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Thursday, September 17, 2020

Unique pre-war streamlined three-wheeler record breaker

We can see the pre-war period (around the 1930s) as one of the milestones in which has recorded that automotive technology experienced significant progress after the automotive industry players at that time began implementing aerodynamic principles to support the speed and stability of motorized vehicles when running on the street or on the race track.
No, it’s not a car, neither a computer mouse. It's a three-wheeled vehicle named Auto-Union DKW-Kahrman 600cc made in 1935. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/2E0h8Uk)
Indeed, at that time, the world's automotive was also in the middle of the excitement of competing with each other to be the fastest on the racing track. And then it triggered competition among major countries in the world's automotive, especially in mainland Europe and America. And one of the countries that are also competing and the most ambitious is Germany.
The black & white photo colorized of the 1935 Auto-Union DKW-Kahrman 600cc. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/2E0h8Uk)
In this country, the motorized vehicle racing euphoria also invited interference from the political forces in power at that time to influence and steer the automotive industry in there to create the fastest vehicle to fulfill the ruler's ambition to be the best in the world. By 1934, Hitler and his propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels were eager to use all aspects of international sporting activity in service of their fascist state, which included car and motorcycle racing.
A very rare photograph of Adolf Hitler inspecting the DKW factory. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/2ZDcdjS)
BMW and DKW were the two-companies benefitted from the huge money flow supplied by the Nazi government, and both factories used the money boost to make radical technical changes to their cars and motorcycles. DKW was part of Auto Union by 1932, a German giant automotive manufacturer, with DKW by then the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world.

As all we know, the Auto Union racing cars were one of the most powerful and exotic GP cars ever, and their competition with the likes of Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo is straight in line with the DKW motorcycle story. BMW at the same time developed their 328 sports-racer, an incredibly competent and beautifully designed car, considered an all-time classic.
Looking like a letter to the future, the DKW streamlined record-breaker without its canopy, which badly affected handling​. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/2ZDcdjS)
As a logical consequence of receiving Hitler's cash at that time, the racing teams and record-breaking of the two manufacturers were under the control and supervision of the Nazi government, so it is not surprising that their drivers and riders in mandatory wore and used various Nazi attributes. So that it gives the impression to the rivals that they are all Nazis. Although in fact, not all of them were supporters of the Nazi fascist government.
The DKW streamlined-shape designed record-breaker three-wheeler without its canopy, while stopped on the pitstop​. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/2ZDcdjS)
It seemed as if there was an agreement between BMW and DKW at that time to stay off each other's racing turf, as DKW focused on 250cc and 350cc GP racing and record-breaking, while BMW concentrated on 500cc racing and absolute World Speed Records.

At the time, BMW is perhaps better known for their BMW WR750 speed record motorcycles in 1936, while DKW as equally at the forefront of the new science of streamlining and engine development, having pioneered the Schnurle-loop scavenge system on their two-stroke engines, and the use of superchargers with twin-piston combustion chambers, so the blowers didn't simply push the fuel mix straight out the exhaust pipe.
The 1935 Auto-Union DKW-Kahrman 600cc with its full streamlined bodywork​. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/2ZDcdjS)
It is known as well that at that time DKW was developing record-breaking racing vehicles with 250cc and 350cc engines alongside their Auto Union GP cars. The vehicle has appeared in a fabulously compelling bodywork with astonishing speed and sophistication, as it was developed in a wind tunnel (something they could afford with Nazi cash).
The BMW three-wheeled record-breaker with its full streamlining, which was more stable than the DKW bodywork​. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/2ZDcdjS)
Uniquely, there's a vehicle made by DKW in the three-wheeled vehicle platform. It is not known whether it is included in one of the categories of vehicle classes that are competed in addition to motorbikes (two-wheeled vehicles) and cars (four-wheeled vehicles). 

It seems later than BMW (broke the agreement for a while) by developing an almost similar three-wheeled vehicle with an airplane-shaped design and is believed to be more stable than the DKW model. But unfortunately, it isn't known whether all of these future look three-wheeled vehicles are able to complete its mission to break the records.😉 *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | CAR-DAY.RU | THEVINTAGENT.COM | TRIUMPHTALK.COM]
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