Although the 1950 Volkswagen has often been credited by writers, including this one, with pioneering the modern minivan, it turns out there was an even earlier van. This was the German DKW Schnellaster sold in North America as the Karavan. Schnellaster translates approximately to Rapid Transporter, but its calling its modest performance “rapid” was decidedly optimistic.
I became aware of the Karavan in the 1950s and was again reminded of it by keen reader Paul Glassen of Nanaimo, who noted that the Karavan arrived even before the VW. Karavan production began in the fall of 1949, whereas the first VW van didn’t come off the assembly line until February 1950.
DKW was an old company, dating back to 1904 in Chemnitz, Germany, where it started as Rasmussen & Ernst, manufacturing steam fittings. It planned to produce steam vehicles and registered the name DKW (Dampfkraftwagen, for steam-driven vehicle). Steam wasn’t successful, and its main products became DKW engines and motorcycles, becoming the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer by 1928.
DKW began car production in 1928 with a small car using a transverse two-cylinder, two-stroke engine, a design for which DKW would long be an advocate. A two-stroke engine has combustion on every second piston stroke (top of its travel to the bottom, etc.), or one crankshaft revolution, whereas a four-stroke has combustion every fourth stroke, or two revolutions. A two-stroke, therefore, produces more power per unit of displacement.
In 1932, DKW joined Audi, Horch and Wanderer under the Auto Union corporate umbrella, although the separate marques continued being manufactured until the Second World War. The current Audi four-ring badge represents those four companies.
Getting back into production after the war was a major struggle for Auto Union. When peace came, Europe was partitioned by the Allies: France, England, United States and the Soviet Union. Auto Union’s plants were in the East German zone occupied by the Soviets, and were lost to nationalization.
Some senior Auto Union executives had escaped to what became the American zone immediately after the end of the war, before partitioning. They regrouped, and based on their reputations were able to arrange financing to re-establish Auto Union in the Bavarian town of Ingolstadt. By 1947, it had created a large parts depot there, with production facilities soon to follow. Production of the DKW, the only Auto Union name revived right after the war, began late in 1949. Due to a shortage of commercial transportation the Karavan was the first product built.
When Volkswagen van production began a few months later it was immediately apparent that while the VW and DKW were both “boxes on wheels” designed to provide the largest possible volume in the shortest package, they were polar opposites mechanically. The DKW was powered by an inline two-cylinder, two-stroke, water-cooled engine ahead of the front axle and driving the front wheels. The VW had a flat, four-cylinder, four-stroke, air-cooled engine behind the rear axle and driving the rear wheels.
Both vehicles had their front seats well forward, in the VW’s case over the front axle, but because of its mechanical layout the DKW had a packaging advantage. Placing the entire powertrain ahead of the front axle allowed the entire DKW interior to be used for passenger/cargo space. The interior was unobstructed by the engine or driveline, allowing the floor to run low and flat front to rear with a loading height only 406 millimetres above the ground. The VW had a low floor in the middle of the vehicle, but rose at the rear to clear the engine. Passenger and cargo access in the VW was by side doors and a rear hatch, and the DKW by side doors and a rear door.
The first DKW engine was only 700 cc producing 20 horsepower, marginal for its task. This was improved in 1955 with 896 cc, three cylinders and 42 horsepower. The two-stroke DKW engine had no oil sump and was lubricated by adding oil to the gasoline at a ratio of approximately 40 to one. Both had four-speed manual transmissions.
Performance of both was very modest. In December 1956, Road & Track did a comparison test on a VW bus and their own DKW Karavan, which was fitted up as their “pressmobile.” The DKW achieved zero to 80 km/h in 26.1 seconds while the 36-horsepower VW took 30.6. Top speed average for the DKW was 100 km/h, and for the VW, 95.
The original DKW Karavan was manufactured until 1962, but didn’t come close to the VW’s sales with its stronger marketing and service organization and halo effect created by the popular Beetle. The DKW was also more expensive. But with its front-mounted engine and front-wheel drive, the DKW more accurately anticipated the layout of the modern minivan.