The Complex History of the DKW Brand

One of the duties of my great job is that I change out the displays on the main floor. Usually, our director, Jeff Lane, will give me a list of cars coming and going from the display area. It is a fun part of the job, since I usually end up learning something new about at least one of the vehicles. I recently placed our collection of DKWs on the floor. I’ve always thought of all of these vehicles as DKWs mainly based on the goofy two-stroke engines under their hoods that produce copious amounts of smoke whenever started. I didn’t pay much attention to the badging and just assumed that somehow DKW became Audi. Boy, did I learn a lot once I looked into the history of Audi.

Who made these automobiles? DKW or Auto Union or Vemag and isn’t that an Audi badge? In short: yes to all is accurate. The brand history of Audi is a many-forked road that involves Volkswagen, Daimler-Benz, NSU, IFA, DKW, Auto Union, Wanderer, and even Dr. Porsche. But it all began with August Horch, who founded Horch & Cie in 1899. Horch left Horch & Cie in 1909 after disagreements with the supervisory board, and the following year he began a new company, Audi. So, Mr. Horch founded both Horch and Audi.

This pre-war Audi company is not the one we know today. Its first emblem was not the traditional four rings, but a globe with a number one on top. The original Audi, much like today’s Audi, manufactured mid-to-high-priced cars that emphasized reliability and safety. The Audi Type K was the first German serially produced car to have left hand steering. Early Audis also were one of the first German cars to have hydraulic brakes and engines with torsional vibration dampers.

Meanwhile, in another area of Germany, Jorgen Rasmussen was busy expanding his company that made steam fittings. Anxious to get into the automotive field, he developed a steam-powered car. The first vehicle wasn’t a success, but it did give its name to a soon to be developed automotive/motorcycle empire. The registered name, DKW meant “Dampkraftwagen” (steam-driven vehicle.) Near the end of the World War 1, Mr. Rasmussen became enamored with the two stroke engine. Initially a small toy engine was built with the name “das Knaben Wunsch” (the boy’s wish), then a larger engine to power bicycles was introduced with the name: “das Kleine Wunder” (the small miracle.) Mr. Rasmussen was rather fond of the initials “DKW.” Motorizing bicycles was hugely popular and led to the development of motorcycles. Within eight years DKW was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world.

DKW brought the simplicity of two stroke engines to cars also. In 1924, Rasmussen bought a small company that made electric powered wooden-bodied cars and named it DEW. The first DKW production cars were based on the principles of the somewhat successful electric cars. They had load-bearing wooden bodies covered in faux leather with a two stroke engine. Rasmusssen acquired Audi in 1928, and in 1930 had the two remaining Audi designers design a new front wheel-drive-two-stroke engined car, and do it in six weeks. The first prototype was ready for testing in 36 days. The car was available for purchase in February of ’31 at the Berlin Motor Show. It was the cheapest car on the German market and proved to be a success with strong sales.

In June of 1932 the Auto Union was formed. Horch, Audi, DKW, and Wanderer were merged into the second largest motor vehicle manufacturer in Germany. Auto Union offerings ranged from DKWs inexpensive motorcycles and cars to the luxury cars made by Horch. Audi and Wanderer continued with their lineup of moderate to expensive cars. The now familiar four ring badge was introduced to be placed on the cars along with their own traditional badges, thus the Auto Union DKW badging. Wanderer, before being brought into the Auto Union, had contracted Ferdinand Porsche to design race cars. Porsche’s work continued on with the Auto Union after the merger and led to some of the greatest race cars in history. The Auto Union Type C reached more than 249 miles per hour on the Autobahn in 1937!

Like many things, Auto Union was destroyed during World War II. After the war, in West Germany the new Auto Union was started and since only cheap transportation was marketable only the DKW brand was revived. Horch, Audi, and Wanderer were dead brands. In East Germany, IFA was formed using the pre-war DKW designs. IFA lasted until 1956.

Auto Union DKWs were built outside of Germany under license in many different countries. The DKW-Vemag Belcar 1000, while differing slightly from the Auto Union 1000, was built in Brazil. Companies in Spain, the Netherlands, Argentina, Ireland, South Africa, and even Mexico built DKW licensed cars or vans.

The Auto Union DKW brand came back strong with affordable cars, vans, and motorcycles. The cars and vans were front wheel drive, and all vehicles were of course two-stroke. With the company doing well, buyers for the company were sure to come looking. In 1957 Ford Motor Company looked at buying Auto Union, but once Daimler-Benz caught wind of the talks they quickly bought up the company. The problem with the merger was that Daimler-Benz didn’t like the two stroke engines. The relationship lasted until 1964 when Daimler sold their interest to Volkswagen. Out of the brief relationship Daimler kept plants in Spain and Dusseldorf. It also kept the name to a once fierce competitor in the luxury market- “Horch.”

Volkswagen bought Auto Union since it would increase their production capacity and also to take down a major competitor. Volkswagen was not a fan of two stroke engines, and the public’s enthusiasm had also dimmed by the mid ‘60s. The last two-stroke DKW left the factory in March 1966. The new DKW, the F102, had a four-stroke 1.7 liter engine that had been demanded by the Daimler Benz management. VW at this point killed the DKW brand because of the public’s distaste for the brand and its two-stroke engines. VW brought back a brand name that was associated with quality upscale cars- Audi, one of the four brands of the original Auto Union. Mercedes has yet to bring back the Horch nameplate.

In 1969 Audi and NSU merge to form Audi NSU Auto Union AG. This is the company that we know as present-day Audi. NSU’s difficulties with their rotary engines led to their demise. Today at the old NSU factory in Neckarsulm the higher-end and higher performance Audis are produced.

Our display features a 1933 DKW F2, a ’58 DKW utility van, a ’61 Auto Union 1000 Universal Coupe de Luxe, a Brazilian-built ’62 DKW-Vemag Belcar 1000, and a lovely ’62 Auto Union 1000 SP coupe. They all have two-stroke engines and smoked profously when awakened from their slumber. After all this research I now know who to blame for all the smoke that filled the museum: Damn Rasmussen!

The museum’s DKW exhibit will be on display until September 5, 2011.

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