Editing DKW (section)

==Automobiles made between 1928 and 1942==
[[File:MHV DKW F1 1931 01.jpg|thumb|1931 DKW F1]]
DKW cars were made from 1928 until 1966, apart from the interruption caused by the Second World War. DKWs always used two-stroke engines, reflecting the company's position by the end of the 1920s as the world's largest producer of motorcycles. The first DKW car, the small and rather crude [[DKW Typ P|Typ P]], emerged on 7 May 1928<ref name="Oswald, p 86">[[#Oswald|Oswald]], p 86</ref> and the model continued to be built at the company's [[Spandau]] (Berlin) plant, first as a roadster and later as a stylish if basic sports car, until 1931.

More significant was a series of inexpensive cars built 300&nbsp;km (185 miles) to the south in Zwickau in the plant acquired by [[Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen|the company's owner]] Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen in 1928 when he had become the majority owner in [[Audi|Audi Werke AG]].<ref>[[#Oswald|Oswald]], p 85</ref> Models [[DKW F1|F1]] to [[DKW F8|F8]] (F for Front) were built between 1931 and 1942, with successor models reappearing after the end of the [[Second World War|war]] in 1945. They were the first volume production cars in Europe with [[front wheel drive]], and were powered by [[transversely mounted engine|transversely mounted]] two-cylinder two-stroke engines. Displacement was 584 or 692&nbsp;cc: claimed maximum power was initially 15 PS, and from 1931 a choice between 18 or {{convert|20|hp|abbr=on}}. These models had a generator that doubled as a starter, mounted directly on the [[crankshaft]], known as a [[Dynastart]].<ref>[[#Oswald|Oswald]], p 94 – 103</ref> DKW in Zwickau produced approximately 218,000 units between 1931 and 1942.<ref name="Oswald, p 86"/> Most of those cars were sold on the home market and over 85% of DKWs produced in the 1930s were the little F series cars: DKW reached second place in German sales by 1934 and stayed there, accounting for 189,369 of the cars sold between 1931 and 1938, more than 16% of the market.<ref>[[#Oswald|Oswald]], p 531</ref>

Between 1929 and 1940, DKW produced a less well remembered but technically intriguing series of rear-wheel drive cars called (among other names) [[DKW Typ 4=8|''Schwebeklasse'' and ''Sonderklasse'']] with two-stroke [[V4 engine|V4]] engines.<ref>[[#Oswald|Oswald]], p 87</ref> [[Engine displacement]] was 1,000&nbsp;cc, later 1,100&nbsp;cc. The engines had two extra cylinders that acted as air compressors for [[forced induction]], so they had the external appearance of a [[V6 engine]] but without [[spark plug]]s on the front cylinder pair.

In 1939, DKW made a [[prototype]] with the first [[straight-three engine|three-cylinder engine]], with a displacement of 900&nbsp;cc and producing {{convert|30|hp|kW|abbr=on}}. With a streamlined body, the car could run at {{convert|115|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}. It was put into production after [[World War II]], first as an [[Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau]] (IFA) F9 (later [[Wartburg (car)|Wartburg]]) in [[Zwickau]], [[East Germany]], and shortly afterwards in DKW-form from Düsseldorf as the 3=6 or F91.

[[Saab Automobile|Saab]] used DKW engines as a model for the [[Saab two-stroke]] in their first production car, the [[Saab 92]].