DKW F89

Apart from the former DKW factory at Berlin-Spandau, the Auto Union’s manufacturing plants had been located in Saxony at Zwickau, Chemnitz and Zschopau when war had put an end to passenger vehicle production in 1942.

That honor goes to the DKW F89 L “Schnelllaster”, Rapid Transporter in English, a curiously modern light van built on the same chassis and using the same engine / transmission package, introduced in 1949.

However, extensive ‘streamlining’ had been applied to the earlier design, and impressive claims were made for the F89’s lowered wind resistance.

In 1951 a two-seater hardtop coupe version, built by coach builders Hebmüller of Wuppertal became available, and the range was completed in October 1951 with the addition of a three-door estate version, employing a body conversion that made extensive use of timber, which was replaced in March 1953 by an all-steel body.

The front wheels were connected to the engine by means of a three-speed manual gear box controlled via a dash-board mounted Krückstockschaltung lever similar to that familiar to later generations from its application in the Citroën 2CV and Renault 4.

While Auto Union built the F89 in West Germany , the Zwickau plant that had passed to the Soviet -controlled GDR was producing the IFA F9 . 30,000 or More IFA F9s had been produced initially at Zwickau and subsequently at Eisenach by 1956. Both western and eastern cars were closely based on the DKW F9 prototype first exhibited in 1939.
The estate conversion, offered from late 1951, made extensive use of timber.