V.I.S.I.T. – 1957 DKW 3=6

Jay Ramey

/comment

Comments

36 1

If you thought last week’s Audi 90 Quattro was going to be the oldest Auto Union car you were going to see on Hooniverse for at least a month, you were mistaken. This 1957 Auto Union DKW 3=6  looked stunning in person, and was pretty much in concours condition when I saw it. The 3=6 was a front wheel drive car developed by Auto Union in the late 1940s. First shown at Frankfurt in 1953, the 3=6 was warmly received, even though its styling was clearly an evolution of pre-war aerodynamic design language.

The car’s curious name, as I’m sure a lot of you know, arose from DKW’s advertising campaign that sought to promote the new two-stroke 3-cylinder engine as being just as good as the four-stroke 6-cylinder engine. Though by the end of the car’s production cycle in 1959, it was sold simply as the DKW 900. But this is essentially one of Auto Union’s most popular cars of the 1950s, even though there are very few of these in North America.

36 2

Weighing in at just under 900 kilograms, the 3=6 was a popular little 2-door sedan that also came in cabrio form by Karmann. Having heard this car moving around, you’ll be interested to know that it doesn’t do as good an impression of a 1980s Japanese motorcycle as some other notable two-stroke cars like the Junior deLuxe, the ZAZ 968, or the Saab 99.

36 3

Just how much are these now? A blue 1957 3=6 in good condition recenty sold for $8,800 at Russo and Steele in 2013. While that sounds pretty affordable, a 1957 wagon version of the 3=6 with a charming wooden roof rack brought a surprising $60,500 at RM’s Amelia Island sale in March of last year. Of course that doesn’t meat that every 3=6 wagon is now worth $60K, but still, those are some pretty impressive numbers.

[Images: Copyright 2013 Hooniverse/Jay Ramey]

About

Jay Ramey

Jay Ramey

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 64 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here

29 responses to “V.I.S.I.T. – 1957 DKW 3=6”

  1. Tomsk Avatar
    Tomsk

    I take it today is DKW Dienstag on the Hooniverse?

    Reply
  2. POLAЯ Avatar
    POLAЯ

    Those taillights could almost pass for LEDs.
    Foreschadenfreudeowing?

    Reply
  3. wisc47 Avatar
    wisc47

    Wait I'm confused, am I supposed to write a caption for this or something?

    Reply
  4. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    EDIT: SAAB 93 and 95 had the two stroke, and the Sonett. The 99s had the 'B' Motor, when they didn't have a Triumph Slant 4.
    Had to wiki a pediabit on that one.

    Reply
    1. mdharrell Avatar
      mdharrell

      The SAAB 92 is also a two-stroke, although with two cylinders instead of three. The 93 and 94 were made only with the three-cylinder two-stroke. The 95, 96, and 97 each started with the three-cylinder two-stroke before switching to the Ford Taunus V4.
      The 99 B engine (later redesigned as the H engine) is, itself, the Saab version of the Triumph engine.

      Reply
      1. Batshitbox Avatar
        Batshitbox

        I actually had a very early 900 GLE with a B motor in it, too! Not sure if that was a US market thing, but they went to the H motor pretty soon after.

        Reply
        1. mdharrell Avatar
          mdharrell

          Someone around town here has an extremely early 99 with freewheeling and, presumably, the pre-Saab-ized Triumph engine. I've seen it parked alongside the curb a few times but have yet to meet the owner.

          Reply
    2. Jay_Ramey Avatar
      Jay_Ramey

      You're right, you're right, that's the Saab I was thinking about.

      Reply
  5. $kaycog Avatar
    $kaycog

    I thought I had seen everything.
    [youtube PnL_0DF2-Uo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnL_0DF2-Uo youtube]

    Reply
    1. Jay_Ramey Avatar
      Jay_Ramey

      Brrr… ::shudders::
      Should have warned that there's gonna be something that can't be unseen.

      Reply
      1. $kaycog Avatar
        $kaycog

        I should have…….sorry. Some cars should never be rat rodded. This is one of those cars.

        Reply
        1. mdharrell Avatar
          mdharrell

          If it makes you feel better, the owner is a friend of mine. He installed the engine briefly, for grins, before restoring the car.

          Reply
          1. $kaycog Avatar
            $kaycog

            I'm glad to hear that and so will DKW fans out there. Knowing that, it is quite hilarious!

          2. mdharrell Avatar
            mdharrell

            The owner, Mark Hatten, is quite possibly the most enthusiastic DKW fan I know. He has a microcar repair and restoration shop in Portland, Oregon, and runs the annual Great Pacific Northwest Microcar/Minicar Extravaganza:
            http://www.mphspecialties.com/registration.html

          3. $kaycog Avatar
            $kaycog

            Very impressive! You can tell Mark that his Rat Rod kinda upset some folks here.

          4. Jay_Ramey Avatar
            Jay_Ramey

            Carlisle Import Nationals always has a good DKW turnout, usually with 2 to 4 cars and a big tent for the club.

          5. mr. mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
            mr. mzs zsm msz esq

            Hi Jay, I think it was you a while back that wrote you would have more to post about a Rover SD1. Do you know when? Thanks, Mike

          6. Jay_Ramey Avatar
            Jay_Ramey

            Early stages of that right now, I was just working on that early this week., hopefully will have a ready article in the next two months : ) Weather's so unpredictable this year, owners are skittish to schedule interviews. Supposed to get snow like tomorrow, in what is essentially spring break time.

          7. mr. mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
            mr. mzs zsm msz esq

            It's so hard to wait, thanks for all the nice posts and photos.

    2. POLAЯ Avatar
      POLAЯ

      Driver's breathing apparatus is reassuring.

      Reply
  6. toxicavenger1 Avatar
    toxicavenger1

    That is a great little car,built without government interference.

    Reply
    1. mdharrell Avatar
      mdharrell

      The car was required to meet both German and US government standards and was built by a company that received absolutely vital government support (both German and, via the Marshall Plan, US) in the post-War period, so no, to claim that it was built without government interference is not only wrong but completely backwards. It would never have been built without "government interference."
      You're right that it is, however, a great little car. A little wonder, one might say.

      Reply
      1. toxicavenger1 Avatar
        toxicavenger1

        My thinking was related to the odious interference that governments place on current vehicles in the safety and fuel laws.

        Reply
  7. marmer01 Avatar
    marmer01

    I saw a beat-up one of these on a trailer with a wrecked Trans Am and a 70's El Camino in Central Texas a couple of summers ago. It had Texas plates, so someone must have driven it down here at one time. I'd like to think it was on the way to the restoration shop.

    Reply
  8. stickmanonymous Avatar
    stickmanonymous

    Still love your photography. Going to say that as much as I can.
    Hopefully without becoming creepy.

    Reply
    1. Jay_Ramey Avatar
      Jay_Ramey

      Hahah, thanks! No creepage taken : )

      Reply
  9. windbuechse Avatar
    windbuechse

    DKW was one of the cheapest cars available. Common names were:
    Der Kaufer Weint (The Buyer Cries/Whines)
    Das Kostet Wenig (It doesn't cost much)
    Deutscher Kinder Wagen (German Childrens Car)

    Reply
  10. bhtooefr Avatar
    bhtooefr

    Also, really, it was designed in the late 1930s, but the aftermath of WW2 caused Auto Union to lose everything except its designs. (See, the executives fled what became East Germany after the war, and founded a new Auto Union in Ingolstadt. More on that later.)
    So, the first thing they did was put the old, proven 2-cylinder transverse front-mid FWD drivetrain from the DKW F8 into the DKW F9 bodyshell that was already designed, in front-front layout, and call it the F89. Also, to raise funds, they licensed the 2-cylinder drivetrain to SAAB, because, eh, why not.
    Meanwhile, over in East Germany, the Communist government found the tooling for the DKW F8 [b]and[/b] the F9 prototypes, so they brought the F8 into full production under the IFA brand, and then did the same to the F9 – before Auto Union got the 3=6 out. And, while they were at it, they converted the F8 engine to aircooled, for the Trabant.
    Now, once Auto Union got the 3=6 out, they also licensed the 3-cylinder longitudinal driveline to SAAB. That's right, SAAB didn't make their own drivetrain until the 99.
    Over in Soviet Germany, car builds you. I mean, they just kept slapping newer bodyshells on the old IFA F9, and boring out the engine (oh, and improving the rear suspension, apparently). All the Wartburgs? Just newer bodyshells on the F9. So, you can get a ~1938 design with a 1966 bodyshell, made in 1988. (Or, if you don't mind it with a 1.3 liter transverse VW Golf drivetrain, 1991.)
    Oh, and DKW evolution here gets more fun – one of the 3=6 (or maybe 900, or 1000 – either way, it's the F9 platform) derivatives was the DKW Munga. If the Iltis is the ur-urQuattro, then the Munga is the ur-ur-urQuattro.

    Reply
    1. mdharrell Avatar
      mdharrell

      "…they also licensed the 3-cylinder longitudinal driveline to SAAB. That's right, SAAB didn't make their own drivetrain until the 99."
      That is the persistent myth, but the truth is SAAB put a DKW engine in their first prototype car, one that they had pulled out of a junked DKW, then they immediately went on to design and manufacture their own two-stroke engines for their production cars. Yes, they look generally similar, but no, they do not share parts and are not the result of licensing.
      SAAB engines and DKW engines are not the same, which in some sense is a pity, as it might make it easier to find parts these days….

      Reply