1957 DKW 3=6 SONDERKLASSE

Описание: 1957 AUTO UNION DKW 3=6 SONDERKLASSE.
The DKW 3=6 was a compact front-wheel drive saloon manufactured by Auto Union GmbH. The car was launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in March 1953 and sold until 1959. It was also named as the DKW Sonderklasse and, following the factory project number, as the DKW F91. From 1958, by which year the car's successor was already being sold and the earlier version had therefore become, in essence, a ‘run-out’ model, it was badged more simply as the DKW 900.

Apart from complications involving its naming, the 3=6's notable features included its two-stroke engine and front-wheel drive layout along with the sure-footed handling that resulted.

In a market segment increasingly dominated by the Volkswagen Beetle, the Auto Union contender also boasted class leading interior space, especially after the arrival of the four-door version, which featured a modestly extended wheelbase.

The DKW 3=6 in due course replaced the DKW F89 / Meisterklasse, although the Meisterklasse remained in production until April 1954. In its turn, the 3=6 was succeeded by the more powerful Auto Union 1000, offered already from 1957.

The F93 differs from F91 by a more powerful engine with 38 hp (28 kW) at 4200 min, a 10cm wider body, a uniformly curved windshield and the chrome combined oval grille . The 3 = 6 owes its name to the comparison of a three-cylinder , two-stroke engine with a six-cylinder , four-stroke engine : both types have the same number of working cycles per crankshaft revolution (with the four-stroke engine, the 3rd cycle ). The DKW models with four-cylinder built from 1930 to 1940 -V-engine and two double-acting piston rinsing pumps had the similar additional designation DKW 4 = 8 .
DKW offered the F93 series in three versions: normal sedan with three-speed gearbox and almost no trim, special limousine with four-speed gearbox (1st gear not synchronized), all sorts of shiny parts and useful items such as a glove box lid and a coupé with fully retractable side windows and two-tone interior. As a four-door sedan with a longer body, as was also driven by taxi drivers, this design, which was available from 1957, received the model name F94. Now the station wagon was also universal available. The engine now produced 40 hp (29 kW) and the grille got a fine-meshed aluminum grille instead of the pressed sheet metal part. From September 1957, the two-door sedans were delivered with doors hinged at the front, while four-door and station wagons kept the ones hinged at the rear. All versions were available with the Saxomat automatic clutch system for an additional charge.

The takeover of Auto Union by Daimler-Benz was also noticeable in terms of the designations: from mid-1958 the vehicles were marketed as DKW 900 before they were replaced by Auto Union 1000 .

From September 1955 to July 1959, a total of 137,800 vehicles were built, including 19,531 station wagons. Karmann built 667 two- and four-seater convertibles.

Many names
DKW was one of four companies that had come together in 1932 to form the Auto Union based in Zwickau. The company was effectively refounded in West Germany in 1949, following the loss to the Soviets of its Zwickau assets. Three of the four businesses that had constituted Auto Union before the war seemed unlikely ever to reappear on either side of the Iron Curtain, but starting in 1949 the DKW name was used for the F89 assembled by Auto Union in the west: this was the model replaced by the 3=6.

Technical
The 896 cc three cylinder engine provided at launch a claimed 34 bhp (25 kW). Following the company's pioneering work in the 1930s, the car had a front-wheel drive configuration which meant there was no bulky driveshaft running through the passenger cabin. The water cooled engine was installed longitudinally above the front wheels - the first appearance of the longitudinal "overhung" engine layout which DKW's successor - Audi - still uses to the present day, but the radiator was located not ahead of the engine but between the engine and the passenger cabin.

The gearbox, controlled by a column mounted lever, was a three speed manual system coupled with a free-wheel device: in Autumn 1953 a four speed box was offered as an option. 1957 saw a further transmission advance with the availability of a Saxomat automatic centrifugal clutch on the DKW.

The F93 version launched in 1955 now boasted power output increased to 38 bhp (28 kW). That increased further to 40 bhp (30 kW) in 1956. The F93 also incorporated a strengthened chassis and improvements to the suspension and braking system.


CC rating: 896cc 55 ci (0.96L) two stroke straight-3

Country of Origin: Germany

Registered previously in: South Africa

NZ First Registration: 18-Feb-2016