Auto Union Classic Cars for Sale

The Auto Union was a car company which was founded on 29.06.1932 in Chemnitz. It was formed from the merger of four former car and motorcycle companies (hence the name "Auto Union"): Motorenwerke J-.S. Rasmussen (DKW), its subsidiary Audi from Zwickau, Horchwerke in Zwickau, and Automobilwerk Siegmar der Wanderer-Werke in Schönau near Chemnitz.

History of Auto Union

The car brands of these manufacturers were retained, with a certain specialisation: the DKW Frontwagen was an inexpensive car that became the best-known brand in the Auto Union. The middle class cars that Wanderer produced in Siegmar and Horch specialized in luxury cars of Auto Union, which became more popular than luxury models of any other brand at that time. All this resulted in the Auto Union having a 22% share of the German market and becoming the second largest automobile company behind Adam-Opel AG. The company's racing cars, which were developed by Ferdinand Porsche between 1934 and 1937, also became no less famous than the large-series models. Therefore the racing cars of the types A-D were far ahead of their time and won numerous car races. In 1936, Rosemeyer won the European Grand Prix Championship with an Auto-Union racing car. But the Second World War brought the successful company to an abrupt end: on 17 August 1948, the Auto-Union was officially dissolved. From the successor companies the famous brand "Trabant" emerged in the GDR and in the Federal Republic today's Audi brand. This is why Auto Union, like the Phoenix, has risen from the ashes and Audi AG from Ingolstadt, as its former subsidiary, can be regarded as a continuation of the long tradition of the famous Auto Union.

Classics of the Auto Union

The classics of the Auto Union were the above-mentioned " Frontwagen " from DKW, in which the front wheel drive was realized for the first time. Their advanced construction and affordable price gave the models of the series a long life: Between 1931-1942, a total of 6 basic versions (F1 to F8) and numerous variations of each of the versions were produced and successfully marketed.

The Auto Union logo

The Auto Union logo consisted of four rings with the word "Auto Union" in the middle. It was supposed to symbolize the union of brands. The simplified version of this logo type without the word "Auto Union" is used today by the Audi brand.