The first transverse engine FWD car was built by Walter Christie in 1904 but it was not a production car. He built racing cars and later a tank which would do 120 MPH with the tracks removed and 80 MPH with them installed. The US army wasn't interested so he sold the idea to the Russians who based the T-34 on his design. Not knocking the Deek though- I would love to own one and have it keep my 3 cylinder 2 stroke Saab company. The DKW 2 cylinder was built by Saab for use in their earliest models such as the 92.
F for Frontantrieb- forward (wheel) drive. The last model to be produced before 1945 was the F 8. The beautiful streamline F 9 with its all-steel body instead of wood (either steam bend, laminated or ply) remained a blueprint. It was eventually built in Eastern Germany from the late 1940s onwards under the new name IFA of its producer. The management of DKW had gone west and after some time when it only built motorcycles entered the market with its own version of the F 9 project. It was the later 3=6 and 1000S .
@@SenSe-oj5hb maybe you should have read the headline, it is a 1931 DKW F1, not even near a Trabant, which was a car of eastern Germany (GDR) , start of production late 1950s.
Another great video! Interesting to see just how much of this 1931 car is almost exactly the same as the Trabant 601. I'm surprised the F1 is water cooled, Trabants lost that and had forced air cooling. My first car was a 1990 Trabant 601 Wagon in 2005. Two-stroke cars were looked down upon by then, but I think they are a really clever and simple design.
That’s so cool that your first car was a 601! A little jealous over here. The F1 - right through the AWZ Zwickau we’re water cooled I believe and the air cooled engine first appeared in the P50. Which I have filmed also!
In the early 30s there was a popular tango in Germany with the sentimental lyrics "In einer kleinen Konditorei, da saßen wir zwei, bei Kuchen und Tee...." In a small pastry shop, the two of us would sit over cake and tea..." It was soon ridiculed like "...da saßen wir zwei, und fraßen für drei..." The two of us would sit and devour enough for three... One parody was "auf einer endlos langen Chaussee, steht ein DKW, tief in Eis und Schnee..." On an endlessly long country road a DKW is stuck in ice and snow...
A mid-60s DKW F-102, bought new, was a very good car and the only new one Dad ever had. He put 52K miles on it with no problems. Like VWs, they had no fixed cruising speed, just whatever it would do, up to 80mph if you were in a hurry. The main problem was that in NZ, mechanics who could service a 3-cyl 2T correctly were a rare breed. Example: I took it to a grease monkey in Barry's Point Road to be tested on a dynomometer. This genius confidently drove it into the customary position and put chocks on the front wheels. (I'm about 20 at the time) Before he could do any damage to dad's car, I told him. "Front wheel drive!" Long story short, it was a lovely looking car and I don't recall it smoking excessively. If I could obtain one now in working condition, I'd consider buying it as a hobby car.
from my knowledge this engine (or an evolution of design of this engine) went onto power Wartburgs until about 1989 lol. Awesome find though, dkws of this era are really scarce!
If you are interested...there are quite a few post war DKW's in New Zealand. I have a couple, and you're welcome to test one if you want to make another video. As you know...they're two stroke all the way to end of production in 1965...so really cool little cars!
That would be amazing! I’m on both Facebook and Instagram under the same name - Moving Our World if you are on either of those platforms please get in touch. Otherwise I have an email that works. Keen to check out anything!
Amazing to think that this is pretty much Genesis for what would become the GDR motor industry - the Trabant and the Wartburg would slowly evolve out of this technology. Look at that gear shifter - so similar to the AWZ P70 Zwickau. Deutscher Geschichte auf Räder!
I agree, very cool little machine. As far as the weird machines - It's thanks to a lifetime of being overly curious and happy to spark up conversations with literally anyone. Somehow this has led me to access some incredible forms of transport. Long may it continue. There are so many good stories that need to be shared.
The DKW does not seem to be world's first FWD car. As early as 1899 there was the french Latil, and 1900 the austrian Gräf voiturette. Both with Tansverse 1 cyl. engines (De Dion I think). In the 1920's, the french Tracta was the first one with double articulated joints on front axle (systeme Gregoire).
The term we’re going for here is Worlds first mass produced, transverse front wheel drive car. Agree - it’s a bit of a leap. But it’s still a cool feat.
@@MovingOurWorld Shouldn't there be a rubber boot of some kind over the joint? It looks very susceptible to dirt and grit which I would think would wear it out rapidly. That is sure a neat little car. I've been to the Audi museum in Ingolstadt and they have several F1s there and there is a museum in Dresden that has IFAs. Post war with a wooden body but covered in a kind of vinyl material.
@@dnickegmx East Germany is a place, we still have East Germany, East Germans are different from West Germans now as a result of their unshared history. As such, this car is part of their history.
The DKW F1 and its successors were all built in the Audi factory in Zwickau.
The first transverse engine FWD car was built by Walter Christie in 1904 but it was not a production car. He built racing cars and later a tank which would do 120 MPH with the tracks removed and 80 MPH with them installed. The US army wasn't interested so he sold the idea to the Russians who based the T-34 on his design. Not knocking the Deek though- I would love to own one and have it keep my 3 cylinder 2 stroke Saab company. The DKW 2 cylinder was built by Saab for use in their earliest models such as the 92.
F for Frontantrieb- forward (wheel) drive. The last model to be produced before 1945 was the F 8. The beautiful streamline F 9 with its all-steel body instead of wood (either steam bend, laminated or ply) remained a blueprint. It was eventually built in Eastern Germany from the late 1940s onwards under the new name IFA of its producer. The management of DKW had gone west and after some time when it only built motorcycles entered the market with its own version of the F 9 project. It was the later 3=6 and 1000S .
Wow! This video deserves a whole ton more attention, you're on entertainment par with Doug Demuro while showing more unique cars at the same time.
Appreciate your comment! Thanks for watching. Hopefully there’s more interesting stuff you like on the channel soon!
My Goodness...What a fascinating car! Neighbours when I was a child in Toronto Canada - had a tiny DKW 2 stroke - Wow.
Really a kind of primordial Trabant!
its a trabant
@@SenSe-oj5hb maybe you should have read the headline, it is a 1931 DKW F1, not even near a Trabant, which was a car of eastern Germany (GDR) , start of production late 1950s.
Another great video! Interesting to see just how much of this 1931 car is almost exactly the same as the Trabant 601. I'm surprised the F1 is water cooled, Trabants lost that and had forced air cooling. My first car was a 1990 Trabant 601 Wagon in 2005. Two-stroke cars were looked down upon by then, but I think they are a really clever and simple design.
That’s so cool that your first car was a 601! A little jealous over here. The F1 - right through the AWZ Zwickau we’re water cooled I believe and the air cooled engine first appeared in the P50. Which I have filmed also!
Trabant had still the new engine. The F series engines lived on, barely modernized, in Wartburgs.
Really interesting as usual! Love the sound of them especially the 3cyl 2 stroke shown.
That 3 cylinder was something else! Sounds so good. Would love to see one in person.
This is such a cool video on an unknown brand to me. Well done MOW
In the early 30s there was a popular tango in Germany with the sentimental lyrics "In einer kleinen Konditorei, da saßen wir zwei, bei Kuchen und Tee...." In a small pastry shop, the two of us would sit over cake and tea..." It was soon ridiculed like "...da saßen wir zwei, und fraßen für drei..." The two of us would sit and devour enough for three... One parody was "auf einer endlos langen Chaussee, steht ein DKW, tief in Eis und Schnee..." On an endlessly long country road a DKW is stuck in ice and snow...
Would be very grumpy if you drove my 90 year old car in that manner. Interesting car.
A mid-60s DKW F-102, bought new, was a very good car and the only new one Dad ever had. He put 52K miles on it with no problems. Like VWs, they had no fixed cruising speed, just whatever it would do, up to 80mph if you were in a hurry. The main problem was that in NZ, mechanics who could service a 3-cyl 2T correctly were a rare breed. Example: I took it to a grease monkey in Barry's Point Road to be tested on a dynomometer. This genius confidently drove it into the customary position and put chocks on the front wheels. (I'm about 20 at the time) Before he could do any damage to dad's car, I told him. "Front wheel drive!" Long story short, it was a lovely looking car and I don't recall it smoking excessively. If I could obtain one now in working condition, I'd consider buying it as a hobby car.
from my knowledge this engine (or an evolution of design of this engine) went onto power Wartburgs until about 1989 lol. Awesome find though, dkws of this era are really scarce!
I really appreciate your viewership and thanks so much for the comment. Crazy how long the technology hung around without many huge changes.
Since it does not have windows, it's really better described as a (small!) phaeton, rather than a convertible.
If you are interested...there are quite a few post war DKW's in New Zealand. I have a couple, and you're welcome to test one if you want to make another video. As you know...they're two stroke all the way to end of production in 1965...so really cool little cars!
That would be amazing! I’m on both Facebook and Instagram under the same name - Moving Our World if you are on either of those platforms please get in touch. Otherwise I have an email that works. Keen to check out anything!
Amazing to think that this is pretty much Genesis for what would become the GDR motor industry - the Trabant and the Wartburg would slowly evolve out of this technology. Look at that gear shifter - so similar to the AWZ P70 Zwickau. Deutscher Geschichte auf Räder!
It has a fuel gauge in 1931; the VW Beetle didn't get one until 1961🙂
what a smart little car.... where do you keep finding them?
I agree, very cool little machine. As far as the weird machines - It's thanks to a lifetime of being overly curious and happy to spark up conversations with literally anyone. Somehow this has led me to access some incredible forms of transport. Long may it continue. There are so many good stories that need to be shared.
The DKW does not seem to be world's first FWD car. As early as 1899 there was the french Latil, and 1900 the austrian Gräf voiturette. Both with Tansverse 1 cyl. engines (De Dion I think). In the 1920's, the french Tracta was the first one with double articulated joints on front axle (systeme Gregoire).
The term we’re going for here is Worlds first mass produced, transverse front wheel drive car. Agree - it’s a bit of a leap. But it’s still a cool feat.
@@MovingOurWorld Shouldn't there be a rubber boot of some kind over the joint? It looks very susceptible to dirt and grit which I would think would wear it out rapidly. That is sure a neat little car. I've been to the Audi museum in Ingolstadt and they have several F1s there and there is a museum in Dresden that has IFAs. Post war with a wooden body but covered in a kind of vinyl material.
This is an East German car, of course, before the bosses scuttled to the West and the Marshall Plan ha ha!
maybe you read the headline, the car is from 1931, long before we had East Germany (GDR) and West Germany (FRG)
@@dnickegmx East Germany is a place, we still have East Germany, East Germans are different from West Germans now as a result of their unshared history. As such, this car is part of their history.
Deutsche Kinder Wagen😂
this car has front-wheel drive with just only 11 horsepower, boring car isn’t it