1940 DKW F9 Sales Brochure (partial)

DKW's new F9 model completed preliminary testing in 1939 and was slated to go on sale in Germany in 1940. In anticipation, Auto Union prepared a comprehensive sales brochure announcing the new model. I only have a partial copy of the introductory pages, but we can expect the details would be broadly similar to the initial IFA-DKW F9 brochure of 1949 as that brochure reproduces much Auto Union material, including photographs of the original DKW cars. For the convoluted development path of the DKW F9, see here: https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2017/07/1939-dkw-f9-prototype.html

If anyone has more of the original brochure, I would be pleased to know.

English translation:

"DKW front wheel drive cars have become a household name, not just in Germany. It is known and appreciated all over the world as the model of the inexpensive, low-cost, powerful and always reliable small car under the most difficult conditions.

The special position which the DKW occupies among all motor vehicles in the world is technically justified not least by the fact that when the first DKW car was created, one of the large standard types was not simply reduced in size. Rather, they designed and built a vehicle. which in its individual components - partly with a conscious abandonment of all "tradition" - was aimed solely at being fit for purpose and therefore economical.

The first DKW front wheel drive model, the F2, had the nimble, tough and economical two-cylinder two-stroke engine as its drive source, which, with only 5 moving parts, could not be beaten in terms of simplicity even over much larger and more complicated engines in terms of performance and consumption. Sensible construction, first-class materials and high manufacturing precision were the prerequisites for this.

The mixture lubrication, which is so simple and safe for the driver thanks to its automatic load dependency, an electrical system specially designed for the engine and built in our own factory, a transmission with reverse gear that is as simple as it is robust, an indestructible spur gear differential and new, wear-resistant Rodon drive joints - all of these components combined with the engine to form a closed engine block resulted in a drive unit of unsurpassable practicality.

But it wasn't just the two-stroke engine that was and remained typical of the DKW car; This vehicle also legitimized front-wheel drive as the right type of drive for small cars. Anyone who has ever driven a DKW car no longer needs lengthy theoretical instructions. What makes the pulled front wheels superior to the pushing rear wheels in light motor vehicles, with the correct overall design of the vehicle, is that front-wheel drive enables full use of the engine's power, ensures safe road holding even in tricky situations and thus enables safe driving average speeds to be achieved for which one would otherwise have to use significantly higher engine power and thus higher fuel consumption.

With the later-built DKW models F 4, F 5 and F7, further important improvements were introduced in accordance with the progressive development of automotive technology - always while retaining the original typical features of the first DKW model. This is how the freewheel came about, the flexible engine suspension, the DKW floating axle, the torsionally rigid frame, the spacious and, despite its simplicity, always attractive body, typical of the DKW car. The last stage of this development was embodied in the F 8 model. In all its details, this vehicle corresponds so closely to the requirements of today's economic conditions that it can now be put into series production without any significant changes in order to serve a large group of buyers.

The new DKW front-wheel drive automobile, the type F 9, is now coming out as the "big brother" of the tried and tested small car, in order to close a gap in motor vehicle production and to provide the German economy and exports with a motor vehicle that - just as the small DKW will occupy a special position - the F 9 will be wherever there are even higher demands in terms of top and cruising speed, acceleration, mountain performance and driving comfort. And you don't want to pay for this performance with a disproportionate increase in acquisition and operating costs, because the new model meets all of these requirements while retaining the well-known DKW advantages of mechanical simplicity, robustness, reliability and cost-effectiveness.

That's why the F 9 also has front-wheel drive, single rod suspension at the front, valveless two-stroke engine, thermosyphon water cooling, mixture lubrication, DKW floating axle at the rear, hydraulic shock absorbers, independent wheel steering, torsion-resistant profile tube frame, original DKW electrical system and lockable freewheel.

In addition, it features a wealth of new construction details that justify the excitement with which the entire professional world is waiting for its release.

The most important features of the new DKW-F 9 are described below."

The features I believe have been reproduced on the 1949 IFA-DKW F9 brochure, here: 
https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2023/12/1949-ifa-dkw-f9-brochure.html

For the postwar development of:
IFA F9: https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-development-of-ifa-f9.html
DKW F89P: https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2017/06/dkw-f89p-new-meisterklasse.html