The DKW F1 is a 2- or 4-seater cabriolet / various other body types built in small volumes from DKW, built from 1931 to 1932, when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together. Under the bonnet: 584 .
How it came about
The DKW F1 was a small car mass produced by DKW (part of the Auto Union) between 1931 and 1932. It was launched at the Berlin Motor Show in February 1931. The F1 was the first of a series of front wheel drive cars, assembled at DKW's Zwickau plant, while a line of larger, rear-wheel drive DKWs were built in the company's Spandau (locality) plant, (district of Berlin).
The hardware
Power comes from 584 . It weighs 600 kg. It shifts through a 3-speed manual. The layout matters: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The wheelbase is 2100 mm (2-seater) / 2400 mm (4-seater). These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Wanderer W24; its successor was the DKW F2; assembly was at Zwickau, Germany. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Chevrolet Suburban, the Bugatti Type 57, the Bugatti Type 51 — show what else the money bought that year. Its DKW stablemates include the DKW 3=6 and the DKW CD Manzel.
What it costs now
There is no federal ownership record for the DKW F1 — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.