First information
In the late 1980s, this strange car was found in a warehouse in the Frankfurt industrial area, rented by DKW enthusiasts. The warehouse contained many parts of the old brand. Over time, the band disbanded and much of the parts had to be sold, including this model.
The new owner
The car was bought by a Dutch fan of DKW, despite the advice of his friends not to do so. The first problem is that many new parts have to be found or made, as well as various body components. The other problem is that the model is completely unknown and this makes its authentic restoration a major problem.
The initial assumption was that the car was an unknown prototype of DKW, built soon after Mercedes-Benz sold the company to Volkswagen in 1964. As one of its first stabilization measures, the new owner stopped all further DKW-related developments, and soon then the DKW brand goes down in history, replaced by the revived Audi. Despite the doubts, the car was bought for 2750 DM (1400€) and brought to the Netherlands.
Parts
For this price, the risk is minimal, as the costs could only be covered by the sale of the parts. In the Netherlands, a thorough review was carried out in an attempt to establish the authenticity and make a list of missing details.
It is clear that the headlights are NSU, the grille is a hand-perforated sheet, the chassis is from the DKW 1000 S De Luxe from 1962, and the engine is a boosted version of the 3-cylinder two-stroke DKW, designed for racing. The rear round lights are from Opel Manta, the windshield is from Porsche, and the rear is from Fiat 850 Sport and is mounted back at an angle of 180 °. It is more than obvious that this cannot be a factory prototype of DKW.
The change
Dents and scratches on the body indicate that the car is not stored well. The restoration turned out to be quite complicated, as no photos of its original condition were found, and the lines of the body are barely recognizable from the heavily exposed hull. In the restoration, the new owner uses headlights, grille and bumper from the Audi 60, which largely reproduces the original look of the front. Subsequently, two pairs of round headlights were installed in place of the rectangular headlights. Initially, the maximum speed exceeds 185 km / h, but the car is too unstable for everyday use and therefore later built a standard engine from DKW, which reduced the speed to 125 km / h.
The creators
Over time, the origins of this exotic prototype, whose exact name is the Auto Union 1000 S Sport Coupe, became clear. It turns out that it was made by three students from the College of Design at the MHK Technical School (Meisterschule für Handwerker) in Kaiserslautern in 1968.
In this regard, it can be added that MHK is one of the most elite educational institutions in Germany specializing in training for the automotive industry. Klaus Lute, a pioneer of digital car design in Germany and the creator of some of the most interesting cars of his time, such as the NSU Ro 80, NSU 1200 TT, Volkswagen K70, and many iconic models from Germany, also received his education there. Audi and BMW.
An interesting fact
It is interesting to note that only a year after the completion of the Auto Union 1000 S Sport Coupe, Audi presents the first sports coupe GT in its history, whose shape in many respects overlaps with that of the project created by students at MHK.
