The Wanderer W22 was an upper-middle-class six-cylinder sedan introduced 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 fo ...

under the

Wanderer Wanderer, Wanderers, or The Wanderer may refer to: * Nomadism, Nomadic and/or itinerant people, working short-term before moving to other locations, who wander from place to place with no permanent home, or are vagrancy (people), vagrant * The Wan ...

brand in 1933. It replaced the W20 8/40 PS, from which it inherited its

OHV An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located bel ...

engine, developed by

Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volksw ...

. Two years after introduction, in 1935, the car was renamed as the Wanderer W240, and in 1936 it was renamed again as the Wanderer W40. The engine and principal mechanical components remained very little changed throughout, however, as did the wheelbase and other principal chassis measurements. The car therefore was, and generally still is, regarded as a single model despite the name changes. At launch the W22 differed from its predecessor most notably on account of its swing rear axle, supported by lateral leaf springing, adopting a pattern established by

during his time with the (at the time still independent) Austrian Steyr company. Another new feature in the W22 was the hydraulic braking system. The car was powered by a six-cylinder four-stroke

ohv An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located bel ...

engine of 1950 cc driving the rear wheels via a four-speed gearbox. This was the same engine which was installed (albeit turned around with its drive shaft facing the front of the car) in the innovative Audi Front which was launched at the same time. As on the Audi, claimed maximum power output was at 3,500 rpm. However, whereas the Audi received the larger engine from the new Wanderer 245 in 1935, the Wanderer W22/W240/W40 retained the same 1950 cc engine throughout its life. Initially the car was offered as a “six-light” (six side window) four-door saloon and as a two-door cabriolet. Additional configurations were offered a year later including a commodious six-seat “Pullman-limousine”. The 1935 name change from W22 to W240 coincided with the introduction of a four-door saloon with just two principal side windows on each side. With this body the Wanderer W240 appeared streamlined beside the conservatively styled contemporary

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

sedans. It more closely resembled a chunkier version of the Citroën Traction introduced in France late in 1933. At the same time the cabriolet version was modified, losing its rear side windows in favour of a more extensive hood. The “Pullman-limousine” continued to be offered. There were no significant changes to the car accompanying the 1936 name change to Wanderer W40. The Wanderer W22/W240/W40 shared its wheelbase with the six-cylinder 1690 cc W21/W235/W35 and, after 1935, the six-cylinder 2257 cc W245/W250/W45/W50 models. Taking all the 3-metre wheelbase models together, 29,111 of these six-cylinder Wanderers were produced between 1933 and 1938.

did not directly replace their W22/W240/W40. However, the larger-engined six-cylinder models were effectively replaced by the Wanderer W23, which appeared in 1937.

References

{{reflist W22 Executive cars Sedans Auto Union Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Cars introduced in 1933 1930s cars