DKW does not build many cars like the DKW Munga: a Cabriolet / Pickup with 896 , built from 1956 to 1968 at the height of the post-war boom.
The story
The DKW Munga is a DKW-branded 4WD off-road vehicle that was built by Auto-Union in Ingolstadt, West Germany from 1956 to 1968.
When German authorities inquired in 1953 about vehicles for border police and the possible future Army that was founded on 12 November 1955, DKW developed the car based on the two-stroke engine DKW 3=6 car and DKW Schnellaster van, and won the tender over so-called Jagdwagen (hunter's cars) like Goliath Typ 31 and Porsche 597. The name Munga abbreviates the German description Mehrzweck Universal Geländewagen mit Allradantrieb, which translates as "multi-purpose universal off-road car with all-wheel drive" In addition, the name is similar to Mungo, German for Mongoose, and predates the Volkswagen Iltis Typ 183 named after the European polecat.
What is underneath
Under the skin sits 896 other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 1060 – 1885 kg. The gearbox is a 8-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 2000 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
Where it sits in DKW's history is not in doubt: it was built at Ingolstadt. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Fiat 500, the Nissan Skyline, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Nearby in the DKW catalogue sit the DKW 3=6 and the DKW CD Manzel.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the DKW Munga has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.