The DKW Munga van
The word "MUNGA" comes from the German phrase "Mehrzweck UNiversal Geländewagen mit Allradantrieb", which translated means, " Multi purpose Universal Cross-country Car with All-wheel drive".
This car was built by Auto Union, Ingolstadt. The production began in October 1956 and ended in December 1968. During this time 46, 750 cars were built. The 38th International Motor Show at Frankfurt in the autumn 1957 was a great success for AUTO UNION GmbH. About this time the DKW cross-country car was launched. The vehicle, which has extraordinary stamina, was not only adopted by the West German „Bundeswehr“ as a vehicle unique in its class but was also bought in large numbers for the German Border Police and various foreign military formations within NATO.
The civilian version of the DKW cross-country car was widely adopted in Western Germany for agricultural and forestry work in particular, and also became popular abroad, especially in those countries where „go anywhere“ transport was needed because of poor roads, as, for example, in large parts of South America and South- Africa. Around 2000 cars were delivered to the Dutch army, many of which were shipped to the UK in the late 1970s.
[] The Van
From 1949 to 1962, DKW produced a van with a trailing-arm rear suspension system which incorporated springs in the cross bar assembly. It had a very modern layout with a front engine and front-wheel drive, but the engine was terribly weak. First the van used the prewar engine of the F8 with two cylinders, 700 cc and 20 hp (22 hp after 1952). This was definitely not enough when the van was fully charged. Things went (a little) better in 1955 when the van received the three cylinder unit with 900 cc, producing 32 hp.
Thanks to its layout the van had a low floor configuration, with the load areas about 40 cm from the ground. It was also fitted with a large single rear door fitted to hinges on the right-hand side. The van proved popular; one example being a company in Stellenbosch, South Africa, that sold musical instruments: their DKW van, used for the transport of pianos because of the low floor and large door, became iconic in the town.
The van was also produced in Vitoria, Spain. DKW (pronounced "de-ca-uve") become a common term for any van, and is still used today. The Spanish subsidiary also produced a modern successor, introduced in 1963 and called DKW F 1000 L. This van started with the three cylinder 1000 cc engine, but later received a Mercedes-Benz Diesel engine and finally was renamed a Mercedes-Benz.
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