The DKW F7 is a

front-wheel-drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional lon ...

small family car The C-segment is the 3rd category of the European segments for passenger cars and is described as "medium cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "small family car" size class, and the compact car category in the United States. In 2011, the C- ...

launched by

Auto Union Auto Union AG, was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm f ...

’s

DKW DKW (''Dampf-Kraft-Wagen'', en, "steam-powered car", also ''Deutsche Kinder-Wagen'' en, "German children's car". ''Das-Kleine-Wunder'', en, "the little wonder" or ''Des-Knaben-Wunsch'', en, "the boy's wish"- from when the company built to ...

division in 1937 as a replacement for the

DKW F5 The DKW F5 is a Compact car, sub compact front wheel drive Sedan (car), saloon launched by Auto Union, Auto Union's DKW division in 1935 as a replacement for the DKWs DKW F4, F4 (Meisterklasse) and DKW F2, F2 (Reichsklasse) models. The body The ...

The body

Changes between the F5 and the F7 were mostly at a detailed level. However, the entry level Reichsklasse saloon now shared the (hitherto slightly longer) body of the Meisterklasse saloon. In addition to the 2-door saloon, a 2-door cabriolet saloon was also available. In 1938 a 2-door coupe cabriolet, the Front Luxus Cabriolet, was added to the range.

Engine and running gear

The car has the

two cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categoriz ...

two stroke engine of its predecessor. The Reichsklasse engine was of 584 cc with an output of . The Meisterklasse’s 692 cc engine had an output of . Respective claimed top speeds were and .Odin, L.C. ''World in Motion 1939 – The whole of the year's automobile production''. Belvedere Publishing, 2015. ASIN: B00ZLN91ZG. Like all the small DKWs of the 1930s, the F7 featured front wheel drive, which at this stage was unusual, and which in the light of subsequent developments can be seen as prescient.

Commercial

The popular F7 was replaced by the

DKW F8 The DKW F8 is a compact front-wheel drive two-stroke engined saloon, introduced in 1939.Odin, L.C. ''World in Motion 1939 - The whole of the year's automobile production''. Belvedere Publishing, 2015. ASIN: B00ZLN91ZG. The F8 was slightly shorter ...

in 1939. By this time, approximately 80,000 F7s had been built. File:DKW Sedan.jpg, DMW F7 saloon File:1937 DKW F7 Reichsklasse pic6.JPG, DKW F7 cabriolet saloon File:DKW Cabriolet.jpg, The DKW F7 Front Luxus Cabriolet, introduced in 1938, shared the 692 cc engine of the Meisterklasse. File:DKW F7-Van.JPG, DKW F7 van

Sources

{{reflist F89 Compact cars Sedans Convertibles Front-wheel-drive vehicles 1930s cars Cars introduced in 1937