CarBrandLogos archive · DKW · 1931

DKWF1

Germany's first mass-produced front-wheel-drive car, built out of desperation.

Photo: Matěj Baťha · CC BY-SA 2.5

The story

A defining chapter in DKW history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the DKW F1, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

DKW entered the 1930s in trouble. The Depression had gutted demand for motorcycles, the firm's mainstay, and Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen needed a car that could be built cheaply and sold at a price people could still afford. The F1 that appeared in 1931 was the answer, and its solution to cost was radical for the time: drive the front wheels.

DKW-F1 Monoposto Heinz-Wiemeier-1976 · Lothar Spurzem · CC BY-SA 2.0 de

Design and engineering

Front-wheel drive removed the propshaft and the rear axle, allowed a low body and a short, light structure, and let DKW use its existing two-stroke engine expertise — a 584 cc twin, transversely mounted, with a three-speed gearbox. The body was fabric over a wooden frame, which was cheap, light and quick to build at Zwickau. The whole car weighed very little and cost about half what a comparable conventional saloon did.

DKW F1 Limousine, Bj. 1931 · Lothar Spurzem · CC BY-SA 2.0 de

In production

It sold, and it kept DKW alive through the worst of the slump. Within a year DKW was part of the newly formed Auto Union, contributing the volume that funded the group's more glamorous activities. The F-series continued through the F2 and beyond, refining the same formula and making DKW one of Europe's largest car producers before the war.

DKW F1 roadster dashboard · High Contrast · CC BY 3.0 de

Legacy

The consequences outlived the company. The Zwickau works became the home of the Trabant, whose two-stroke front-drive layout descends directly from this line; the postwar DKWs shaped Saab's engineering; and the Ingolstadt operation that continued the F-series became Audi.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1931–1932

Engine

584&nbsp

Body

2- or 4-seater cabriolet

Technical specification

The F1, in detail.

Production: 1931–1932
Body style: 2- or 4-seater cabriolet; various other body types built in small volumes
Layout: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive
Engine: 584 cc 2-stroke I2
Transmission: 3-speed manual
Assembly: Germany: Zwickau
Manufacturer: DKW (Auto Union)