DKW - Germany's Wonder Car

The development of DKW's Schnuerle 'inverted loop scavenging' process in 1927 was a quantum leap forward in two stroke engine technology. Contempory two stokes had been hampered by the large amount of unburnt fuel they lost during the exhaust cycle. This made them dirty and inefficient, with poor fuel efficiency. The schnerle process resolved many of these problems by directing the fuel-oil mixure down into the crankcase on the upstroke before sucking it up into the combustion chamber on the downstroke. This circular flow of gas minimised the loss of unburnt fuel as it mixed with and forced out the burnt exhaust fumes. Consequently DKW's new generation of two stroke engines boasted a remarkable power to weight ratio and were extremely fuel efficient.

The advantage two strokes had over four strokes was that they completed their power cycle in half the time of a four stroke engine. This meant they could rev very fast, so 'Das Kline Wunder' was the perfect engine for DKW's new range of motorcycles. 1928 was a bumper year for DKW. Thousands of motorcycles, all powered by their new engine, practically raced off their production line and year on year sales just keep increasing. Motorcycle production peaked at 55,000 in 1937 making DKW the largest and most successfuly motorcycle company in the world. http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2010/04/das-kleine-wunder-story-of-remarkable.html

The 1939 DKW motorcycle range

The success of their lightweight motorcycles encouraged DKW to grander ambitions. 1929 saw the introduction of a new two cylinder 490cc engine to power the new DKW Z range (although the marketing department claimed 500cc's). The engine developed 15 horsepower but although originally intended to be an air cooled engine, the design experienced problems with overheating so the motorcycle was given a radiator and water cooling.

John Wightman's lovely 1928 DKW. In 2010 John took the DKW over to the UK for the Banbury Run. You can read all about his adventures here: http://pre31.wordpress.com/about/

The new engine was surprisingly powerful for its diminutive size so DKW began experimenting with automobile designs. The engine was bored out to 584ccs and clutch and gearbox were moved around to make a neat little rectangular unit. In fact, that engine would remain in production virtually unchanged for the next 70 years!

DKW's first car was the P 15 - the name indicating the horsepower of the engine. It was a small two-door economy car and demonstrated a number of features that would characterise DKW's automobile range. The chassis and body were entirely made of wood and lightweight materials. It seems odd today to think of wooden cars, but in fact many car companies built only the engine and chassis, which they then handed over to specialist body builders to fit out according to the customer's specifications. Most auto body builders had started as coach builders, hence the term coachwork, so wood-framed construction techniques was extremely common. DKW would stick with wooded frames and panelling right up to the 1940s as it was light, cheap and easy to work with. Power was transmitted to the rear wheels by a conventional driveshaft and differential. About 3000 P 15's were sold.

Following on from the success of the P 15, DKW upped the ante with their next model, the 4=8 1000. The 4=8 was powered by a 4 cylinder two stroke made up of two 2 cylinder engines linked together in a V arrangement, driving a single crankshaft with conventional rear wheel drive. The 4=8 name was based on a claim developed by the marketing department that the 4 cylinder two stroke put out the equivalent power of an 8 cylinder four stroke engine. Once again the chassis and framework were constructed in wood. Body panels however were of imitation leather stiffened with resin.

3000 cars were produced and some were even exported to the UK and other countries.

This contemporary British write up of the DKW 4=8 model shows both the completed car and its underlying mechanics. Most notable is the almost skeletal chassis - a single steel rod links the front and rear axles. Everything else was wood and artifical leather. It also explains why so few of these machines have survived. There simply isn't much to them.


Despite DKW's success, this was the era of the Great Depression and Weimar Germany was hit particularly hard. In 1931 DKW merged with three other Saxon car manufactures, Wanderer, Horch and Audi to form Auto Union. To ensure their mutual survival, the companies agreed to divide the market between them, with each company focusing exclusively on its allocated market. Horch continued to manufacture expensive limosines and luxury vehicles, Audi manufactured large cars and tourers, Wanderer manufactured mid-sized cars, and DKW retained the market for low-cost, budget vehicles and motorcycles. DKW was the only one of the companies to use two stroke engines.

A display at the August Horch Museum in Zwickau, Germany demonstrates each company's wares. The DKW F5 car (second from the left) is noticably smaller than its cousins. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=441803

The Front leaps to the Front

Even though DKW serviced the bottom end of the auto market, the Depression required even more cost cutting and design simplification. The result was revealed at the 1931 Berlin Motorshow - the DKW F 1. The design was simplified and construction costs reduced by dispensing with rear wheel transmission in favour of front wheel drive. This was especially easy for DKW as their engine was so small it could be transverse mounted in the engine bay with power transmitted directly to the wheels via chain drive.

The staff at Zwickau pose around the new F1 model in 1931.

A beautifully restored F1 roadster at the Dresden Technik Museum. http://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/collections/transport/road-transport/ The F1 was such a pleasant and good performing car that many owners steadfastly refused to part with them. They remained a fairly common vehicle on German roads right into the 1960s.

The DKW Front quickly became Auto Union's best selling car and a prop for the economic survival of the conglomerate. So great was demand that DKW took over Audi's production facilities at Zwickau in order to increase production; Audi being reglegated to a section of Horsch's Chemnitz plant. Due to the Front's simple constuction, the model went through rapid development and by 1935 the F5 no longer looked like a budget automobile. This of course was part of the appeal of the brand - modern styling at low cost! While the styling may have changed, the engine and construction methods remain the same.

A 1935 marketing photo demonstrates the strength of a DKW car. By the mid 1930s DKW was competing with the Opel Olympia as the best selling budget auto in Germany. The four stroke and steel bodied Opel was a much more 'modern' vehicle so DKW needed to invest a lot of money in marketing to counter the argument that DKW cars were old fashioned by comparison.

Photos from DKWs specialist coachbuilding plan in Berlin-Spandau. Although cheap to manufacture, the wood and leather bodywork was labour intensive. The bodies were then shipped down to Zwickau.

DKW F5s on the construction line. DKW used modern construction line processes for both cars and motorcycles. The DKW factory was capable of producing 200 cars a day, quite an impressive feat for its time.

Budget interior - the spartan dashboard of the 1935 F5. The gear shifter is in the centre of the dashboard and is entirely unlike that of modern cars. To engage the gears the lever was pulled out towards the driver, turned to the appropriate gear and then pushed back in. The ignition switch is to the right of the gear lever and is the same as that used on contemporary DKW motorcycles. Wherever possible, DKW saved money by standardising components. The steering wheel design remained pretty much unchanged until the DKW brand was retired in 1965.

A restored DKW Luxus at the Horsh museum. The artificial leather panelling is clearly visible on the bodywork. The body itself wasn't made of leather. The leatherwork was glued to the wooden panelling to provide protection against the weather. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=441803

The Master Class

In 1935 DKW began moving into the serious auto market with the introduction of the new Meisterklasse model. The 'master' featured a larger 688cc engine, more room and luxurious fittings. Styling was borrowed from sister companies, Audi & Wanderer, whose own production had waned. Customers could choose from a range of body styles - four door, two door, hard and soft tops, sedan or cabriolette.

This 1937 sales brochure shows the entire auto range, including the two brand new models of Schwebeklasse.

The dashboard of the 1938 Meisterclasse is certainly a step up from the spartan 1935 F5 dash shown earlier. The basic controls have remained largely the same, but now there are additional extras.

With the increased engine size came an increase to 18-20 horsepower, depending on the style of the car, but this made no real difference to the physical size of the engine. The old style chain drive was replaced with a modern style shaft drive and the underlying chassis was also expanded and strengthened.

A peak under the hood of an unrestored Meisterklasse. There were very few changes made to the layout and design of the two cylinder engined DKWs. The tiny size of the engine is clearly apparent. Behind the engine is the cylindrical air filter, two condensors and the petrol tank.

Advertising became more sophisticated and ambitious too. Pitched at the increasingly prosperous middle class customer, reliability, economy and style were key features of Meisterklasse advertising campaigns. Click this link for a copy of DKW's 1939 sales brochure: http://www.autounion1939.com/dkw/ All up some 160,000 F series cars were built.

The DKW was sold as far away as Australia. The Australian sales campaign (for motorcycles as well as cars) made much of a grueling cross Africa odyssey by a team of DKWs.


In 1934 DKW upstyled the 4=8 1000 under the name Sonderklasse 1001. Body styling was modernised, but the engine and rear wheel drive remainded the same. Power was increased by the addition of a fuel pump, however the engine proved a weak point of the car. The V engine had always been something of a compromise, and at high revs it vibrated excessively. While it had been sufficient for the original 4=8 1000 in 1931, by 1935 customers expected better.

A restored Sonderklasse two door at a 'oldtimer treffen' in Germany. The steel bonnet, fenders and bumper stand out clearly from the wood and leather body. The Sonderklasse came in two door and four door versions.

A 1936 Auto Union promotional film. In the first section we see the entire auto range, from DKW through to Horsch leaving Auto Union headquarters. From there we visit the DKW motorcycle factory at Zschopau and then follow the construction of a 'Silver Arrow' racer.

"In the air"
With the advent of wind tunnel testing in the mid-1930s, German auto manufacturers, such as NSU, Kdf (later to become VW), and Mercedes all began experimenting with aerodynamically streamlined cars. The outputs of this very interesting phase in automobile design were often hit and miss.

Does this car look familiar? The 1932 experimental streamliner, with its rear mounted engine, bears a striking resemblance to both the pioneering Czech Tatra 77 and the later Volkswagen. Ferdinand Porsche, designer of the Volkswagen, worked in the Auto Union design team on the Silver Arrow racers that dominated the pre-war Grand Prix.


DKW leapt on the bandwagen with their 1934 designed 'Schwebeklasse.' Powered by the dubious 4=8 V engine with rear wheel drive, the car featured a curvacious streamlined body, completely constructed of wood and covered in artificial leather. The distinctive concave radiator was typical of contemporary Wanderer vehicles. Hitting the market in late 1936, the Schwebeklasse was a pointer towards the future but not the success DKW hoped for. The market wasn't yet ready for these futuristic designs, preferring the more traditional Meisterklasse.

What's in a name? Without doubt 'schwebe' was a reference to streamlining and wind tunnel testing, but the German word also conveys a sense of uncertainty. Customers certainly picked this up. A restored Schwebeklasse in the Audi museum.

Advancing towards the Brink
The Meisterklasse continued it's evolution throughout the late 1930s. The F7s and F8s offered a much better ride and performance than their predecessors. Fittings especially were much improved and the days when DKW was seen only as the manufacturer of cheap cars were a thing of the past. 4500 F7s rolled off the production lines each month while demand continued to increase.

War may be looming but these prosperous youngsters haven't a care in the world, not when DKW cars and motorcycles can take them wherever they want to go (or so says the DKW marketing department!).

But things were changing. DKW took the lessons from the Schwebeklasse and reworked them into a new design which they unveiled at the 1937 Berlin Motor Show. The new Sonderklasse 37 was rear wheel drive and powered by the 4=8 engine but unlike all other DKW cars it featured a modern steel body and chassis. For any other company it was quite a conventional vehicle, but for DKW it represented a radical departure. Streamlined and elegant, but not too modern to look out of place, the Sonderklasse was a popular vehicle that could directly compete with the Opel Olympia on an even playing field. Over 10,000 Sonderklasse were sold before DKW was diverted to war production in 1940.

In appearance, the Sonderklasse 37 was entirely conventional, very like contemporary Audi's. Only the two stroke engine differentiated it from its cousin.

Having taken on Opel at their own game, DKW now had to face a threat from Adolf Hitler's pet auto project - the 'Work Through Joy' car. All the German auto companies were asked to present designs for a cheap peoples' car. Auto Union opted not to present a formal design, but managing director, Jorge Rasmussen, presented an independent design through his pet project company, Framo. Unfortunately it was a little too conventional and was not successful.

Rasmussen invites the Fuhrer to inspect the Framo People's Car. Framo originally manufactured auto fittings for Auto Union before building their own range of DKW engined 3-wheeled transporters. Jorge Rasmussen bought out the company but did not integrate it into the Auto Union, keeping it as an outlet for his private projects.


Hitler himself sketched out his vision of the car, which looked surprisingly like the stunningly advanced Czech Tatra, and Ferdinand Porsche made the vision a reality. Powered by a rear mounted four-cylinder, air-cooled four-stroke engine that could push it along at a maximum speed of 100 kilometres per hour, and wrapped up in a streamlined, steel body, the 'Volkswagen' was a sensation. By 1938 the prototype Kdf Wagens had been built and production was gearing up. Tens of thousands of German workers had signed up for the stamp scheme that would enable them to save up to purchase their car. This was a significant market threat to DKW as it directly targeted their original market segment, even though DKW itself had drifted some way from that market. If DKW was to compete with Kdf's modern steel car, they would have to pull something out of the hat.

Work hard, fill your stamp card and you too could enjoy the freedom of the road in your Volkswagen. Tens of thousands of German workers bought their stamps but not a single one received their car before the war intervened. The cars were instead passed on to Nazi party officials and the army.

In 1939, with the clouds of war darkening the horizon, DKW presented their new F9 model. In appearance it looked like a stretched Volkswagen, but was more luxuriously fitted. Like the Sonderklasse 37, it was an all steel construction. The tired old 688cc two cylinder engine, which had not changed since 1928, was replaced by the new 3 cylinder 900cc engine. Engineering costs were minimised somewhat by reverting to front wheel drive. Planned to go into full production in 1941, only ten vehicles were built before the war intervened.

One of two surviving F9 prototypes at the Audi Museum.

Development of the F9 was put on hold while DKW switched over to war production. The design would be resurrected after the war to enjoy a strange double life and surprising popularity, but that will have to wait until Part Two.... http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2011/01/dkw-germanys-post-war-wonder-car.html.
Or Part Three....http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2011/02/veb-sachsenring-east-germanys-peoples.html