Showing off my 1957 DKW Hummel Type 101 50cc moped. Characteristics and explain its start
In 1900, the Danish born Jorge Skaffe Rasmussen moved to Chemnitz ito engineering studies After graduation, he decided to stay in Germany and in 1907 he created a workshop in Zschopau manufacture of industrial steam connections in 1915 he started an experimental steam car project, which led him to rename his company Dampf Kraft Wagen steam car company, or for short DKW steam car wasn ta success, but the name stuck Rasmussen in 1918 developed a small gasoline engine two-time that could be clipped onto a bicycle in transportation hunger Germany after the war it was just the ticket and within two years had progressed DKW motorcycles building motorcycles DKW quickly gained a solid reputation and sold well in 1926 the two-stroke DKW made a quantum technological lead in adopting patented loop scanning process Dr. Adolf sch nuerle contemporary two stokes had been hindered by the amount of unburned fuel they lost during the exhaust cycle using piston deflectors and other pollution solutions r educated, but at the expense of thermal efficiency and fuel process schnuerle solved all these problems and gave a new generation of the DKW two-stroke engines remarkable power to weight ratio and excellent efficiency the advantage of two shots had more than four shots was that they have completed their power cycle half the time of a four-stroke engine rev This means they could very quick, Das Kleine Wunder the marvel was the perfect engine for the new range of DKW motorcycles 1928 was an exceptional year for DKW as thousands of bikes practically ran out of their production line year on year sales just continue to increase production motorcycle peaked in 1937 at 55,000, which DKW largest motorcycle business more successful in the world.
Predecessors Agitation and ambitious Rasmussen was not content t run the largest motorcycle company in the world In 1923, he pushed tentatively DKW in automotive manufacturing through a joint venture with Rudolf Slaby Beringer and Herman cyclecar Slaby company -Beringer began manufacturing small electric cyclecars Rasmussen in 1919 and was one of their first customers, with an order for 30 electric cars Several hundred were sold in the country and they even managed to get a large order of export to Japan, but when hyperinflation almost all economic activity of the Weimar Republic to a stop in 1923, Slaby-Beringer faced the front and rear bankruptcy Slaby Beringer in their car.
Rasmussen bought their excess cars stock, then bought the Beringer society and Slaby offers positions on the board DKW and design office, respectively the electric motor has been abandoned and replaced by a rear mounted single engine motorcycle cylinder DKW This photo shows a pair of single-seat Slaby Beringer-DKW cyclecars with a two-stroke engine.
First experience in the car was the small hill climber The car looked a bit like Slaby-Beringer cyclecar, but was in fact an independent design The car was powered by a single cylinder stationary engine mounted on the left hand footstool of DKW pre-Schneurle engine patent wasn t quite powerful and was vulnerable to overheating if the project was halted.
These developments have encouraged DKW grandiose ambition in 1929 saw the introduction of a new 490cc engine two cylinders for the new bike range DKW Z The engine used schnuerle the new process, which significantly improves its output power Rasmussen realized that finally, he had an engine that could be used to power a real car.
DKW P-15 DKW first real car was the P-15, the name indicating the power of the engine, an economy car with two power doors was transmitted from the two-cylinder, 600cc rear wheels was by a conventional drive and tree œ differential three-speed transmission is mounted on the self supporting body floor is constructed entirely of plywood and the car had no frame is a view in the engine compartment of a DKW P-15 restored.
Due to capacity problems in Zwickau, the P-15 was built for DKW Spandau near Berlin Bodies 3000 P-15s were sold Rasmussen standing next to his personal P-15.
DKW 4 8 Next to the successful P-15, DKW upped the ante with their next model, 4 August 1000 On 4 8 was powered by a new 4-cylinder two-stroke that was quite different from all the rest in DKW s range the engine was designed before the introduction of schnuerle process in an attempt to solve the problems inherent in the two-stroke is consisted of two engine blocks in an arrangement in V, resulting in a single engine crankshaft Each block comprises two cylinders and a charging chamber as Petroil was pumped through the charging chamber and not the crankcase, the crankshaft needs its own lubrication system, as in a four-cycle engine 4 8 engine cut with loading cylinders in the front.
The marketing department said the two-time 4-cylinder was the equivalent of a four-stroke engine 8 cylinders, but in reality, the engine was full of problems and relatively unreliable.
As with the P-15, August 4 had no chassis, body is plywood construction panels freestanding body were plywood imitation leather cover for protection against the weather than 3,000 cars were produced and some even been exported to the UK and other countries, up contemporary British writing DKW April 8 model shows both the finished car and its mechanisms underlying the front and rear axles were linked only by the drive shaft axles are mounted directly on the plywood chassis This explains why so few of these machines survived.
The route to Auto-Union DKW While business fortunes were looking, things are not so rosy in Germany during the Great Depression, however, Rasmussen advised, was always looking for opportunities, he took over the automobile fittings company Framo, which began manufacturing DKW engined three-wheeled tricycles business After a visit to the US, he bought the car company Rickenbacker and delivered its plant in Germany then, in 1931, Audi bought the company in difficulty, but there was little he could do to lift the fortunes of a Rickenbacker engined Audi models Audi has not managed to print and if Audi was arrested and returned to the factory production of the new car DKW Rasmussen last ditch effort to save Audi was the Audi Type P, which was essentially a DKW April 8 with a Peugeot engine it was too expensive to be an economy car and sales were poor.
Rasmussen main creditor, Bank of Saxony, was concerned about its exposure to the automotive industry one of its customers, Horch, the luxury car maker, was in very poor financial condition Bank asked Rasmussen to support Horch but even Rasmussen baulked Without a massive injection of Horch capital was sentenced Rasmussen and his Council discussed the issue and returned with a plan to form a conglomerate between DKW and Horch, streamline operations and reducing unprofitable models Bank Saxony agreed, but added Wanderer Wanderer in the group, provided the capital necessary to finance the merger under Horch agreement retained the market limousines, Wanderer kept the average size car market and waived his motorcycle arm that carried separately in Czechoslovakia as JAWA and DKW retained the market for low-cost vehicles and motorcycles budget A display in August Horch Museum in Zwickau, Germany demonstrates goods each company car DKW F5 seconds left.
The DKW front may have been serving lower end of the car market, but the necessary depression more cost reduction and design simplification Rasmussen and his design team have set an ambitious goal to design and build a new car for the 1931 Berlin motor Show - a six-week period the design was simplified and reduced construction costs by eliminating the transmission of the rear wheel for the front wheel drive small DKW engine was transversely and power was transmitted directly to the wheels by the drive via the chain drive chain gave the car high torque but the unpredictable performance of the car was an instant hit the Zwickau staff pose around new model of F1 1931 F1 roadster beautifully restored to the Technik Museum Dresden F1 was u No nice vehicle that operates although many were still on the road in 1960.
The DKW Front quickly became the best Auto Union car sale and an accessory to the economic survival of the conglomerate half of all sold Auto Union vehicles was a DKW and DKW fully contributed two thirds of group profits was so DKW great demand that completely took over the production facilities of Audi in Zwickau to increase production; Audi being relegated to a small section of the plant Chemnitz Horsch While this is good news for DKW, it turned out to be less than satisfactory for Rasmussen Rasmussen predicted that because of the dominance of DKW in the group, he would be offered the post of general manager of its banker shareholders had other ideas, however, and the position was offered to Wanderer former sales manager, Baron Klaus von Ouertzen Rasmussen was outraged - and so said, counsel responded by sacking in 1934, but Rasmussen refused to go quietly, taking his complaint Auto Union were forced to pay a Rasmussen 600,000 Reich Marks settlement unknown to him leaving Rasmussen went into semi -retraite on his property in Potsdam, but retained ownership of Framo, he continued working auto projects.
Design responsibilities for DKW now lived with the central committee of Auto Union design by William Werner, former member of Horch, which pooled the creative talents of the four companies The DKW Front went through the rapid development in 1935, the F5 not like a course budget car, it was part of the appeal of the brand - modern style, low-cost marketing a 1935 photo shows the strength of a DKW car mid 1930s DKW was competing with cars valid steel as the Opel Olympia, if DKW has invested a lot of money in marketing pictures specialized coach manufacturing plant in Berlin-Spandau DKWs Although cheap to manufacture, wooden body and leather was work intensive bodies were then shipped to Zwickau a contemporary brochure showing the range of body styles and colors available F series for details of the process and the materials used, here's a link to a construction department Coach modern DKW - DKW F5S on DKW construction line used modern processes construction line for cars and motorcycles DKW L factory was capable of producing 200 cars per day, quite an impressive feat for its time.
The Master Class In 1935, DKW began to move on the serious car market with the introduction of the new model Meisterklasse The master features a 688cc engine bigger, more space and luxurious styling equipment was borrowed the sister company, Wanderer, whose own production had weakened customers could choose from a range of body styles - four-door, two-door, hard and soft tops, sedan or convertible 1937 This sales brochure shows the range of automobile, including two new models of Schwebeklasse.
With the increased size of the engine has come increased 18-20 horsepower, depending on the style of the car, but it makes no real difference to the physical size of the motor Driving the old-style chain has long been replaced by a modern driving style tree and the underlying chassis has also been expanded and strengthened a peak under the hood of advertising Meisterklasse has become too sophisticated and ambitious presentations to the client of the middle class increasingly prosperous, reliability, economy and style are the main characteristics of advertising campaigns Meisterklasse Click this link to a copy of the sales brochure DKW 1939 All were built a few production cars 160,000 F DKW was sold as far Australia the Australian marketing campaign made much of the odyssey of Africa through grueling by DKWs team for more information on Australian sales of DKW.
The Big DKWs Then range before DKW were selling exceptionally well, back line wheel drive DKW languished On 4 8 has been hampered by its too complex engine and unreliable Nevertheless, in 1934 DKW style August 4, 1000 under the name Sonderklasse 1001 Body style has been modernized, but the engine and rear-wheel drive has remained the same power was increased by the addition of a fuel pump, but the motor has been the weak point of the car French advertising for Sonderklasse 1001 the wide range of DKW are substantially larger than the models before and were built in a separate plant They sold and the least expensive beach front.
The Floating Car With the advent of wind tunnel testing in the mid 1930s, German carmakers, as Adler and Mercedes all began experimenting with aerodynamically streamlined cars The outputs of this very interesting phase in automotive design were often hazardous Does the car sound familiar experimental Streamliner 1932 with its engine mounted at the rear, bears a striking resemblance to both the avant-garde Czech Tatra 77 and later Volkswagen Ferdinand Porsche, designer of the Volkswagen, has worked in the Auto Union design team on Silver Arrow racers who dominated the grand Prix interwar DKW jumped on the train to rationalize their Schwebeklasse model Essentially, the car was modernized DKW 1001 Sonderklasse Powered by the engine doubtful 4 8 V with rear wheel drive, the car featured a profile body curved in tirely built of wood and covered with artificial leather distinctive concave radiator was typical of contemporary Hitting the Wanderers my rket at the end of 1936, the Schwebeklasse was a pointer to the future, but not the success hoped DKW as 4 8 engine ever caused problems and the wooden frame showed a disturbing tendency to break under prolonged stress schwebeklasse the style was distinctly different from the rest of the range thanks to war DKW and their inherent mechanical problems, few have survived.
Advancing to the Brink The Meisterklasse pursued is the evolution in the 1930s, the end F7S F8S and offered a much better behavior and performance than their predecessors in particular fittings were much improved and days when DKW was seen as the maker of cheap cars were a thing of the past 4500 F7S came off the production line every month as demand continued to increase the war may be imminent, but the prosperous paradise of your youth care in the world, not when the DKW cars and motorcycles can take them where they want to go or what the marketing department DKW.
But things changed DKW took the lessons of Schwebeklasse and reworked in a new design which they unveiled at the Berlin Motor Show 1937 new Sonderklasse 37 was driving the rear wheels and powered by the motor 4 8 but, unlike all the other cars DKW it featured a body modern steel frame with any other business, it was quite a conventional vehicle, but for DKW it represented a streamlined and elegant radical change, but not too modern to look on instead, the Sonderklasse was a popular vehicle that could compete directly with the Opel Olympia on over 10,000 Sonderklasse playground were sold before DKW was diverted to war production in 1940 apparently the Sonderklasse 37 was quite classic, very similar to the only two contemporary Audi - engine running, it differs from its cousin.
Having Opel at their own game, DKW was now facing a threat of self animal project of Adolf Hitler - the Kdf work by car Joy In 1934, all German car manufacturers were invited to submit designs for a car cheap peoples automakers recognized as a major threat to their business and tried to skew Hitler was not a though to compromise and produce cheap car angrily said Berlin motor Show 1936, is the automakers or they go out of business, I will not have the means, it can not be done there was nothing for it but to establish a nationalized car project.
Hitler himself sketched his vision of the car, which looked surprisingly like incredibly advanced Czech Tatra Ferdinand Porsche made this vision a reality Powered by a rear-mounted four-cylinder, air-cooled engine with four time that could pushed along at a top speed of 100 kilometers per hour, and wrapped in a profiled steel body, the Volkswagen was a sensation in 1938 Kdf Wagens prototype was built and production was about tens of thousands of German workers had signed for stamp regime that would allow them to save up to buy their car This was a major threat to market DKW as directly targeted their home market segment, although DKW himself had drifted somehow If this market DKW was to compete with the car in modern steel Kdf, they should get something out of the hat Work hard, replaced read more your stamp card and you can also enjoy the freedom of the road in your Volkswagen tens of thousands of German workers bought their st amp, but not one received their cars before the war intervened cars were sent to instead the officials of the Nazi party and the army.
In 1939, the war clouds darkened the horizon, presented its new DKW F9 model Outwardly, he looked like a Volkswagen extent, but it has been installed as the most luxurious Sonderklasse 37, it was a whole construction the old steel tired 688cc two-cylinder engine that has not changed since 1928, was replaced by the new 3-cylinder 900cc engine engineering costs have been minimized somewhat by returning to the front wheel to compensate for the anticipated shortage steel, all body panels should be manufactured from a novel synthetic product called Duraplast, made from hardened wood pulp with resin designed to come into full production in 1941, only ten vehicles were built - with all steel body - before the war intervened survivor F9 prototype was seized by the British at the end of the war, then returned to the Australian government to test This may have been because the Australian government is to establish an Australian automotive industry using DKW two-stroke techno logy This plan fell to 1946 and the government auctioned Melbourne DKW aficionado Peter T has found this and other bonuses war private owners and bought the car in 1980, it was bought by Audi and returned to Germany for restoration.
Project Germany DKW Auto Union Wonder Car, project, Germany, driving the rear wheel.