Auto Union 1000

In short

• Built 1957–1963 (1000 Sp to 1965), mainly in Düsseldorf; 171,008 cars, plus about 6,640 Auto Union 1000 Sp sports cars.
• 981 cc three-cylinder two-stroke, water-cooled: 32 kW (44 PS), 37 kW (50 PS) in the 1000 S, 40 kW (55 PS) in the 1000 Sp.
• Front-wheel drive, four-speed column gearbox, Saxomat automatic clutch as an option.
• Price in Britain in 1960: £1,259 for a 1000 S Coupé.

Auto Union 1000 at a glance: maker, production years (1957–1965), purpose

Development and production history

The 1000 evolved from the DKW F93, F94 and F94U of the 3=6 series, whose design went back to the DKW F9 prototype developed in Zwickau in 1938. The new car was released in late 1957, and the 3=6 stayed in production alongside it until the end of 1959. In April 1958 Daimler-Benz bought 87% of Auto Union, and in the same year the 1000 revived Auto Union as a brand name on a production car.

Most of the 171,008 cars were built in Düsseldorf, in the former Rheinmetall-Borsig factory. In August 1959 the two-door "model 60" received a panoramic wrap-around windscreen and a vertical strip speedometer. The 1000 S followed with more power. The last Universal left the plant in Ingolstadt on 31 October 1962, and the last 1000 S four-door on 13 November 1962. The DKW F102 replaced the 1000 in Europe in 1963. The wider story of the company is in the history of Audi.

Design and engineering

The body sits on a box-section frame and is fixed to it at eight points. Front suspension uses lower wishbones beneath a transverse leaf spring, and the rear has a dead axle located by trailing arms, also with a transverse leaf spring. Steering is rack and pinion. Most versions had drum brakes; English Wikipedia mentions front discs on the coupé and on the 1962 "model 62". The track is 1,290 mm at the front and 1,350 mm at the rear.

The 1000 Sp is the eye-catcher of the family. Built by Baur in Stuttgart as a low two-seater, first as a fixed-head coupé from 1958 and as a cabriolet from 1961, its tail fins earned it the nickname "baby Thunderbird". It is 4,170 mm long and 1,325 mm high.

Engine and drivetrain: the 981 cc two-stroke

The engine is a water-cooled three-cylinder two-stroke of 981 cc, with a bore and stroke of 74 × 76 mm, a single Solex carburettor and 6-volt electrics. In the 1000 it gives 32 kW (44 PS) at 4,500 rpm and 78.5 Nm at 3,000 rpm. The 1000 S has 37 kW (50 PS), and the 1000 Sp, with a compression ratio of 8.2:1 instead of 7.25:1, 40 kW (55 PS) and 88.3 Nm at 3,500 rpm.

Like all two-strokes, the 1000 burned oil with its fuel. For the 1962 models Auto Union introduced Lubrimat, a separate oil tank and pump that injected oil at a ratio of 1:40 to cut the blue smoke. The system had a weak point: in the cold winter of 1962–63 the thick oil flowed badly through the feed pipe, and crankshafts were damaged. Drive went to the front wheels through a four-speed gearbox with a column-mounted lever; the Saxomat automatic clutch was an option. With 37 kW and 930 kg, the 1000 S two-door has about 40 kW per tonne, as the power-to-weight calculator shows.

Auto Union 1000 specifications

The years follow the technical table in English Wikipedia, which differs slightly from its infobox. Fuel use was 10.0–10.5 l/100 km according to the factory. The Motor measured 130.2 km/h and 9.0 l/100 km on a 1000 S Coupé in 1960, and CAR magazine 132 km/h in August 1960.

Variants and derivatives: saloon, coupé, Universal, Sp and Argentina

The range covered two- and four-door saloons, the pillarless two-door coupé, the three-door Universal estate of 1959–1962 and the Sp. The car was also built under licence in Argentina. Industrias Automotriz de Santa Fe (IASF) built the 1000 at Sauce Viejo from 1960 to 1970: 21,797 1000 S saloons and 6,396 Universal S estates until 1969, plus small numbers of Fissore-styled coupés and spiders.

In service: rallies and everyday use

The two-stroke was successful in rallying. Wolfgang Levy and Hans Wenscher won the 1959 Acropolis Rally outright, and the car won its class at the 1960 Monte Carlo Rally. In South Africa Reinhard and Pieter Muhl won the national rally championship in 1961, 1962 and 1963, the last time with Jan Hettema.

In 1960 a 1000 S Coupé cost £1,259 in Britain, more than the £1,148 of an Austin Westminster that year. In September 1965, after Volkswagen's takeover, the Audi name returned on a new four-stroke car built in Ingolstadt. More on the later cars from Ingolstadt is in the Audi 100 generations article.

Preservation and collecting today

Of the versions with known totals, the 1000 Sp, with about 6,640 built, is the smallest series, and the Argentine Fissore coupés and spiders were made in limited numbers. No reliable public price data in euros was found for this article, so no market values are given.

Which Auto Union 1000 to choose:

• For style: a 1000 Sp coupé or one of the 1,640 cabriolets.
• For the classic look: a 1000 S with the panoramic windscreen.
• For practicality: a Universal estate (1959–1962).
• For simplicity: an early two-door 1000 without Lubrimat.

More German cars of the time are in the 1950s classics, the 1960s classics and the classic cars section; every model of the brand is in the Auto Union catalogue.

Photo gallery