For the early days of DKW we have to go back to the early 1900s. To the earliest days of the combustion engine. The company RE (Rasmussen & Ernst) had a factory in the German town of Zschopau where equipment for steam engines was built. Co-owner Jörgen Skaffen Rasmusen set his sights on making a steam-powered passenger and truck in 1916.
In the beginning
The development of this took place in the factory under the name DKW or Dampf Kraft Wagen. In 1919 Rasmussen built his first two-stroke engine with an output of 0,25 hp together with engineer Hugo Ruppe. This was a toy engine with a capacity of 18 cc. This was followed by a bicycle auxiliary engine of 118 cc and 1 hp, of which 1922 were sold at the end of 30.000.
From two to four wheelers
The two-stroke engines that were subsequently developed were intended for motorcycles. Until the first DKW car was built in 1927: the P15. In 1931, the DKW Front, or F1, a front-wheel drive car, followed with a 600 cc two-cylinder engine with 18 hp power.
Auto Union AG was founded in 1932, a partnership between the car brands Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. As an emblem, four intertwined rings were chosen, with the text Auto Union, which was found on every DKW product from 1932.
The three-cylinder two-stroke
In 1953, the first DKW car with a three-cylinder two-stroke engine came onto the market with the F91, and in 1955 the DKW F93 was presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show as 'der Grosse DKW 3 = 6'. With this designation DKW wanted to indicate that this 38 hp three-cylinder two-stroke engine was equivalent to a six-cylinder four-stroke engine (a two-stroke engine delivers power every two strokes, a four-stroke engine every four strokes).
In January 1958 Auto Union was taken over by Daimler-Benz and the small DKW Junior and the AU 1000 came out of the Ingolstadt factory, followed by the F11, F12 and AU 1000Sp. The Munga all-terrain vehicle, used by the Dutch army and the F102, among others, are the last DKW models with a two-stroke engine. Those Mungas were fine things, by the way, until the Dutch defense specialists got involved in terms of requirements. And nicely enough, those defense clowns later had the opportunity to mess up the Landrovers for the NL army.
Meanwhile, a three-cylinder two-stroke is quite a smart thing
Such an engine is small, light, nicely balanced due to its ignition interval and it easily delivers neat power. With the car in the photos, that is about 50 hp at 4500 rpm from 981 cc.
In the rural area of Zelhem from where Sander Buitink supplies the world of classics, that power is more than sufficient. The DKW is a lively companion with a very spacious feeling interior. The three-cylinder, running on lubrication, hums its signature two-stroke song from the front and with a speed of between 80-100 km / h the car feels perfectly at ease.
Virtually non-smoking
With the current oil mix lubrication, you remain free from blue plumes of smoke. And that almost residue-free burning oil also ensures that the exhaust system does not clog up with carbon residues and greasy derrie. That the three-cylinder two-stroke is a fully-fledged counterpart to a six-cylinder four-stroke? That is a bit high. But it is a very nice power source for a beautiful, elegant classic.
Also interesting to read:
- F12 instead of F1, the DKW F12
- A DKW - Auto Union - SP1000 according to Devin
- Audi 100. Upper middle class
- Unique. The only Audi Super 90 Karmann Cabriolet in the world
- DKW in Brazil
A period of great turmoil in the German car industry. During the Wirtzchaftswunder the trees grew hot in the sky, but higher wages and market saturation took their toll from 1960 onwards. BMW had hung on a silk thread until the Nose Class appeared. Later they could take over Glas themselves, which no longer sold Goggomobil and which could not consist of expensive sports cars.
Carl Borgward's empire (Hansa, Lloyd, Borgward) went bankrupt. Messerschmitt died a silent death when nobody wanted to be seen in a dwarf car anymore, which was also the end of Zündapp and Heinkel as car manufacturers. NSU fell to the ambitious Ro80. The K70 would become VW. DKW, we now know that. Mercedes took over Hanomag, the factory of the Fiat licenses Neckar, no longer associated with NSU, and Jagst closed the gates. With its broad program and solid market position, only Daimler-Benz had little trouble and Opel and Ford could rely on US budgets.
At that time Mercedes still had a majority stake. But in 1967 VW got the most shares. The first post-war Audi therefore came on the market with a Mercedes engine under the VW flag.
It was not the plume of smoke, but the consumption that the three-cylinder two-stroke killed. In the DKW F102 the engine was enlarged to 1200 cc and 60 hp. That went perfectly, of course, but reverse purge above 300cc per cylinder needs a surplus of combustion gases to displace the exhaust gases. Therefore, all large two-stroke engines have valves instead of coil ports.
The result was a consumption of 1: 6 to 1: 8, expensive mixed lubrication that is. The car was nicknamed “Der Drei vor die Tankstelle” after a well-known German comedy.
DKW came up with the craziest solution ever: an extra spring on the throttle cable caused a heavy point in the accelerator, so that you were forced into a less lively driving style. It did not help, the customers turned to Ford with its beautiful Taunus 17m P3 and Opel, with its brand new CIH engine in the Rekord.
Mercedes, at that time major shareholder, made a new “medium pressure” four-stroke engine available that was built with a lot of fitting and measuring in the front and thus the Auto Union F103 was born, under the type names Audi 60, 75 and 80. Audi became a household name.
ho! Mistake it was not MB that took over, I think it was VW after all the DKW F102 was the Audi 60
And thanks for the addition!
At that time Mercedes still had a majority stake. But in 1967 VW got the most shares. The first post-war Audi therefore came on the market with a Mercedes engine under the VW flag.
By the way, a boy on youtube who calls himself 2stroketurbo has ao such a DeutscheKinderWagen.
It is a pity that the sw of the webpage pastes the photos over the bottom 2 paragraphs🤢 Or is it the sw of my iPad? Can't read the story.
It is not a problem here, not even on the iPad. But below the last two paragraphs:
IN THE meantime, a two-stroke three-cylinder is quite a smart thing
Such an engine is small, light, nicely balanced due to its ignition interval and it easily delivers neat power. With the car in the photos, that is about 50 hp at 4500 rpm from 981 cc.
In the rural area of Zelhem from where Sander Buitink supplies the world of classics, that power is more than sufficient. The DKW is a lively companion with a very spacious feeling interior. The three-cylinder, running on lubrication, hums its signature two-stroke song from the front and with a speed of between 80-100 km / h the car feels perfectly at ease.
ALMOST SMOKE FREE
With the current oil mix lubrication, you remain free from blue plumes of smoke. And that almost residue-free burning oil also ensures that the exhaust system does not clog up with carbon residues and greasy derrie. That the three-cylinder two-stroke is a fully-fledged counterpart to a six-cylinder four-stroke? That is a bit high. But it is a very nice power source for a beautiful, elegant classic.