famous models such as the
Cars
Pre-war production
- DKW Typ P (1928–1931) ≈2,000 units
- DKW Typ 4=8 (1929–1940) ≈24,000 units
- DKW F1 (1931–1932) ≈4,000 units
- DKW F2 (1932–1935) ≈17,000 units
- DKW F4 (1934–1935) ≈7,000 units
- DKW F5 (1935–1937) ≈60,000 units
- DKW F7 (1937–1938) ≈80,000 units
- DKW F8 (1939–1942) ≈50,000 units into the war.
- DKW F9 prototype (1939)
Pre-war and war-years production of civilian models totalled almost 250,000 units, of which some 218,000 were front-wheel driven.
Post-war
- DKW Schnellaster van (1949–1962)
- DKW F10 (1950)
- DKW F89 (1950–1954)
- DKW 3=6 (F91/F93/F94) (1953–1959)
- DKW Monza (1956–1958)
- DKW Munga off-road (1956–1968)
- DKW Junior (F11/F12) (1959–1965)[23]
- DKW F102 (1963–1966)
Motorcycles and scooters
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DKW E 206, 1927
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DKW (1939)
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DKW (1940)
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DKW RT 125 W(1950)
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DKW RT 200 (1952)
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RT 350 S, 1956
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DKW RT 175 S (1955)
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DKW Hummel
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Express T. Sport (DKW-Motor)
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DKW Motorroller Hobby of 1954 in the Deutsches Zweirad- und NSU-Museum
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c Motor Cycle. 27 August 1964. "DKW man dies". Added 2014-06-16
- ^ "History of the Four Rings—Part 1—Audi Auto Union". www.seriouswheels.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- ^ a b c Odin, L.C. World in Motion 1939 – The whole of the year's automobile production. Belvedere Publishing, 2015. ASIN: B00ZLN91ZG.
- ^ "1919 Slaby-Beringer Elektrowagen". Heinkel Scooter Project. 17 April 2017.
- ^ a b Oswald, p 86
- ^ Oswald, p 85
- ^ Oswald, p 94 – 103
- ^ Oswald, p 531
- ^ Oswald, p 87
- ^ "DKW Specifications". Dyna.co.za. 2008-11-13. Archived from the original on 2010-06-05. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
- ^ Autokampioen 25/26 2007 "Made in Holland" by Yop Segers
- ^ "Vemag". Automobile Quarterly. 11 (4). 1973.
the Vemag company that had been manufacturing two-stroke DKW models under license in Brazil.
- JSTOR 3117267.
- ^ a b Vogel, Jason; Gomes, Flavio. "DKWs in Brazil". KTUD Online Automotive Archive. Archived from the original on 2013-05-15.
- ^ Shapiro, p. 935
- ISBN 978-85-7881-037-5
- ^ "Auto Union". Coche Argentino. 2009-05-18. Archived from the original on 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
- ^ "Auto Union". Coche Argentino. 2009-05-18. Archived from the original on 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
- ^ http://bikelinks.com/directory/Classic_Motorcycles/A_to_Z/D/DKW/http://www.audi.com/corporate/en/company/history/models/[permanent dead link]
- ^ "DKW Front F 1 roadster, 1931". audi.com. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- ^ "DKW Supercharged Two-Strokes – Force-Fed Deeks". www.odd-bike.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- ^ ISDT award winning DKW 246cc 1935 Archived 2014-02-05 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Michael Sedgwick & Mark Gillies, A-Z of Cars 1945–1970, page 54
References
- Oswald, Werner (2001). Deutsche Autos 1920–1945, Band (vol) 2 (in German). Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-613-02170-6.
- Uhlmann, Claus (2005). RT 125 Das Kleine Wunder Aus Zschopau. Verlagsgesellschaft Bergstraße mbH.
- Siegfried Rauch Hrsg. von Frank Rönicke: DKW – Geschichte einer Weltmarke. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-613-02815-9.
- Thomas Erdmann: Vom Dampfkraftwagen zur Meisterklasse – Die Geschichte der DKW Automobile 1907–1945. autovision, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 3-9805832-7-9.
- ISBN 3-7688-1646-X.
- Steffen Ottinger (2009), DKW Motorradsport 1920–1939 : Von den ersten Siegen des Zschopauer Zweitakters bei Bahnrennen bis zu den Europameisterschafts-Erfolgen (in German) (1. ed.), ISBN 978-3-00-028611-7
- Woldemar Lange; Jörg Buschmann (2009), Die große Zeit des DKW-Motorradrennsports : 1920–1941 (Zschopau) (in German) (1. ed.), ISBN 978-3-937496-29-0
- Woldemar Lange; Jörg Buschmann (2012), DKW Zschopau und der Motorradgeländesport : 1920–1941 (in German) (1. ed.), ISBN 978-3-937496-50-4
- Harald Linz, Halwart Schrader: Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie. United Soft Media Verlag, München 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8.