DKW F9
Encyclopedia
The DKW F9 was the prototype of a car Auto Union
intended to launch as a successor to the DKW F8
.
The small DKWs were among top selling small cars in Germany
in the 1930s, and regular model updates were part of the company's strategy for maintaining commercial success in this growing market sector. With its all steel body designed by Guenther Mickwausch the F9 would have represented a significantly greater step forward than the F8 had done: it appears that the F9 was already under development in 1937, two years before launch of its F8
predecessor. Several prototypes were built during the 1939-1942 period.
A Cd factor of 0.42 was claimed for the new design and the look of the car was significantly smoother than the 1930s DKW designs. For the first time, a three cylinder
engine was specified, implying useful performance advantages. In other respects, DKW traditions were respected. The engine was still a two stroke unit, and the driven wheels were still the front wheels. The chassis was still of box frame construction.
Had the war not intervened it is believed that the F9 would have replaced the F8 in 1940. In the event, production of the F8 Meisterklasse was prolonged until 1942 when passenger car production at Zwickau
came to an end.
However, after the war the car reappeared as the IFA F9
and was offered for sale by the Zwickau
plant's new controllers
between 1949 and 1956. In the west of Germany Auto Unions's
successor company started off with two cylinder products that in many ways owed more to the old F8 than to the F9, but with the introduction in 1953 of the DKW F91 the western business, too, offered its own development of this innovative pre-war prototype.
Auto Union
Auto Union was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony, during the Great Depression. The company has evolved into present day Audi, as a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group....
intended to launch as a successor to the DKW F8
DKW F8
The DKW F8 compact front-wheel drive two-stroke engined saloon was introduced by in 1939. The F8 was slightly shorter than its predecessor despite having a marginally increased wheelbase. The base model, known as the Reichsklasse, was manufactured only till 1940 but the Meisterklasse sedan...
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in the 1930s, and regular model updates were part of the company's strategy for maintaining commercial success in this growing market sector. With its all steel body designed by Guenther Mickwausch the F9 would have represented a significantly greater step forward than the F8 had done: it appears that the F9 was already under development in 1937, two years before launch of its F8
DKW F8
The DKW F8 compact front-wheel drive two-stroke engined saloon was introduced by in 1939. The F8 was slightly shorter than its predecessor despite having a marginally increased wheelbase. The base model, known as the Reichsklasse, was manufactured only till 1940 but the Meisterklasse sedan...
predecessor. Several prototypes were built during the 1939-1942 period.
A Cd factor of 0.42 was claimed for the new design and the look of the car was significantly smoother than the 1930s DKW designs. For the first time, a three cylinder
Straight-3
A straight-three engine, also known as inline-three engine, or a triple, is a reciprocating piston internal combustion engine with three cylinders arranged in a straight line or plane, side by side....
engine was specified, implying useful performance advantages. In other respects, DKW traditions were respected. The engine was still a two stroke unit, and the driven wheels were still the front wheels. The chassis was still of box frame construction.
Had the war not intervened it is believed that the F9 would have replaced the F8 in 1940. In the event, production of the F8 Meisterklasse was prolonged until 1942 when passenger car production at Zwickau
Zwickau
Zwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
came to an end.
However, after the war the car reappeared as the IFA F9
IFA F9
The IFA F9 was a compact saloon manufactured under the auspices of the Russian and East German states between 1949 or 1950 and 1956. It was initially built at Zwickau at the plant previously owned by Auto Union...
and was offered for sale by the Zwickau
Zwickau
Zwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
plant's new controllers
Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau
Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau , usually abbreviated as IFA, was a conglomerate and a union of companies for vehicle construction in the former East Germany ....
between 1949 and 1956. In the west of Germany Auto Unions's
Auto Union
Auto Union was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony, during the Great Depression. The company has evolved into present day Audi, as a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group....
successor company started off with two cylinder products that in many ways owed more to the old F8 than to the F9, but with the introduction in 1953 of the DKW F91 the western business, too, offered its own development of this innovative pre-war prototype.