DKW F8

DKW
Reichsklasse / Meisterklasse / Front Luxus Cabriolet (F8)
Production period:	1939-1942
Class :	Small car
Body versions :	Limousine , Cabriolet , convertible saloon , van , pickup
Engines:	Petrol engines 0.6-0.7 liters (13-15 kW)
Length:	3900-4000 mm
Width:	1490 mm
Height:	1480 mm
Wheelbase :	2600 mm
Empty weight :	700-830 kg
Previous model	DKW F7
successor	IFA F8 (east) DKW F89 (west)

DKW master class F8-700 sedan

DKW F8 four-door 1939, Chemnitz Transport Museum

DKW F8 convertible

IFA F8 luxury convertible

Dashboard and steering wheel F8

The DKW F8 is a compact car with front-wheel drive of the brand DKW , which the Auto Union in February 1939 as the successor of the model F7 brought to market. Like all DKW “Frontwagen” (protected name), the DKW F8 was built in the Audi factory in Zwickau . Due to the war, production ended after around 50,000 vehicles were built in 1940 and 1942 (passenger car “master class” and flatbed / delivery vans). The already completely designed F9 model was supposed to replace the F8, but this was not done . Instead, after the Second World War, the GDR Vehicle Construction Association produced the almost identical IFA F8 model in the Zwickau Audi factory.

The appearance of the F8 was hardly changed compared to its predecessor, but the bodies with the wheelbase shortened by 1 cm were slightly longer and wider. As before, the offer consisted of the simpler and less powerful “Reichsklasse” model and the better equipped “Meisterklasse” . The carriage of the already present in the powered F2 master class 701 used and forward transversely mounted two-cylinder - two-stroke engine ( parallel twin ) with Schnürle - reverse circulation and two overflow channels. The motors have assisted with Reich class with 0.6 liter displacement 18 HP and the master class with 0.7 liter displacement PS 20, respectively at 3500 min ^-1 . Compared to its predecessor, the stroke of the 0.6-liter engine was increased by 7.5 mm. The front wheels were driven via a three-speed gearbox with a stick gear lever. As with the predecessor F7, the DKW-typical synthetic leather- covered plywood bodies, which were manufactured in the Berlin-Spandau plant , were placed on a stable steel central box frame . The front independent suspension on transverse leaf springs and the rear " floating axle " also remained unchanged.

The “Front Luxus Cabriolet” had a body in a wood-steel mixed construction, as did the export models “Meister Super”. The Reichsklasse and Meisterklasse were available as two-door limousines, convertible limousines or full convertibles, the “Front Luxus Cabriolet” as a two or four-seater full convertible. In addition, delivery vans and pickups were also manufactured based on the Reichsklasse.

In 1940 the production of the Reichsklasse and the luxury convertible was stopped, two years later that of the Meisterklasse and the delivery van as well.

From 1949 to 1955, the car continued to be built as the IFA F8 , hardly changed .

Technical specifications

Type	Reich class	Master class	Front luxury cabriolet
Construction period	1939-1942	1939-1942	1939-1940
Superstructures	L2, Cb2	L2, Cb2	Cb2
engine	2 cyl. in series, 2-stroke	2 cyl. in series, 2-stroke	2 cyl. in series, 2-stroke
Valves	without	without	without
Bore × stroke	74 mm × 68.5 mm	76 mm × 76 mm	76 mm × 76 mm
Displacement	589 cc	692 cc	692 cc
Horsepower)	18th	20th	20th
Power kW)	13.2	14.7	14.7
consumption	7 l / 100 km	7 l / 100 km	7 l / 100 km
Top speed	80 km / h	85 km / h	85 km / h
Empty weight	700 kg	750 kg	790-830 kg
Perm. total weight	1040 kg	1120 kg	1060-1170 kg
Electrics	6 volts	6 volts	6 volts
length	3900 mm	3990 mm	4000 mm
width	1490 mm	1490 mm	1490 mm
height	1480 mm	1480 mm	1480 mm
wheelbase	2600 mm	2600 mm	2600 mm
Front / rear track	1190/1250 mm	1190/1250 mm	1190/1250 mm
Turning circle	12 m	12 m	12 m

• L2 = two-door sedan or convertible sedan
• Cb2 = two-door convertible

DKW-F8-Monoposto from Lauer

Jakob Lauer 1986 in his DKW F 8 at the Oldtimer Grand Prix on the Nürburgring

1989 in the Ford curve of the Nürburgring

Based on a DKW F 8 master class, built in 1939, the master car and electrician Jakob Lauer (born October 6, 1912, † 2004) from Eppelborn built a monoposto with which he successfully competed in races from 1948 to 1958. From 1976 he started his DKW at classic car events, most recently at the Homburg hill climb in 1998. At the age of 86, he was the oldest racing driver with a license from the Supreme National Sports Commission (ONS) .

In May 1942, Lauer had opened a car workshop and in 1947 he started building his racing car. On the chassis of the F 8, he first put a body that probably consisted of parts from an old Opel at the front and an aircraft tank at the rear; the driver's seat was made of wood. The first start was in 1948 at a race in Cologne, which Lauer finished in third place. In the course of the year he improved the car and gave it, among other things, a new, sleeker radiator grille. With this version he drove on the Schottenring near Fulda.

At the beginning, the engine was only a little more powerful than the standard one with 22 hp, which meant that in 1948 average speeds of 82 km / h on the Hockenheimring and 112 km / h on the Grenzlandring were possible. To keep the weight down, Lauer had drilled about 300 holes in the car's wheels. Over time, the engine output was increased to almost 40 hp and the top speed was over 160 km / h. The body was also continuously improved and the last version with the rounded bow was hand-hammered from aluminum by Stutz in Saarbrücken.

According to his own records, Lauer drove more than 150 races with his self-built DKW and won 77 trophies. He didn't have a racing truck in the first few years. Therefore, with a special permit, he drove the car to the events on its own, with no lights and no indicators. The DKW has been mainly in the sales room of the Lauer dealership since 1998, but should be driven again in 2017 for the 75th business anniversary.

source

• Werner Oswald : German Cars 1920–1945. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-87943-519-7 .

Web links

Commons : DKW F8  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• www.audi.de - Evolution of the models: 1932–1945 DKW F 8 master class convertible sedan four-seater, 1939

Individual evidence

1. ↑ saar-nostalgie.de . Retrieved February 10, 2018.
2. ^ Saarbrücker Zeitung . Retrieved February 10, 2018.
3. ↑ Formula 3 Guide . Retrieved February 10, 2018.