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DKW Front 1931 to 1939 – front-wheel drive and (almost) self-supporting wooden body

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Created on November 12, 2025

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

33

Archiv

16

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

33

Archiv

16

DKW F5 Roadster (1935) - in two-tone dress

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The story of the DKW front-wheel drive car - toy and teaching aid engine 1919, 18 cm3, 0.1 hp

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DKW front-wheel drive car (1931) - DKW front engine

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The story of the DKW front car - DKW engine at the rear

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The story of the DKW front-wheel drive - rear engine on a bicycle

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The story of the DKW Frontwagen - Motorized bicycle: Engine on the luggage rack

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The story of the DKW front-wheel drive car - plywood monocoque, engine on the running board

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The story of the DKW front car - Tracta sports car, including for Le Mans, by Grégoire 1927

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DKW front car (1931) - Chassis of the F1. High-mounted transverse leaf spring (at the center of gravity)

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DKW front-wheel drive car (1931) - The sensational winter race: The DKW on the far left, two Bugatti cars on the right

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DKW front-wheel drive car (1931) - The Tracta joints were soon replaced by Jung joints

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DKW front car (1931) - F1 1931, convertible

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DKW front-wheel drive car (1931) - F1 1931, the first front-wheel drive car from DKW

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DKW front-wheel drive car (1931) - universal joints from Grégoire (Tracta)

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DKW front-wheel drive car (1931) - Wooden body panelled with plywood

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DKW front-wheel drive car (1931) - Upper and lower transverse leaf springs, which also served as wheel guides

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DKW front-wheel drive car (1931) - Transverse two-cylinder engine, chain drive, compact planetary gear differential

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DKW front end car (1931) - Wheel guide front right

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DKW Front Car (1931) - Rasmussen on DKW F1

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DKW front-wheel drive car (1931) - Type F1 front axle with two-stroke two-cylinder engine

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DKW front-wheel drive car (1931) - Compared to the Tracta, the DKW has a slim front axle design

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DKW front car (1932) - F2 1932, four-seater convertible saloon

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DKW front car (1935) - track for rollover test of the plastic bodywork

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DKW front-wheel drive car (1935) - Successful rollover

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DKW front-wheel drive car (1935) - F5 1935: central tubular frame

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DKW Frontwagen (1935) - F5 Fall 1935: Reinforced, widened central tubular frame for the luxury convertibles

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DKW front car (1938) - DKW also had a streamlined car from Jaray

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DKW front car (1938) - Amazing how long the hood still is despite the small engine

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DKW front-wheel drive car (1938) - F8 1938: Oval double box frame

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DKW front-wheel drive car (1938) - F8 front axle: upper transverse leaf spring (carrying), lower triangular wishbones replace the earlier transverse leaf spring, an advanced solution

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The story of the DKW front-wheel drive car - planked wooden body (reconstruction)

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The story of the DKW front end - The wooden frame (reconstruction)

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The story of the DKW front wagon - wooden wagon floor with auxiliary chassis (reconstruction)

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The story of the DKW front-wheel drive car - body and chassis reunited

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DKW F1 (1931) - with front-wheel drive and a sporty appearance

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DKW Roadster (1928) - still with 600 cm3 and rear-wheel drive

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DKW F1 (1931) - front-wheel drive

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Audi Front Luxury Cabriolet (1934) - with front-wheel drive

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DKW F4 Meisterklasse Cabriolet (1935) - with an elegant appearance

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DKW Front Luxury Cabriolet (1937) - 700 cm3, 20 hp

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DKW F-8 "Landi" (1939) - in the Lucerne Museum of Transport, with Holka body built in Switzerland

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DKW F8 (1939) - with bodywork by Baur

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Jörgen Skafte Rasmussen, jointly responsible for the success of the DKW two-stroke engine and front-wheel drive

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DKW F1 Roadster (1931) - in the Technical Museum in Munich

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DKW F1 Roadster (1931) - in the museum, 490 cm3, 15 hp, 80 km/h

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DKW F1 Roadster (1931) - front-wheel drive

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DKW F1 Roadster (1931) - with front-wheel drive

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DKW F1 Roadster (1931) - with front-wheel drive

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DKW F1 Roadster (1931) - with front-wheel drive

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Summary

DKW - aren't they those cute Volkswagen competitors that helped shape the Swiss street scene in the 1950s and early 1960s with their characteristic two-stroke noise and subtle oil plume? Yes, exactly - and they have an interesting pre-war history.

This article contains the following chapters

Prehistory
The saving front-wheel drive
Ice racing instead of a salon: when DKW almost beat Bugatti

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

DKW - aren't they those cute Volkswagen competitors that helped shape the Swiss street scene in the 1950s and early 1960s with their characteristic two-stroke noise and subtle oil plume? Yes, exactly - and they have an interesting pre-war history. The DKW two-stroke engine was originally based on a 0.1 hp toy engine designed by engineer Ruppe and launched in 1919. It became known under the effective advertising name "Des Knaben Wunder", a popular derivation of the company name DKW, which had previously been created when the company - founded in 1902 by the Danish engineer Rasmussen in Chemnitz - briefly built steam-powered cars (DKW). Ruppe then built a larger version of the engine with 122 cm3 and one horsepower, which Rasmussen mounted on the luggage rack of a bicycle as an auxiliary engine.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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