The next time you see an Audi on the road look closely at its badge. Four intertwined rings that probably remind the average person of the Olympic rings, but like most car badging there is a story behind the rings, which in the case of this German manufacturer goes back to those rather hectic and troubled days before the Second World War.
They were troubled days for German motor vehicle manufacturers, in particular within the landlocked state of Saxony. There were four separate companies that made very different motor vehicles that, under pressure by the State Bank of Saxony, joined together to form Auto Union. The four intertwined rings signifying that while together under one corporate banner, they were still the same four separate marques of Horch, Audi, Wanderer and DKW.
Horch & Audi
August Horch was previously with Karl Benz as a production manager, but in 1902 he left to form his own company. By the following year he was building a shaft-drive, four-cylinder car that was seen at the time as superior to that being produced by both Mercedes and Benz (still separate manufacturers at the time). By 1907, Horch was building a straight-six-cylinder car and would go on to produce cars that became highly desirable among the well-to-do of German society.
However, right from the beginning the financial side of Horch was performing poorly, and as a result August Horch had to seek partners. As happens, there was an eventual falling out between the partners resulting in Horch leaving the company in 1909. Unfortunately, he was unable to take the name with him, and in April 1910 founded a new business by the name of Audiwerke GmbH. Audi being the Latin translation of horch, meaning “to listen.”
The first Audi car was built in 1910. Soon Audi was making cars with 3.5-, 4.6- and 5.7-liter four-cylinder engines. The company built its first six-cylinder car of 4.6 liters in 1924, but not before Horch gave up day-to-day operation for a role on the German Ministry of Transport. He did, however, remain on the Audi board.
DKW
DKW was established in 1916 by Danish engineer Jørgen Rasmussen, in the German town of Zschopau, to manufacturer steam fittings. At the same time, Rasmussen started producing a steam-powered car called the DKW. While it was not a success, he was undeterred and went on to design a two-stroke engine primarily for children’s toys, but he did fit a modified version of the engine into a motorcycle frame. By the end of the 1920s DKW was the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles.
The company moved into motor cars in 1928, but continued to rely on their expertise as the manufacturer of quality two-stroke engines. Throughout its history DKW only made vehicles with two-stroke engines, which were aimed squarely at the more economical end of the German market. By the early 1930s, DKW achieved the second highest sales of motor vehicles in Germany.
In 1928, Jørgen Rasmussen became the majority shareholder of Audi and also bought the remains of U.S. manufacturer Rickenbacker, along with all its machine equipment. The following year a couple of Audi models fitted with the Rickenbacker-designed six and eight-cylinder engines appeared.
Wanderer
Established in 1885 by Johann Winklhofer and Richard Jaenicke in the Saxony city of Chemnitz, the company first started making bicycles. Two years later the brand name of the bicycles was changed to Wanderer and in 1896 the name of the company was also changed to the same.
Wanderer soon moved into the manufacturing of machine tools, and in 1902 built its first motorcycle. The company certainly seemed prepared to diversify the business, as in 1904 it built its first typewriter under the Continental brand. Then, a year later, undertook initial tests in automotive design.
The first Wanderer car saw production in 1911 with the catchy model name of W1 5/12 PS and with its 1,147-cc, four-stroke engine and basic bodywork was quickly dubbed the Puppchen (or Little Doll). Slightly larger models soon followed, with a 1,306-cc overhead valve model introduced just after WWI in 1919. By the late 1920s, Wanderer was moving slightly upmarket with the introduction of a new 2.5-liter, six-cylinder engine in the W11.
Despite Wanderer cars selling well, all was not looking too impressive across the company, especially with the onset of the Great Depression. In 1929, under direction of the Dresden Bank, the motorcycle side of the business was sold to Czechoslovakian entrepreneur Frantisek Janecek. He quickly set up the motorcycle business in a disused armaments factory in Prague to manufacturer motorcycles under the name of Jawa (the first two letters of Janecek and Wanderer). The name of Jawa continues to this day and is mostly involved in the production of speedway motor-cycles and engines.
In 1931, with Wanderer wanting to raise the image of the marque, the advice was sought of a well known engineer who just a few months before had set up his own design office in Stuttgart. This, of course, was Ferdinand Porsche, who designed a new 1.7- and 2-liter, straight-six for the German manufacturer. There was also a straight-eight, but it didn’t get past the drawing board. The engine was the first commission for the newly formed Porsche Design and was numbered Porsche Type number 7. There was no 1 to 6, as Porsche didn’t want it known that it was his first engine design!
Auto Union
From the above, it’s easy to see the connection between Horch, Audi and DKW. Wanderer was closely located, geographically, to the others and all four were seriously suffering from the effects of The Great Depression. It is not known how much debt was owed, but it was clear that something had to give if the manufacturers were to be saved. Actually, to be fair, the machine tool, bicycle, typewriter and office equipment side of Wanderer was doing quite well, but not so the automobile division, especially after the cost of building a new motor vehicle factory.
So, due to pressure from the banks, it made logical sense for Horch, Audi and DKW to merge to form Auto Union, which shortly thereafter purchased the ailing passenger car side of Wanderer.
The establishment of Auto Union did not mean a loss of identity for the four manufacturers, but it did allow for cross fertilization of ideas and especially components such as engines and even body styling. Many of the later models displayed their well-known badging placed over or close to the intertwining four rings of Auto Union. For example, 1933 saw the release of the Audi Front, which featured the Porsche-designed Wanderer six-cylinder engine and DKW transmission and suspension. This combination meant that the car was front-wheel drive with four-wheel independent suspension.
As noted earlier, within the social classes of German motor vehicle manufacturers, Wanderer was firmly ensconced toward the lower-middle class, certainly above DKW, but below Audi and Horch. The Porsche six-cylinder engine was fitted to the W21, W22 and W50 models and with enough power to give each model a top speed of around 60 mph. Not lightning fast, but the cars were rugged and did well in the off-road rallies of the day. However, Wanderer was not satisfied and wanted to raise its image, especially when it came to sporting cars. There was another incentive too, and that was the new BMW 328 that coincidently also had a 2-liter, straight-six engine.
W25K
This image quest by Wanderer resulted in just one model, the W25K, which also showed the wish by the company to remain as independent as possible while under the Auto Union umbrella.
In standard form, the 2-liter Porsche-designed engine produced all of 40-bhp, but when fitted to the W25K, power was increased to 85-bhp at 4500 rpm. This came about by the fitting of a Roots-type supercharger (hence the K), and it was also an important number as the BMW 328 engine produced 80-bhp. Of course, the BMW went on to be developed extensively by Bristol after WWII, but the Wanderer engine was just that little special too, as it featured an alloy block and cylinder head along with seven main bearings and removable cylinder liners.
Drive to the rear was through a four-speed manual gearbox with synchro on third and fourth, while the suspension was an example of said cross fertilization, i.e., borrowed from DKW. This consisted of front transverse springs, set low, along with upper wishbones, while at the back was a live rear axle sprung by a transverse leaf spring. Brakes were hydraulically operated drums on all four corners.
The chassis of the W25K was a conventional box-section frame with four box-section crossmembers. The body? Well, in this writer’s opinion the roadster has to have been one of the most strikingly attractive bodies fitted to a production car of the period. It is a very stylish and elegant motor car, particularly with its cut-down doors. Available in either roadster or cabriolet styles, it features a long nose that’s predominantly behind the front axle, small cockpit and short swoopy tail. The cabriolet style did not have the cut down doors. The front sits high due to the almost heraldic battle shield grille that was so typical of the German Nazi period. If you like louvers (and I do) there are enough in the W25K body to keep you interested for quite some time. In the hood, I counted a total of 228!
From 1936 through to 1938, a total of 258 Wanderer W25Ks were built in both body styles. It’s thought that just 25 roadsters were built. During this same period, Auto Union was heavily involved in the German government-financed motor racing program, but that’s a story best covered elsewhere.
The 1930s also brought a massive rearmament program instigated by Germany’s Nazi government under Adolf Hitler, resulting in Auto Union becoming an important supplier to the German armed forces. Civilian production ceased altogether in May 1940, when it was taken over completely by production for the military.
Many of the Auto Union facilities were destroyed by Allied bombing during the Second World War. Post-war, only the DKW brand was still in existence, within West Germany, with production of small, two-stroke cars recommencing in 1949. The rest of the Auto Union facilities were located in East Germany, resulting in key Auto Union staff fleeing to the West and with aid through the Marshall Plan and loans, set up in business in Bavaria. Nine years later came the production of the first post-war Auto Union, followed by the company being taken over by Daimler-Benz in 1959. In 1964, the Auto Union naming rights and a factory were acquired by Volkswagen. Soon a new range of cars, including such as the Audi 80, was released.
In 1969, Auto Union merged with NSU, the manufacturer of the Wankel-powered Ro80, forming a new company called Audi NSU Auto Union AG which was shortened to Audi AG in 1985. This spelled the end of Auto Union and, effectively, the long history of Horch, DKW and Wanderer.
Our W25K
Rare is, of course, a four-letter word, but it’s certainly apt in the case of our 1937 Wanderer W25K. As far as is known, there are six Wanderers in Australia, and even that is probably stretching it a little. Back in 1924, a total of 12 W6 rolling chassis were imported into Melbourne. One of which was entered in the 1929 Australian Grand Prix, while another was held in bond until 1960 when bought by multiple AGP winner Lex Davison. These two examples are now owned by the same enthusiast in Melbourne. There are also two other W6 models in the country.
It may be rumor or, better still, a tall story, but another W25K was said to have been imported during the mid-1950s. However, it soon developed problems with the engine, which was to be replaced by a rather plebian Holden straight-six engine. The Wanderer engine was deposited in a large pit in the back garden of a suburban home and, despite serious attempts to find it it in later years, was never seen again.
Then there is this rather beautiful W25K that graces these pages. With an element of truth, the owner’s belief is that the car is the star and so he does not wish to be identified. No worries!
“To me the engine in the W25K is Porsche engine number 1.” The owner disclosed. “I am a real Porsche fan, and I often think of the Porsche 356 that came from Porsche Type number 356. My involvement with the W25K was when I received a call from an acquaintance in the U.S. who knew of my passion with Porsches. He sent me some photos of a car that he described as ‘Porsche Number 1,’ and after I received them I was interested and asked for the name and contact details of the person who owned it.
“That turned out to be a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who lived in California. In 1945, he was in the occupation forces stationed in Germany, and while there acquired the car. No, I didn’t ask what he meant by the word ‘acquired’. After his time in Germany he took it back to the U.S. with him, but found that as the highways improved, the car lost power. This chap was also an avid flyer and had a number of planes, so he parked the car in his hanger with the idea of later putting a V8 into it. Fortunately, he never got around to it. He was over 80 years of age when I bought it, and that was 15 years ago. It arrived in Australia in August 2001.”
Flagstaff
“There were a couple of odd things about the car when it came.” The owner added. “One was that I thought it had a radio antenna on the front guard, but that turned out to be a flagstaff. While the previous owner didn’t know the history of the car before he acquired it, I reckon that a USAF colonel driving around Germany probably wouldn’t want it known that he was American. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if the car was used by some form of official beforehand.”
“When it arrived it was dark maroon in color, which was probably its original color, but I thought the blue would look just right and it wasn’t too far off a color that was available on Wanderers at the time. Plus, it was similar to the color that Goering used on his Mercedes.
“We were very lucky with the seats and the rest of the upholstery as, while the rats had got to a lot of it, there was enough left to use as patterns. For such items as the door pulls, we managed to find a whip maker who could braid new ones for the car.
“Mechanically the car was still in good condition,” the owner said. “It wasn’t running mind you, but it was complete and still together. It needed, of course, a complete restoration. About the only thing that was missing was a badge, but I managed to find one in Essen when we were there. A friend at Noosa, north of Brisbane, who is a retired mechanic restored the car for me.
“For its time it was a very advanced car and has such things that we associate with much newer cars. Things like a steering lock and a kill switch. The trafficator is particularly interesting, as when you switch it on it swings out, goes up, the light comes on and it hits a solenoid and then drops down while the light switches off. Then it starts the process again. I think that’s a very advanced component for the period.
“The only thing I have done to it that is not original is to remove the running boards. It has a receptacle for the jack that I thought detracted from the car, so I took them off, as did a number of other owners around the world. During the restoration we found out that the reason it had lost power was that the vanes in the supercharger had worn along with the cylinder. So, during the restoration the whole lot was ceramic-coated, which took it back to its original tolerances.”
Pebble Beach
“In 2009, I took the W25K to Pebble Beach to be part of the hundred years of Audi celebration. It appears that Audi claims the history of anything made under the Auto Union banner as an Audi. I was thrilled that the car picked up 3rd place. The car gets used quite frequently, just for driving about. My wife and I go shopping in it on Saturday mornings.”
At this stage we walked to the car and I remarked about what looked to be individual electric motors for each wiper. In response the owner said he had never turned them on, so he did and they are indeed individual motors. “How nice is that!” remarked Steve the photographer. And he was right and that comment just about summed up the whole car.
“The car shows how fortunate it all was.” The owner concluded. “Fortunate that it was retired to the hanger during the 1950s and left undisturbed until I bought it in 2001. The thought of a V8 in it just makes me shudder.”
Driving a W25K
I said earlier that I think the styling of the W25K is simply striking and so typical of the late, between-the-wars period. With its flowing front and rear guards, swept tail and delicious long bonnet I found it inspirational, but also had to curb my desire to get behind the wheel.
But curb I had to do, as with any car with more than a single seat I am quite happy to sit in the passenger seat first and be shown how it’s done. It was simply a matter of turning the key and pressing the button and away it went. Looking around, the center-placed dash was simplicity and functional. Taking pride of place was the white-faced tachometer showing rpms in complete numbers from 500 to 5000. I did see, however, the little red mark at 3500.
The inside was fitted out in tan—dash surround, upholstery, door trims and even the steering wheel. The gearstick is best described as willowy, as it comes from the floor almost adjacent to the pedals.
With the owner behind the wheel it doesn’t seem to be a problem and, in fact, quite conventional. He says that both he and his wife use the car frequently, even if it’s just going out to lunch or to visit friends.
When I get behind the wheel it all comes easily to hand and the rest of me as well. The seats are highly comfortable and, being used to older cars, I actually felt quite at home. Turn the key and press the button and the engine presents a pleasant thumping note with just a hint of supercharger whine. I must admit that it took me a few minutes to come to grips with the gear-change, especially the lack of synchro, but I did feel that I was in charge compared with pre-wars cars I have recently driven where I felt that the gearbox was telling me what I should be doing.
I was surprised at the amount of torque from the engine, but I did wonder whether it was due to the supercharger. I’ve never had the pleasure of driving a BMW 328, but have driven Bristol-powered cars and they certainly need to be stirred along. It had that rather pleasant six-cylinder burble, plus a background whine of the shaft-driven blower. Brakes could be best described as having a firm pedal, but heavens, this car is 75 years old and the owner has respectfully not sought to modernize it at all. I will say that I felt more than comfortable with how the car stopped.
All in all, I just loved the Wanderer W25K, as I knew I was enjoying the experience immensely. While I was sampling the car I recall thinking that I could quite happily set off into the distance with this car.
SPECIFICATIONS
Body: Steel frame with roadster body
Chassis: Steel frame over rear axle
Wheelbase: 104.3 inches
Track: F 52.17 inches, R 52.36 inches
Length: 166.1 inches
Width: 66.1 inches
Height : 55.1 inches
Weight: 2,200 pounds
Suspension: Front: Upper wishbones with semi-elliptic springs and hydraulic dampers, Rear: Live axle with single transverse elliptic spring and hydraulic dampers
Engine: Cast alloy OHV in-line six-cylinder
Displacement: 1,950 cc
Induction: Supercharged
Power: 85bhp @ 4,500 rpm
Transmission: Wanderer 4-speed and reverse – synchro on 3rd and 4th
Brakes: Hydraulic drum brakes on all four wheels
