Quote:
Originally Posted by Alberta Luthier
I don't know what a DKW is so I searched....
Is this what your DKW looks like
|
Yep, except instead of white over pale-yellow, mine's white over black. Note the suicide doors (used on two-door models up through 1957)
3-cylinder two-stroke (hence the OEL burner mentioned by Lycoming-8), rack & pinion steering, 4-speed columnshift with selectable freewheel device, and front wheel drive.
Just as Daimler and Benz were automobile pioneers, DKW was a pioneer in front-wheel drive, building the first volume-production FWD car, the F1 two-seater, in 1931 (three years before Citroen!)
Other bits of trivia - The first prototype postwar FWD Saab was built around a salvaged prewar DKW driveterain.
DKW became part of Daimler-Benz in 1958 when they acquired Auto-Union, but after limited success in the low-mid price car market, Auto-Union/DKW was sold to Volkswagen. FWD DKWs, powered by a Benz-designed 4-stroke engine, were rebadged Audi, and thus the postwar Audi was born!
Happy Motoring, Mark