1953 DKW 3=6 Sonderklasse

In 1953, Auto Union GmbH premiered its new DKW 3=6 Sonderklasse F 91 model (34 bhp at 4000 rpm) at the Frankfurt Motor Show. With its three-cylinder two-stroke engine, the newcomer proved tremendously popular in Germany, with 72,600 being built in a variety of body types between 1953 and 1955. After a series of thrilling wins – including victory in its class at the Monte Carlo Rally – the car’s debut motor sport season came to a sensational finale when ace DKW drivers Walter Schlüter, Gustav Menz and Heinz Meier made it a one-two-three for the DKW Sonderklasse in the 1954 “European Championship for Standard-production Touring Cars”.

The models that raced in the rallies of 1954 were broadly similar to the standard-production saloon, leaving little doubt as to this model’s performance potential.

Incidentally, the three-cylinder DKW Sonderklasse also enjoyed great success when it participated in Europe’s most prestigious long-distance speed trial, the Mille Miglia, in 1954 and 1955, finishing as the fastest touring car in the sub-1000 cc category to take the “Coppa argento grandissima”.

The “Rallye Monte Carlo” edition that Audi Tradition is exhibiting was rebuilt by classic car specialists “Oldtimer Klassik” from Hradec Kralove in the Czech Republic, using original documents from the Auto Union’s motor sport department.

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