DKW F1
| DKW F1 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | DKW, part of Auto Union |
| Also called | DKW Front DKW Typ FA 600 |
| Production | 1931 - 1932 |
| Assembly | Zwickau |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 2 or 4 seater Cabriolet various other body types built in small volumes |
| Layout | FF layout |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 584 cc 2-stroke I2 |
| Transmission | 3-speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,100 mm (83 in) (2-seater) 2,400 mm (94 in) (4-seater) |
| Length | 3,100 mm (120 in) (2-seater) 3,400 mm (130 in) (4-seater) |
| Width | 1,300 mm (51 in) |
| Height | 1,375 mm (54.1 in) |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | DKW Meisterklasse 601 F2 |
The DKW F1 was a small car produced by DKW (part of the Auto Union) between 1931 and 1932. It was launched at the Berlin Motor Show in February 1931.
The F1 was the first of a line of front wheel drive DKWs assembled at the manufacturer’s Zwickau plant, while the larger rear wheel drive DKWs continued to be built in the Berlin district of Spandau.
In October 1930 the company’s Danish born chief, Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen, mandated his development team at the Zwickau plant to design a small car that could be powered by a DKW motorbike engine and built at the plant. Rasmussen also specified front wheel drive, independent suspension and a chassis with a very low centre of gravity. The car should be popular and cheap.
After just six weeks the team designed a 2 + 1 seater roadster which weighed 450 kg with the 25 litre fuel tank full, and which offered exceptional driving qualities. In addition to undertaking the design work, the team had already prepared three test vehicles. This would be the car which appeared at the Berlin Motor Show in February 1931 with an open topped steel body and a 494 cc two-cylinder two-stroke engine. By the time, later in the same year, that cars were available for sale the design had acquired a stronger drive shaft mechanism and a timber frame body coated in imitation leather. Light weight and low cost remained priorities. The car cost approximately 1700 RM.
In addition to the 494 cc engine, a slightly larger 584 cc was offered, providing 11 kW (15 PS) of advertised maximum power. In the event, no DKW F1 “Type F500” fitted with the smaller engine was ever sold. The approximately 4,000 F1s that were sold all came powered by the larger “Type 600” engine. Nevertheless, sales brochures dating from the summer of 1932 still included both engine sizes, which enabled the manufacturer to advertise an eye catchingly low starting price for the car.
As was normal at this time even for very small cars, a range of body types was available. In addition to the roadster, open topped sedan/saloon and saloon bodied cars, buyers could also specify various sports style bodies including a single seater featuring a then fashionable “boat-deck” style rear end.
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Wikipedia