Auto Union DKW Owners

[AutoUnioNZ]

The DKW-Schai Special;



The shape of the bodywork was inspired by the Lotus 23 at the time. The casual observer will notice the individual wheels, or Fiat  front and DKW at the rear. We do not know which spare wheel was adopted for road use!
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In the early '60's, Swiss racing driver Toni Schai was driving  a Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint in national races.  He desperately wanted to drive a "real" race car, but his financial resources did not allow it the aquisition of one. The young architect then undertook the construction of a car, to his liking, by first collecting parts.

He chose the front end from a Fiat 600 and the complete mechanicals from a DKW Junior, or engine, gearbox, front suspension, all attached to the front of the DKW chassis. He planned to install this set on the back of the car, thereby creating a mid-engined car. The next step was to draw up the plans of the car scale 1: 1, this, he apparently drew on the walls of his apartment!  The tubular chassis was built by a friend  while Toni undertook himself to mould the body of fibreglass and resin. From 1964, the car was involved in many national events where it appeared regularly.  It often won the "850cc" category. It must be said, though, that in the meantime, the original engine was replaced by a Mantzel "stage 3" engine of about 100 hp, while the transverse leaf spring front gave way to springs + telescopic shock absorbers of formula 3 style. Road holding was apparently "sensational", helped by a curb weight of around 430 kg.

The sporting career of Toni and his DKW Special continued until 1970 when he sold the car to concentrate on the construction of his house.

The car was restored, from a parlous condition in 1996 - and is still active today.

[brian]

Not the cleanest radiator installation I have ever seen although the airflow should be OK

[AutoUnioNZ]

I have to agree with you there Brian!  Still - I guess it works OK...

To carry on a little bit from my post a few pages back regarding the DKW F102, which was well loved in New Zealand, I'd like to share the transition of the F102 to the F103 with you.  The F103 was, of course, the car that became known, in 1965, as the "Audi".



Audi history mostly describes the transition of the F102 to the F103 as "mutated", a term I honestly rather dislike.  Many articles, some written as recently as a few days ago ( see this one: http://news.boldride.com/2016/05/mercedes-made-audi-into-what-it-is-today/103663/ ) make a pretence that the F102 was a bad car.  Certainly this was not the case! The F102 was actually a great car to drive - unfortunately hurt by its two stroke reputation - but a good performer and reliable and...aside from the engine, a modern car - there really was, essentially, nothing wrong with it.

The assertion that the F102 was only a Mercedes W118 with a two stroke motor and minor styling changes is also factually incorrect.

However - all that said, by the middle of 1964 it was evident that the F102, nice car as it was, was a sales disaster - and disharmony in Auto Union management was at an all time high - with Mercedes looking to divest themselves of the lot (by the end of 1964 Volkswagen had bought Auto Union).  The proposal went to Bertone to restyle the F102 (the project was not yet the F103, but a development of the F102) - this was the revised DKW F102 Bertone presented (note the sticker in the rear window "Der Grosser DKW F102" );

Familiar - No?





Several sources incorrectly identify the car above as an F103 - it is not so.  It is an F102.

Of course - very quickly, the styling was tweaked, and the already planned insertion of the 1700cc Mercedes M118 "Mitteldruckmotor" engine went ahead. On 1 January 1965 Auto Union officially became the property of Volkswagenwerk Gmbh, and the new car was renamed as the "Audi" - a prewar part of Auto Union.  The car remained, at first anyway, the "Auto Union F103" with the name "Audi".

Since the chassis on the F103 was taken from the DKW F102 with a 3-cylinder two-stroke engine, the longer engine meant that the cooling system had to be offset to the left of the engine instead of the normal position in front of it. Because of the radiator?s location, the front cylinder of the engine had a tendency to run cooler than the other three and as a consequence the spark plug tended to foul up, particularly if the engine was often used in city traffic. To avoid this, it was often recommended to run a hotter spark plug (with a lower heat range) in the front cylinder than in the other three.

They were nicknamed the Mitteldruckmotor (medium-pressure engines) because of their unusually high BMEP (mean effective pressure, as calculated from brake torque) values, which led to a good thermodynamic efficiency. The engines had spiral-formed intake channels that gave the fuel-air mixture a good swirl. The engine had Heron-type combustion chambers with broad squish bands, further enhancing the mixture swirl and aiding good combustion. These features made it possible to use very high compression ratios for the time. The initial engine version had a CR of 11.2 to 1 for 98 RON fuel and even the engines intended for 92 RON fuel had a CR of 9 to 1, which was a very unusually high value for the time.

The resulting car - although of the same horsepower (initially) as the DKW F102 it replaced, was a sales success, and the fields of unsold cars were a thing of the past.;



The marketeers were quick to remove DKW and Auto Union from the brand consciousness - and for many years Audi cut the years 1949 - 1964 from their history entirely (see my friend Paul Markham's excellent blog for his article on the F103 here : http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/audi-f103.html ) .  If post war DKW's were mentioned - it was with derision and anything DKW was treated with Pariah-like aversion.

A lot of this persists today, unfortunately.

Overnight DKW owners were like Lepers - the new Auto Union (soon renamed "Audi") got rid of anything DKW as quickly as possible.  Parts and servicing support ceased for DKW cars shortly thereafter.

In some countries (such as South Africa) private individuals bought all the DKW stock from the Auto Union/Audi dealerships and luckily for us - the majority of this has remained preserved.

Later (rather recently actually), Audi themselves bought much of this stock back (someone told me the majority from South America?) - and now support DKW cars through the "Audi Tradition" shop - see here: http://trshop.audi.de/konakart/SelectCat.do?catId=112&prodsFound=-1&category=DKW+Auto+Union and in the year 2000 opened a new Audi Museum at Ingolstadt - which has gone some way to improving the once Pariah status of DKW.

The Tradition Shop went online in 2010 ( see the press release here; https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/press-releases/audi-tradition-online-shop-for-spare-parts-3718 )

[AutoUnioNZ]

I've often heard people say that they did not know that there were DKW cars in New Zealand, or that they don't remember seeing them in the '50's and '60s.  Mmmmm - just the other day I ran across this 1967 copy of "The Manapouri Messenger" - just look how many second hand Deeks Crosbies in Invercargill had for sale!  There were quite a few.  Note especially the station wagon - that would have been a private import.

CLICK ON THE ARTICLE FOR A LARGER, READABLE VERSION , OF COURSE

[AutoUnioNZ]

The Costin-DKW (known as the Costin Ultra Low Drag Vehicle)

Legendary designer Frank Costin advanced monocoque chassis design and was instrumental in adapting aircraft aerodynamic knowledge for automotive use.



This was the fifth car designed by Frank Costin and named by Frank's project number "Auto".

To quote from Motorsport magazine September 1984

"Auto V ? 1962. The Ultra Low Drag Vehicle commissioned by TVR with a view to production. The construction became Costin's hallmark for the next few years: a wooden monocoque, all round independent suspension, disc brakes on all four wheels, and light tubular subframe sections fore and aft. A bench seat took three people (statistically, an average passenger load), the wooden tear-drop body had a veneer of fibreglass to improve finish and, powered by a DKW engine giving less than 35 bhp, the car was so slippery that it could exceed 100 mph. "Drag coefficient?" asks Frank, "I've never quoted them. It's just a current buzz word, meaning whatever people want it to mean. Aircraft men laugh at those quoted nowadays."

The prototype was startling in appearance and suffered from cooling and ventilation problems ? Costin says he used too much glass in it. Having spent ?7,000 on the project, a tiny amount by any standards. TVR decided not to spend any more. Given Costin's track record as regards cooling, the prototype could doubtless have been made to work and it was probably the car's unusual shape which caused the board to have cold feet. "

The car is still around;

[vonripsnorter]

I've often heard people say that they did not know that there were DKW cars in New Zealand, or that they don't remember seeing them in the '50's and '60s.

Love your posts re the History of DKW & the NZ connection
Just last week I saw a picture of the Christchurch Cathedral. The picture was taken some time in the 60's & most wouldn't notice, but you could clearly see a DKW SP1000 Coupe driving passed .
Now I must admit , I did not know any of those made it to NZ     

Now please excuse me if you have already mentioned it ( I have only just today discovered this awesome thread)
But is there any connection between the DKW Junior & the East German Trabant ? 

[AutoUnioNZ]

Thanks Vonripsnorter!

In short - aside from very early ancestry, and the fact that DKW invented Duroplast before the war, there is no link between the DKW Junior and the Trabant.  They do have a passing resemblance though;



  In a design sense they are completely unrelated cars - developed independently of each other.

My good friend in Australia, Paul Markham wrote an excellent article on the evolution of the Trabant here:

http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.co.nz/2014/01/trabant-east-german-peoples-car.html

In my humble opinion though - the DKW Junior was a very much superior product - featuring such niceties as inboard brakes.34 bhp (8 more than the Trabant anyway...), the relative refinement of a three cylinder engine over the  two cylinder, also, it was better made and, in my opinion, more attractively styled.

[AutoUnioNZ]

Road and Track magazine's "Pressmobile";

Road & Track (often abbreviated R&T) magazine was founded by two friends, Wilfred H. Brehaut, Jr. and Joseph S. Fennessy, in 1947, in Hempstead, New York, USA.

After a downpour at the 1955 Pebble Beach road races, the staff at Road & Track decided that they needed a vehicle to serve as a combination mobile office, galley, and bunk for future West Coast races. They looked at a Wells Cargo trailer and a Ford wagon; a Fiat Multipla; a Volkswagen Kombi (bus); a Chrysler Town & Country wagon; and Alfa Romeo?s ?Romeo? Camper. But what they actually bought for their new ?Pressmobile,? as it said on the side, was a DKW 3=6 "Schnellaster".

DKW had been the largest European motorcycle manufacturer before World War II, and it was a two-stroke specialist, so it was little surprise that their 3=6 followed the trend. Even the name, ?3 equals 6?, is a subtle boast about the power plant, which has three cylinders that give the performance of a small six. Volkswagen?s Micro Bus, however, was probably the closest competitor. At the time, it would have been notably smaller and lighter and correspondingly less expensive. The DKW made up for its weight disadvantage with 42 horsepower and 57 foot-pounds of torque, yielding ?enough ?steam? to pull a much heavier Karavan along at a better rate,? said Road & Track. They also noted that the torquey, high-revving two-stroke would burn rubber in first gear, while also being able to cruise comfortably at 60 mph. Its best quality, however, was its handling on the open road, ?which can only be described as amazing.? Add tremendous reliability?one tune-up and a single loose wire in Road & Track?s first 9,000 miles were the only work required?and ahead-of-its-time features, like a curbside door with five feet eight inches of headroom, a flat floor, and front-wheel drive, and the DKW is a look forward at the minivans that were to come decades later.



Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, 1956.


In December 1956 Road and Track did a comparative test on the VW and the DKW;

CLICK ON THE IMAGE FOR A LARGER VERSION

[AutoUnioNZ]

Emerson Fittipaldi and DKW



The story goes that, aged just twelve, Emerson Fittipaldi took his parents DKW for a drive while on a family outing - and crashed it, writing the car off.

Some years later - aged 20 he raced a DKW Malzoni in the 1000 mile Interlagos race in 1966. Emmerson and team mate Jan Balder failed to win the classic race when they ran out of fuel with one lap to go and had to stop for a splash down. In this photo, Emerson clad in his helmet and gloves helps with the refueling while Jan Balder sat at the wheel. The future World Champion reportedly burst into tears after the chequered flag, So close and yet so far....



He did however, show what the Malzoni was capable of....

[AutoUnioNZ]

The "Peoples Car" - DKW Junior production in India - a stillborn project.

Today, the Indian Tata company is well known worldwide.  This industrial giant is today known as an automaker of some experience.  Back in the 1950's though, this was not the case.



Although they had been in existence since 1868 and manufacturing trucks since the 1951, and railway locomotives earlier than that, TELCO (Tata Engineering and Locomotive COmpany) had greater aspirations.  Its Chairman, French-born Indian JRD Tata was a car enthusiast and aviator (he had obtained his pilots licence in 1929 and started Tata Airlines in 1932) - he bought a Bugatti Type 35A when he was just 21 years old.

JRD Tata (Born 1904, Paris - Died 1993, Switzerland)



In fact, "JRD" as he was known, had always wanted to build cars.  Almost immediately after the Indian Independence he went to Germany to see Ferry Porsche to negotiate the building of an Indian "People's Car", and before most other people did, he recognised the potential of the Volkswagen Beetle.  This, however, could not reach fruition - not through any fault of either JRD or Porsche - but rather bureaucracy.

The 1951 enactment of the "Industries Act" in India meant that TELCO were issued licences for manufacture.  In this case, it was deemed by the Indian Government that truck manufacture was the most pressing need, and thus TELCO were granted a licence to build trucks. Motor manufacture had to take a backseat for the moment, as it were, for TELCO anyway.  However, this provided a working relationship with Daimler Benz of Germany - and soon TELCO were building Mercedes-Benz L-311 trucks.

In 1959 the people's car idea came back in India - when an Indian Government appointed a committee to put out for proposals and idea for a cheaper "people's car" for Indians.  This placed TELCO in a good position - they had an excellent working relationship with Daimler-Benz, who at that time owned 87% of Auto Union Gmbh.

DKW Cars were known in India - and were sold and widely promoted before World War 2





Tribesmen admire the DKW Meisterklasse of Paul Hartlmaier on his expedition in India 1935/1936



TELCO were then amongst the first to submit a proposal - they proposed to build the DKW Junior, a car then fresh into production in Europe, bang-up-to-date and well-supported by their partners Daimler-Benz.  The plan showed great promise. A planned sale price of Rs 6950- was competitive.  The project moved ahead with some speed....

However TELCO were not granted a licence to build cars....however excellent the proposal was, Indian law at that time allowed only three car manufacturing licences - and these were taken up already.  Despite significant initial investment in the project, Tata's days of car manufacture were in the future - and not able to be realised in 1959.  Many have speculated on what it could have meant if this project had gone ahead.  Would the massive Indian market have changed Auto Union's fortunes and the path that led them into the arms of Volkswagen in 1965?  We'll never know.

Here is an excerpt from a book 'Horizons - the Tata India Century - 1904 2004' by Aman Nath & Jay Vithalani with Tulsi Vatsal

[vonripsnorter]

Wow, Just imagine how different things would have been if this did go ahead & was a success . What a very different car industry we would have today.
Mercedes would have been more reluctant to sell it (Auto-Union) as it could have been very profitable , but imagine how different Audi would be today & most likely would never have moved upmarket as it was VW that wanted a 'premium' brand to compete with the likes of Mercedes.

Even VW would have been a very different company if they had not acquired Auto-Union , if a company at all by now as things were very dire for them back in the late 60's early 70's .
Would we have even had the Golf as we know it today & we would never have seen the Passat etc ( which was simply an Audi 80 in a different body )

Would we have ever had or seen 'quattro' ? I doubt it . Mercedes would have kept the brand 'below' their own premium brand as not to compete & to be honest, Mercedes don't have a greatest reputation for management of their sub-brands so it would be also possible that by now, the 4 rings would have been completely consigned to the history books even decades ago .

I think after reading that interesting post AutoUnioNZ , that we can be thankful that TELCO were not granted a licence to build cars . It would have been very possible that we would not even have VW , let alone Audi as we know today     

[AutoUnioNZ]

So true...I suppose there are many such "what if" stories out there... You make a good point Vonripsnorter! The Volkwagen group as we know it would not exist today I suppose (or at least in the form we know it) had things panned out differently.  Who knows - Auto Union may have then earlier seen the light to go with four stroke power?  It has been written many times too, that the history of Audi/Auto Union is one of the most interesting and convoluted stories out there in the motor industry - I have to say, I agree.

I have always felt though, that the postwar history of the company before 1965 was sorely neglected and oft skipped.  I'll make my little contribution to telling some of it.

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I hinted in an earlier post that many famous people drove DKW's.  I have already dealt with a few.  Now I'll mention another - German aviatrix and , in a smaller sense, Auto Union personality Elly Beinhorn.

A face that tells a story - Elly later in life


Elly Beinhorn-Rosemeyer (30 May 1907 ? 28 November 2007) was a German aviatrix - referred to as ?one of the most daring women of the 20th century? on the inside cover of her autobiography Alleinflug (Solo Flight).  She was the wife of prewar Auto Union racing superstar Bernd Rosemeyer. Her flying adventures are truly something here is one example -

"Long distance flying was her real passion and in 1931 she seized the opportunity to fly to Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau) West Africa on a scientific expedition. On the return journey, engine failure resulted in a crash-landing in the Sahara. With the help of nomadic Tuareg tribesmen, Elly joined a camel caravan to Timbuktu. She subsequently returned to the crash site to recover parts of the plane. Word of her plight reached the French authorities and they sent a military two-seater plane to collect her.

In April 1931, fully recovered, she was able to fly herself back to Berlin to a warm reception from the crowds."

She visited New Zealand with her Klemm KL20 aircraft in 1932, while on her "Around the World Flight". The flight took her via southern Asia to Port Darwin in Australia, where she boarded a ship to Panama via New Zealand. From Panama she flew via the Cordilleras to the east coast of South America, arriving in Buenos Aires on July 23, 1932. She did not fly the Klemm in New Zealand, but had it shipped to Panama, where she resumed her flying Odyssey. The  AHSNZ Journal describes her visit to Masterton thus - ""She slipped quietly out of the sky over Masterton. The wheels of her little Moth biplane, ZK-ABE, touched the grass of Hood Aerodrome gently. A slightly self-conscious little group of flying fans waited to whisk her to a civic reception in the Midland Hotel and in a few hours she was gone, perhaps the most famous woman in her time - royalty apart - to visit Masterton."



She married Bernd Rosemeyer in 1935, sadly he was killed in January 1938 in the Auto Union Streamliner.  Elly though, remained loyal to Auto Union for the rest of her life;

Here is Elly Beinhorn taking delivery of her brand new 1958 Auto Union 1000;



She lived to the wonderful age of 100 years old - and in 2008, after her death (2007) the Audi Museum at Ingolstadt placed a special exhibition  that included a model of the Messerschmitt ME 108 "Taifun" in which Elly Beinhorn pulled off the remarkable feat of becoming the first woman to fly round the world single-handed (this, though, is a claim of some controversy, as she had the aircraft shipped between some parts of the world - the full flight was finally conquered by an American housewife, Jerrie Mock in 1964).

Bernd Rosemeyer, Elly Beinhorn and Ferdinand Porsche






Elly appears right in the beginning of this fantastic 1960 Auto Union film with her 1958 Auto Union 1000 Coupe de Luxe;

https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/de/audimediatv/video/audi-werbefilm-traeume-die-sie-kaufen-koennen-1960-264

[vonripsnorter]

Keep this awesome info up. One of the Bests threads on here at the moment

& secondary, that has to be one of the first photos I have ever seen of Ferdinand Porsche , with an ear to ear, genuine smile

[brian]

+1
Yery interesting and informative
As I mentioned earlier, there is enough here for a book

[AutoUnioNZ]

Thanks guys!  As I say every time, it is your enthusiasm that spurs me on!

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DKW IN FINLAND



Rally leader (and eventual winner) Osmo Kalpala, his co-driver Eino Kalpala and Stig Sj?blom servicing their DKW Donau during the 6th Jyv?skyl?n Suurajot (Rally Finland) in 1956.
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The Rally Finland was first held under the name Jyv?skyl?n Suurajot (Jyv?skyl? Grand Prix) in 1951. Originally an endurance event that stretched to Lapland in Northern Finland, the rally was at the forefront of the adoption of the modern rally format, splitting the route into a number of special stages in the mid-1950s. With increasing international attention, it became part of the European Rally Championship programme in 1959. After the start of the World Rally Championship in 1973, the event became the Finnish round in the series. Rally Finland is now among the most popular and prestigious rallies in the championship.



For the 1956 event, Osmo Kalpala raced to an overall victory in a brand new Donau F93.  Donau F93?  Never heard of it?   Don?t worry, neither had I!
The story goes like this; Finnish DKW importer Sisu cars (The Finnish heavy vehicle producer Suomen Autoteollisuus)  had some trouble selling DKW cars with the DKW name, as this had been registered before the War to another person who had the sole rights to distribute DKW cars and motorcycles in Finland.  Sisu ? not to be outdone, then sold the cars badged as ?Donau?.  This situation continued until the early 1960?s, when, at last, the impasse was resolved  and a new importer was appointed ?VEHO?and the cars could be sold as ?DKW? again in Finland. 

A rather poor, cut-off photograph of a 1958 Donau 1000 ? still, of course, in the F93 series. The large Donau badge is noticeable.


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A further aside to this story is that Sisu assembled a series of ten Schnellasters in Karis, Finland at the end of November 1956. The vehicle was branded Donau-Sisu. The bodies were welded in Finland by use of fixtures delivered from West Germany. Welding of the complete body took just two hours per unit. Plans were in place for a larger scale production but it was not started because the technically archaic vehicle did not meet the needs of the potential Finnish customers (considered as such at that time).  One repairable Donau-Sisu has survived and saved by vintage vehicle enthusiasts . 




The conclusion and resolution of the DKW name impasse can be seen in this 1965 DKW F102 brochure issued by ?VEHO? for the-then new DKW F102;

[AutoUnioNZ]

A very popular option on DKW's was the "Saxomat" automatic clutch.  Not that many were sold in NZ - and to my knowledge only two exist today in NZ, a 1960 1000S Coupe which is in the Southward Museum, and my 1958 3=6 F94 four door (which I am busy rebuilding).  There is little information available on it today - so I thought I would make a little write up for those interested;

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The Story of the Saxomat ?Automatic? Clutch



The Saxomat or ?Sax-O-mat? was referred to in a 1956 DKW brochure as making driving ?Child?s Play?!  That may or may not have been have an over-enthusiastic appreciation of the system?.. you decide??let?s have a look at some of its history and how it works;
  In the early 1950?s Fichtel and Sachs AG designed the Saxomat as a type of automatic clutch . It was available as an option on many cars of the 1950?s such as the Fiat 1800, Lancia Flaminia, SAAB 93 and 96, Borgward Isabella, Goliath/Hansa 1100,DKW 3=6,  Auto Union 1000, Ford Taunus, Sachsenring (Trabant), other than some models from BMW, Opel, Steyr-Puch, NSU, Glas, Wartburg and Volkswagen. Opel sold it as the ?Olymat?; Sachsenring and Wartburg named the system ?Hycomat?. The ?Hydrak?, used in some Mercedes-Benz vehicles between 1957 and 1961, was a similar system with a hydrodynamic torque converter in place of the Saxomat's centrifugal clutch, this H.T.C. system was standard on NSU Ro 80 and was optional on the Porsche 911 (Sportomatic). The system also reappeared in the 1990s as ?Sensonic?.



The Hydrak ?automatic clutch option?, offered by Mercedes on the 220 from the late '50s until they introduced a ?proper? automatic transmission in the early '60s, used a switch on the shift lever connected to a solenoid valve to operate a vacuum servo connected to the clutch on a manual gearbox. Compared to the Saxomat automatic clutch offered on smaller European cars at that time, the Hydrak had the added refinement of a fluid drive.



The Saxomat was an evolution of the F & S-roller centrifugal clutch as a lower-cost alternative to models with automatic transmission. Pricing of  the Saxomat was therefore between automatic transmissions of the day, and a conventional ?manual? change.
On Auto Union/DKW cars the Saxomat was only originally available on Coupe and four door versions of the 3=6 series (the F93 3=6 Coupe and the F94).  By 1960, this was extended to the two door ?standard saloon? version of the Auto Union 1000 (it was available on the 1000S Coupe and Four door also).
Also, in post-war Germany, there was a market for vehicles that could be adapted for use by persons that had lost one or both legs during the war. As automatic transmissions were a rarity there, at that time, the automatic clutch option fulfilled that requirement nicely.

Cars with a Saxomat clutch do not have a clutch pedal. The Saxomat consists of two independent systems, the centrifugal clutch, and the servo clutch. The centrifugal clutch is engaged above certain engine rpms by centrifugal force (RPM as adjusted), acting on spinning weights inside the clutch, similar to a centrifugal governor.




As stated above, essentially, the Saxomat works with two parallel clutches and a freewheel:



The Saxomat clutch is a combination of two single dry plate clutches:  one is operated by centrifugal force and utilises a bronze friction material and another is a normal type with asbestos material and is operated by a release bearing, a clutch lever and a vacuum actuator. The illustration to the left shows a high-rpm situation where the centrifugal clutch is engaged. The illustration to the right shows a low-rpm situation where the centrifugal clutch is released.



The purpose of the clutch control system is to release the clutch whenever the gear lever  (1) is operated and  re-engage the clutch,  when a new gear has been selected, and the accelerator pedal is depressed. Vacuum is supplied from the intake manifold and stored in  a  reservoir.  When the gear lever is touched electric current is supplied to the solenoid in the control valve (2). Vacuum is transferred to the vacuum diaphragm actuator (3) which pulls the clutch lever and releases the clutch. The diaphragm-valve-system  at the right end of the control valve (2)  ensures a controlled vacuum release and thereby a ?soft? re-engagement of the clutch.  The thin hose connection to the carburettor signals a hard depressed accelerator which hastens the clutch take-up.



The servo clutch used an electric switch that supplied manifold vacuum via an actuator valve to a reservoir that disengaged the clutch. The clutch is disengaged automatically whenever the gear shift lever was touched.



Here, above, the gear lever switch is visible in this shot of a DKW ?Fissore? Saxomat, just above the rubber boot on the gear lever.



Here, above, is the Saxomat pedal and gear lever arrangement in a Volkswagen Beetle

Unfortunately, despite being a reasonably popular option on DKW/Auto Union cars it never gained widespread acceptance in the industry and was variously criticised for slow gearchange and complexity and cost of repair. The reputation of Saxomat was already savaged as early as 1956 when several motor magazines, testing Saxomat equipped DKW?s, found them slow on gearchanges and the Saxomat was felt to be a damper to the best performance of the car.  By the 1970?s, many owners of Saxomat equipped cars had begun converting them to manual clutches ? mostly in frustration due to lack of knowledge on how the system worked and in certain cases, lack of spare parts.  Especially Volkswagen owners complained of unreliable operation.  However ? properly maintained ? many DKW owners had nothing but praise for the ease of use and reliability of the system.

Saxomat today
Although an estimated 500 Auto Union/DKW cars, worldwide, are still using Saxomat clutches, these are now rare amongst other marques ? perhaps only 20 Volkswagens worldwide still retain their original Saxomat fitment.







VOLKSWAGEN SPARED NO EFFORT TO SELL THE SAXOMAT..... THIS YOUNG LADY DECLARES ABOUT THE SAXOMAT - "I AM IN LOVE"

[AutoUnioNZ]

Another one for the Kiwi car spotters - shared by friends on Facebook today - Here is a photograph of the NZ Herald building in Queen Street, Auckland circa 1975 - and in the foreground.....a DKW 3=6 Universal (Station wagon).  These were not sold new in NZ, so this one would have been a private import;

CLICK ON THE PHOTOGRAPH FOR A SLIGHTLY LARGER VERSION

[AutoUnioNZ]

The DKW powered Boitel.....



"The company Automobiles Boitel began business as an automaker at their plant on the eastern side of Paris in 1946. By 1950 the last car had been produced.



Boitel was an engineer who developed a two seater small car during the early 1940s, but the single-cylinder engined prototype proved too small to transport two people and the project was abandoned. The Boitel resurfaced soon after the French Liberation, however, when the manufacturer exhibited a small two seater steel bodied cabriolet car at the 1946 Paris Motor Show. The Boitel was now powered by a two-cylinder two-stroke engine of 400 cc for which a maximum 12 hp of power was claimed. In 1947 Boitel returned to the Paris Motor Show with another small two seater steel bodied cabriolet car, very similar to the previous year's exhibit but slightly more elegant. Now it was powered by a rear mounted 589 cc 18 hp DKW engine. The final car, produced for 1949, followed the same format but was powered by a 688 cc engine providing 20 hp. It seems that all three cars sat on a 2000 mm wheelbase and were 3150 mm long overall.



It is not clear whether the Boitel ever went into production. At the 1947 motor show there was an understanding that the cars would enter production in 1948 and some orders were taken in anticipation of this. Boitel took some deposits with the orders which subsequently could not be refunded because the business failed."

[Lee]

Just in case no one has posted this

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/wrecked-cars/auction-1073674067.htm

[AutoUnioNZ]

I've been so busy at work - I've been unable to write any regular updates for a while!

Here is a short one, showing the 1956 DKW Monza that Audi entered into the 2016 Mille Miglia;

See the link here: https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/photos/detail/coupes-seemed-to-have-been-created-solely-for-long-distance-races-like-the-dkw-monza-from-1956-at-the-mille-miglia-in-italy-31047