DKW is a former manufacturer of cars and motorcycles.

The early years

In the year 1902 the Dane Skafte Rasmussen as well as his Companion Carl Ernst let the company "Rasmussen and Ernst" register in the trade register of the city Chemnitz, responsibly for the selling of machines and apparatuses of all kinds, however Carl Ernst already leaves the enterprise 1904. In the year 1906 Rasmussen buys a factory former in Zschopau and lets its company also into the there trade register register. Head office remains further Chemnitz. The company is set to a broad product range by accessories for steam engines over household appliances up to devices for electrical therapy. 1913 are accomplished a legal separation of the "Rasmussen and Ernst" and that meanwhile "Zschopauer engine works J.S. Rasmussen" manufacturing enterprise mentioned.

During the First World War the enterprise came nearly completely to succumbing and Rasmussen strove for orders for military. By the production of fuzes the company could extend however even during this time, so that toward end 1915 480 workers for Rasmussen worked.

In the year 1916/17 Rasmussen as well as its former study colleague Mathiesen began the development at a steam motor vehicle, financed by the German military authorities. After the First World War the interest in this technology left however strongly, 1921 the project was completely adjusted. The only one, which remained of this project was the three initial letters DKW.

With beginning of the steam car development the company approximately at the same time acquired the rights at a secondary act fractional horsepower motor of Hugo Ruppe from Apolda, which was marketed first successfully with 18 ccm 0.25 HP as "boys desire" and modern alternative to the toy steam engine quite.

Best seller of the yearly 1921 was from the toy engine developed further, increased and to production stage 2 HP bicycle auxiliary engine "the small miracle", that with the saying""Â… drives uphill like others down! "and by that alone 1921 over 10.000 pieces were applied sold themselves. The engine was installed on the porter, why one also said to it "more ass-warmly". On the basis of this engine and using a Slaby Beringer of Elektrowagens Rasmussen built already 1920 the first DKW Autmobil, which however beyond the prototype status.

Starting from the year 1922 in Zschopau motorcycles and as right hand of the firm founder were manufactured took over Dr. Carl cock the sales management. From the E 200 1927 became the famous blood blister, so-called because the tank was bang-red painted. The model pallet reached up to a water-cooled 600-ccm-2-Zylinder-Maschine (super sport 600). Starting from 1933 DKW introduced the new Umkehrsplung ", which had been developed with Deutz for Diesel engines. This kind of flushing made (nearly) a flat piston head possible, in former times so-called Nasenkolben was used. The reduced piston mass and thus the clearly improved heat dissipation was a milestone in the 2-Takt-Motoren Entwicklung.An of this technology acquired DKW promptly the exclusive rights for the use with petrol engines and assigned even again with a sumptuous profit licenses to other manufacturers.

In addition the company in sharp stone manufactured cooling systems ("coolly the miracle").

1925 took over DKW the Slaby Beringer Automobilgesellschaft and began with the development and production of a Droschke and a delivery van with electric drive, those under the mark D.E.W. (The electrical car) were marketed. In the year 1927 then the development of the DKW P15, a Autombil began that by a two-cylinder engine originating from the building of motorcycles should be propelled. DKW built likewise also tail-GET-rub-ends cars, among other things with four-cylinder engines, which had two additional cylinders as Ladepumpen, begun from the model 4=8 (1929). The four-cylinder models emerged however as error-prone and led to high warranty costs.

1932 - Fusion to car the union

1932 come up the small car producer DKW with that already 1929 acquired upper class mark AUDI as well as the manufacturers of luxury vehicles Horch and car in the medium range Wanderer in the cars union. The group is promoted behind OPELs to the second largest German automobile producer before the war. The vehicles in the small car segment are however still sold under the designation DKW. Volume models were the small secondaryact-end Fronttriebler DKW F1 and F8.

New beginning after 1945

In West Germany the car union in Ingolstadt was again created. One took the production of motor vehicles under the name DKW starting from 1949 the production of motor vehicles. In Ingolstadt with the DKW Schnellaster and the motorcycle DKW blank 125 W (W stands for the west, because in Zschopau blank 125 was also built after In Duesseldorf the car union manufactured the DKW F89.Zuerst developed still motorcycles and automobiles with two-stroke engines under the label name DKW. 1958 were transferred the motorcycle manufacturing to the two-wheeler union created again in Nuremberg under participation of Victoria and express, where however only small numbers of items of the models blank 175 VS and blank 200 VS developed. Mainly mopeds ("Hummel ") and small motor cycles were built. Rasmussen went to the war again to Denmark and built there motorcycles under the name DISA.

The car union manufactured DKW to 1968 automobiles under the name.

• DKW master class
• DKW special class
• DKW high-speed aster
• DKW F12
• DKW F11
• DKW Munga
• DKW junior
• DKW F89
• DKW F91
• DKW 1000
• DKW F102

With assumption the cars union by Volkswagen production was stopped by secondary act vehicles and the name DKW dropclose-read.

Literature

• Thomas's earthling: From the steam motor vehicle to the master class - the history of the DKW of automobiles 1907-1945. autovision, 2003; ISBN 3980583279
• Peter short one: DKW master class - a car for the whole world. Delius Klasing, 2005; ISBN 376881646X

Related links

• DKW car
• DKW Automodelle
• DKW Schnellaster
• Munga industrial union
• DKW club
• DKW of motorcycles
• The two-wheeler union in the moped - museum

Articles in category "DKW"

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