The Audi Type SS was a large, eight-cylinder-powered sedan/saloon car introduced by Audi in 1929 in succession to the Type R "Imperator".
Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen, the Danish-born entrepreneurial industrialist who had purchased Audi-Werke in 1928, had previously, in 1927, purchased the manufacturing plant of the bankrupt Detroit-based Rickenbacker business and shipped it home to Germany. He installed it in a factory he owned just outside Zschopau, near to Audi's own Zwickau plant. The plan was to build large, relatively inexpensive US-style "Rasmussen engines" for sales to other German auto-makers. The plan failed in that Rasmussen failed to secure any orders for the engines, so he instead produced a couple of models of his own which used them. The Audi Type SS (Zwickau) was one of these.[1]
The 5,130cc straight 8 engine developed a maximum output 100PS (74kW; 99hp) at 3,000 rpm, which was relayed using a four-speed transmission through to the rear wheels and converted into a claimed top speed of 110km/h (68mph).[2]
The car had two leaf-sprung solid axles and hydraulically controlled brakes which operated on all four wheels.[2] The usual body configurations were available, including a four-door cabriolet and, with a manufacturer's recommended price of 12,950 Marks, a "Pullman-Limousine".[3]
Approximately 400 Audi Zwickaus were produced between 1929 and 1932, which for this size of car was a reasonable tally.[4]
Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen was a Danish engineer and industrialist.
The Ford Eifel is a car manufactured by Ford Germany between 1935 and 1940. It initially complemented, and then replaced, the Ford Köln. It was itself replaced by the Ford Taunus.
Auto Union AG was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today.
The DKW F8 is a compact front-wheel drive two-stroke engined saloon, introduced 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 continued in production until 1942. In addition to the saloons, cabriolet versions were offered.
Initially presented early in 1933, the Audi Front UW 220 was Europe’s first car to combine front-wheel drive with a six-cylinder engine. It remained in production for slightly under two years before being replaced by the Audi Front UW 225 featuring a larger 2.25-litre engine. The larger-engined car introduced in 1935 was built till April 1938 and continued to be listed into 1939. Between 1933 and 1938, the Front was the only Audi in volume production.
The DKW Typ P was the first motor car made by DKW. It was a light-weight design with a unit body made of wood and imitation leather. It was powered by a two stroke inline twin engine.
The Audi Type B was introduced in 1910 as a successor to the Audi Type A, there was an overall 360 of the Type B built. It used a four-cylinder, two-block inline engine with 2.6 Litres of displacement. It developed 28 PS through a four-speed countershaft gearbox and a propeller shaft, which drove the rear wheels. The car had a ladder frame and two leaf-sprung solid axles.
The Audi Type E was a passenger car introduced by Audi in 1913. It was the largest pre-war car from Audi.
The Audi Type G is a passenger car produced by Audi between 1914 and 1923. It is Audi's smallest and least powerful pre-war car.
The Audi Type K was a car introduced by Audi at the Berlin Motor Show in September 1921. Since the end of the war Audi had till now produced only cars of pre-war design, so that the Type K was the first post-war Audi design to be offered. The Type K entered production in 1922 and was withdrawn in 1925, by which time the company had commenced production, in 1924, their Type M model which can be seen as a larger replacement for the Type K. The Audi Type K was the first volume produced car in Germany to feature left-hand drive.
The Audi Type M was a large car first presented at the Berlin Motor Show in 1923 and produced by Audi between 1924 and 1927.
The Audi Type P was a small two-door sedan/saloon car introduced by Audi in 1931. It was discontinued by 1932.
The Audi Type R was a large car produced by Audi between 1928 and 1932 as a successor to the Audi Type M.
The Audi Type T was a large, 6-cylinder-powered sedan/saloon car introduced by Audi in 1931. It was in most respects a scaled-down version of the manufacturer's Type SS "Zwickau", which had appeared two years earlier.
The DKW F1 was a small car produced by DKW between 1931 and 1932. It was launched at the Berlin Motor Show in February 1931.
The Goliath Pionier is a small three-wheeled two-seater vehicle first presented by Carl F. W. Borgward at the 1931 Berlin motor show. It remained in production until 1934, by when approximately 4,000 had been produced.
The DKW F2, firstly marketed as "DKW Meisterklasse", is a front wheel drive economy car produced by Auto Union's DKW division from 1932 to 1935 at the company’s Zwickau plant. It was launched at the Berlin Motor Show in April 1932. It shared its 584cc engine and drivetrain with its DKW F1 predecessor, but offered a longer wheelbase and a larger body.
The DKW F4 Meisterklasse is a small car produced at the company’s Zwickau plant by DKW between 1934 and 1935. It shared its 692cc engine and front wheel drive configuration with its immediate predecessor, the DKW F2 Meisterklasse, along with its 2,610 mm (103 in) wheelbase, but the body had been restyled again, and was now more stylish, the perpendicular rear end of the F2 now replaced with a sloping rear on the mainstream body types
The Mercedes-Benz W11 was a midsize six-cylinder automobile introduced by Daimler-Benz it 1929. It was developed from the Mercedes-Benz W02 first seen in 1926, and the W11 shared its chassis and bodywork with the W02, but the W11 came with a larger more powerful engine, a new name and a wider list of “standard bodies” from which customers could choose.
The Trabant P 50, also known as the Trabant 500, is the first series production model of the East German Trabant series, made by VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. It was produced from 1957 until 1962; in total, 131,495 units were built. In 1962, VEB Sachsenring switched production from the P 50 to the short-lived intermediate model Trabant 600, which combined the exterior styling of the Trabant P 50 with the technical design of the next generation Trabant model, the Trabant 601.
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