DKW Junior

The DKW Junior is a small front wheel drive saloon manufactured by Auto Union AG. (DKW was founded 1916 by Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen, a Danish engineer in Germany. DKW originally stood for "Dampf-Kraft-Wagen", which is German for "steam-powered vehicle". In 1932, DKW merged with Audi, Horch, and Wanderer to form Auto Union AG and DKW became the small car and motorcycle brand within the group.) The car received a positive reaction when first exhibited, initially badged as the DKW 600, at the Frankfurt Motor Show in March 1957. The ‘Junior’ name was given to the (by now) DKW 750 in 1959 when the car went into volume production, but failed to survive an upgrade in January 1963, after which the car was known as the DKW F12. In addition to the saloon, a pretty ‘F12 Roadster’ (cabriolet version) was produced in limited numbers. The car was known for its two-stroke engine. A number of European auto-makers produced two-stroke powered cars in the 1950s, but by the time the DKW Junior came along, the market was beginning to resist two-stroke powered cars as the industry increasingly standardised on four-stroke four-cylinder units which accordingly were becoming cheaper to produce. Two-stroke-engined cars were perceived by some as rough and noisy by comparison. In terms of its size and pricing, the DKW Junior slotted into the range just below the Auto Union 1000, which itself underwent an upgrade and a name change (from DKW to Auto Union) in 1957. The Junior was therefore from its introduction until August 1963 the only DKW branded car.