At this time 1930 wanderer wanted to build a racing car and signed a contract with Porsche at Paris Motor Show 1931 to take this as a commission. 1932 NSU, Wanderer, DKW och Horch had bad economy and decided to merge to Auto Union. Their logo became the four rings which was the symbol for the four different car marks.

Ferd. was a very determined man and when he accepted a commission he demanded to get a place in the board during the time as the commission worked. Now we have reached 1932. Porsche didn't know if his contract with Wanderer from Paris 1931 should be fulfilled,  but he continued working with it for his own money. When Auto Union was established, this contract was in. This was the beginning of the Auto Union racer without his knowing it. He had also his main constructions which were his "children". Torsions spring system, swing axle,  transaxle and engine placement in the rear.

This concept was what he followed the rest of his life. A good info is that Rumpler had the patent of the swing and trans axles. Already 1921 he had built the car Rumpler Tropfenwagen. Was built in about 200 copies. The idea with rear engine Max Wagner had earlier constructed a racing car for Benz. Note Mercedes Benz was not established until 1926. This racer was called Benz Tropfenwagen 1923. Porsche was an employee at Benz.

Within the new born Auto Union we can find except August Horch even Baron von Oertzen, former vice director for Wanderer. He realized that if this new company should succeed they must have a "showpiece". It must be a racing car.

At the same time Hitler had come to power and wanted something to show what Germany industry could do. Such a thing was to win Grand Prix for racing cars. At Berlin Motor Show Hitler had spoken and laid out the line for German industry. Two important things to made official, was a good racing car and the people car  (Volkswagen). For the development of a race car he promised 500000 Reichsmark a year. While this industry fight about the money Porsche worked on his Tropfenwagen. concept.

The engine became a V16 delivering 295 hp at 4700 rpm and had it's max moment already at 2700 rpm.

It should be a car with individual uprights front and rear. In the front it became a torsion transaxle according to the coming car of the people. In the rear he chose the swing type with transverse plate spring and friction dampers. They accepted of course but they pointed out that the budget was very firm.

This matter with money should during the whole project time be the Achilles heel for Auto Union. Porsche put his "own" boys on the leading posts and work started in Zwickau, where the Wanderer and Horch works were situated. Already in November 1933 Auto Union was ready to make the first test driving.

The driver for the new car was Hans Stuck. He was also an old work mate to Porsche since Mercedes time. Other names in the team were Willy Walb and Eberan Eberhorst. 1934 this racing car made good results.

At the same time there were fights within the board about money and the team leader Walb was moved back to Wanderer factory to take care of their W25K to develop the installation of  compressor in that car. The meaning was to fight the BMW 328. Eberan Eberhorst fell out of favour for Walb's successor Feuereissen, but managed to keep his position. The Porsche service was reduce more or less to nothing after 1935, at the same time he had the commission of people's car Volkswagen. Now Auto Union was left alone and relayed on the employees they had. They had a firm budget and all the men worked with everything. Sometimes the welder could get the job to be mechanic in the pit. This was not the way for Mercedes. They could use as much money as was needed.

One could understand that the 1935 season for Auto Union was not so good. Now the last details on the car was going to be done for the next racing seasons. The first car was on the drawings called Type 22, while during building time, the P-wagen and last Auto Union Type A. 1934 the B-model came and 1935 the C model. It had now an engine volume of 6 litre and 520 hp at 5000 rpm.

But new rules for racing cars was on the way, with max 3 litres for 1939. This car was drawn by von Eberan Eberhorst and it was figured out as a V12 and a deDion rear end. This model was christened to model D. They hade also a voiturette car with 1.5 liter engine called Type E, but it was not fully developed. Such a car only one in existence was bought from the East German officials, although when this happened  sold for the second time, to the Donington museum in England where it can be seen on display?. Altogether 55 cars of the A, B, C and D were build. Other people say 65.
Note. Eberan von Eberhorst survived the war and worked togethter with Ferry Porsche (the son) with the Cisitalia Formel 1 car and also the Porsche 360. This car was much alike the last Audi race car. The money Ferry got was aimed to free Ferd. Porsche from jail in France.

The WWII started and everything slowed down although they work with the Type E up  to 1943. 12 to 18 (different sources) cars were hidden in a salt mine outside Zwickau. The same procedure was done with the Mercedes cars. Now nothing should happen until 1945. The border between the fighting troops made their halt just between Chemnitz and Zwickau.

But the Americans withdrew and the salt mine went to the Russians. It was very close that the Auto Union cars had remained in the west.

These factories became one of the centers for producing engines for among all Maybach engines to Panther and Tiger tanks.These were of course the Russians very interested in. During the lead of Stalin's son Vasiliy who had such contacts that he could order a train set on which all what they found in the salt mine could be loaded for transport to Moscow. He was one of those persons that like Göring stole much art work for their own purpose.

All this was sent to Moscow. It is believed that it was between 12 to 18 complete cars. These were distributed to universities, car and engine producers all over Russia. This was for them to learn the German technology. They were free to investigate without preserve them in order to learn.

Ahead to 1970th the west had come over the chock that this racing cars were lost and the greatest enthusiasts started to search for what was left. 1974 rumour went around that a V12 D-type had been on display in a shop window in Prag. 

A German collector from München took this rumour seriously and went to Prag. He found the car after some time at the former race driver Zdeneck Pohl. This happened just after the Russian  Prag invasion. I suppose it was easy to buy the car. But it was missing both engine and driveline. Because of this the restoration was delayed some years, until an East German collector? in Saxony informed that he had an engine and driveline for the D-type. It is not said that these parts were original.

It was about this that histories and tall tales about how they succeeded to bring those parts out of East Germany and through the iron curtain. The cars was later sold to Colin Crabbe in order to be sent to famous Crosthwaite & Gardiner restoration company. This car can be mixed with the so called "Hitler car" that was for sale at Christies 2009. It was some troubles with the matching numbers. The Hitler one is for the moment owned by a consortium in Korea.

Deutsche Museum in München got 1936 a V16 C-type from Auto Union. It was a training/testing car from 1936. The car was opened for display and had so been the last 40 years. Now it was interesting with Silver arrows and Audi had the money and Deutsche museum left it for Audi in Ingolstadt for renovation. No less than von Eberan Eberhorst got the lead for this. It got a Replica body work and was ready 1980.

Now everybody started to be interested in old Auto Unions mostly because it was money in it. One V16 showed up in Riga motor museum. It was the museum leaders that had contacts in Moscow. They had been informed that one V16 was on the way to be scrapped. Because of contact with highest leaders they got permission from Leonid Breshnev himself to buy/get the rests and bring it to Latvia. By the way Leonid left the rests of his Rolls Royce for them. This Rolls is on display even if it is smashed (by Breshnev).

After the war one (2) new "Auto Union" was built in East Germany. It was on initiative of Vasiliy Stalin this started. The 2 engineers, who had worked at Auto Union tried to build on the Type E concept. Vasiliy wanted that Russia should win a Grand Prix. This car was later called Sokol 650. I saw on television 2009 in Sweden that the Russians had a woman officer who had the job to empty the salt mines with art. Her name was Sokolova. Perhaps she has some connection with the Sokol 650. The Polish word "sokol" is the word for eagle.

When it was ready it was sent to Moscow for tests. The Russian engineers didn't manage the complex Solex carburettor system and also they had not the proper gasoline. The Solex were replaced by 2 carburettors from Opel and this did give the car less hps. The cam curves didn't match this so the engine didn't run well. Vasiliy sent it back to east Germany. Later it was bought by Donington museum. Some parts may be stored at Dresden university museum. Read more in links Sokol 1, 2.
Read more about Vasiliy in my site about BMW.

There are very much written about these cars and if someone is more interested I demand them to search on internet. Perhaps you may come to other statements than I do. Don't forget to read about the involved person. You can put together an interested history how these cars grew during the time between wars. To write the complete story here should for most readers be a tiresome story. All readers don't want to be a specialist.

Note that all Mercedes Siler arrows were safe in the western part of Europe.