No matter whether turbo, diesel or Wankel engine. There is enough literature on everything. However, anyone wanting to find out more about the charmingly simple two-stroke combustion engine in cars has so far had to make do with very specific specialist literature and find the rest elsewhere (see above). Frank Rönicke, a proven expert on the history of the two-stroke engine at DKW, Auto Union and IFA, has now filled this gap with a book on the history of the two-stroke engine on four wheels.
One book, two authors
The genesis of the book is somewhat reminiscent of "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco, which was about a lost manuscript. We need to expand a little. Rönicke draws on the manuscript of a certain Siegfried Rauch, who is therefore also named as co-author. Rauch will be familiar to older readers as editor-in-chief of the magazine "Das Motorrad". Born in Chemnitz in 1906, Rauch devoted more than 70 years to the two-stroke engine. Initially as head of the DKW customer service school at Auto Union in Saxony. After the war, as technical director of the IFA design office (FEW) in Chemnitz (formerly the central testing facility of Auto Union) and, following his move to West Germany, as customer service manager at Victoria in Nuremberg, with which the two-wheeler division of DKW from Ingolstadt, which was sold in 1958, also merged. In short: Rauch was and is considered an advocate of the two-stroke engine and was committed and dedicated to the two-stroke engine for more than 70 years. His knowledge was fundamental, his archive probably even more fundamental.
And it was precisely this that Rönicke was allowed to take over in 2003. Among other things, it contained the fragments of the manuscript for this book, with which Rauch wanted to complete his life's work at the age of 91. But this was not to happen until now.
Two-stroke engine in a car sounds like a cheap solution
The subtitle of the book already gives it away: it's about automotive history. And it makes you think of simple designs and cheap solutions. The book definitely does away with this preconception. The 180-page book is a chronology that focuses on the importance of this type of drive in automotive engineering. Starting with Leonardo da Vinchi's gunpowder-powered "fire engine", it traces the development of the combustion engine before it found its way into cars at the beginning of the 20th century.
In the beginning: makers and engines
Rönicke introduces the great but few advocates of the two-stroke engine, who vehemently favored the two-stroke engine at the beginning of the 20th century: Hans Grade with his cars and airplanes. Or Fritz Cockerelle, who caused a sensation with his multi-cylinder two-stroke engines. Or the Swiss Arnold Zoller, who designed high-performance two-strokes for DKW, among others. And the mentor of the two-stroke engine: DKW founder Rasmussen, who focused entirely on the structurally simple and robust principle of the engine with the simple operating principle and therefore also sought the knowledge or cooperation of some of the above-mentioned technicians.
And let's not forget Ferdinand Porsche, who saw the two-stroke engine as a passable opponent to the four-stroke engine in the Kdf car or in racing car construction right up until the 1930s.
After 1945: flourishing and fading away
The author describes the great era of two-stroke engines after 1945 in detail, just as he describes their decline. Simple, light, robust and compact - these are the ingredients for the emerging but undemanding mobility of the post-war period. Maico Champion, Goggomobil or Messerschmidt Kabinenroller and, of course, Auto Union, which now only had DKW in its range, relied on the two-stroke engine. In East Germany, it is the IFA, successor to the Auto Union legacy, which will soon no longer be producing four-strokes with the Trabant and Wartburg. Rönicke outlines the developments in East and West in great detail. He does not forget the Saab 92 or the vehicles from the CSSR.
But the two-stroke car faced a strong headwind, which is traced in this book using selected car manufacturers. Auto Union in particular found it difficult to let go of the two-stroke. Until VW came along. Then it was over. They built Audis with four-stroke engines. From Mercedes.
Conclusion: Worth reading
Anyone who wants to know in 180 pages where the two-stroke engine settled in the automobile should buy this book. It tells you in detail who developed what, when, why and how. Numerous pictures and many design sketches as well as the clear text structure offer a wealth of information on the chosen topic of the book. Even the formula racing cars of Gerhard Mitter or the Müller-Andernach engines are not neglected.
The book's design cannot quite keep up with its readable richness. The text and images run in two columns throughout the book and soon reach their limits, for example in the placement of the images. The captions could also go beyond the text to liven things up. To be honest: exciting books look different. Nevertheless, a small standard work has been created here, which for € 29.90 is a simple, light, robust and compact monument to the two-stroke engine in automotive engineering. A book like the engine itself. And that is quite a lot.
Bibliographical details
- Title: 2 strokes - 4 wheels The history of the two-stroke engine in automobile construction
- Authors: Siegfried Rauch and Frank Rönicke
- Language: German
- Publisher: Motorbuch Verlag, 1st edition 2016
- Format: 230 x 265 mm, hardcover
- Scope: 184 pages, 34 color, 245 b/w pictures
- Price: € 29,90
- ISBN: 978-3-613-03862-2
- To order: Online at amazon.de, at Motorbuch Verlag or in bookstores
