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2014 Shannons Melbourne Summer Classic Auction
Lot
21

1951 DKW Schnell-Laster 8 Seater Bus (RHD)

$39,000

Sold

Specifications

Engine Twin-cylinder, 688cc
Gearbox 3-speed manual
Body Work Bus
Colour Yellow/Red
Interior Tan
Trim Vinyl
Wheels Steel disc
Brakes Drums

Description

This lot is no longer available

Part of the Auto Union family together with Audi, Horch and Wanderer (making up the familiar four rings that remain the Audi brand's logo today), DKW had been established by a Dane, Jörgen Skafte Rasmussen in Chemnitz in 1904 making metal products. In 1914, with war looming, the company built an experimental steam-powered car known as the Dampf Kraft Wagen, or DKW (which stood for Steam-Power-Vehicle) but thereafter concentrated on motorcycle production. It wasn't until 1928 that DKW built its first proper automobile and just three years later pioneered the world's first front-wheel drive production car. DKW's so-called Schnell-Laster (German for High Speed Van) range of forward-control vans and buses were introduced at the 1949 Hannover Export Fair, the original F-89L model based on the running gear of the pre-war F-8 Masterklasse wagon and powered by a transversely-mounted twin-cylinder engine sitting ahead of the front axle. In its original form, the DKW was powered by a two-stroke twin-cylinder engine with a capacity of 688cc, developing 22 horsepower at 4200 rpm and struggled to live up to the high speed moniker, with a top speed of around 70 km/h. The gearbox was a three-speed unit, the electrics were typically 6-volt and it used a ?Dynastart? system. With a flat floor and flexible seating arrangement, the F-89L Bus could carry up to nine passengers and was sold alongside more utilitarian van and open tray versions of the Schnell-Laster. Until Volkswagen launched the Type 2 Transporter the following year, DKW had this market to itself and sales boomed but the Kombi's arrival prompted changes that included a more powerful engine, better load carrying capacity and from 1952, wider track and a longer wheelbase plus a four-speed gearchange and dry clutch. The Schnell-Laster carried on in production throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, being built under licence in Spain from 1963, with German production phased out around this time. Arguably the original mini-van and the grandfather of the many MPVs seen on our roads today, DKW's Schnell-Lasters have become highly prized collector's pieces in recent years, with a unique character and lots of period charm.