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Audi's Original Off-Roader
Audi’s Original Off-Roader - The Auto Union DKW Munga
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Audi's Original Off-Roader
Audi’s Logo
Audi Logo - I never thought I would find the four-ringed insignia on such a utilitarian vehicle.
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Audi's Original Off-Roader
DKW Munga
DKW Munga - The Munga was originally designed for military light transport following the Second World War and used by West Germany as well as many other nations.
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Audi's Original Off-Roader
Interior
Interior - No sat-nav or infotainment systems here, nothing but the basics.
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Audi's Original Off-Roader
Rear
Rear - This short wheelbase vehicle was one of three different layouts, which also included a truck and long wheelbase truck.
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Audi's Original Off-Roader
Fire vehicle
Munga Fire Service - Along with military use, the Munga became a useful vehicle in the forest service and fire brigades as seen here.
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Audi's Original Off-Roader
Munga expedition vehicle
Munga Expedition - To prove the Munga’s capabilities, DKW commissioned several exploration expeditions, two of which included Peru and a Himalayan Expedition in 1958 seen here.
Story and photos by Budd Stanley, additional photos courtesy of the DKW Trust.
To look at today’s off-road offerings from Bavarian carmaker, Audi, it’s easy to see why the company doesn’t receive a whole lot of street… make that off-road cred, when it comes to their four-wheel-drives. Taking a Q7 off-road makes about as much sense as a male cologne commercial, while the Q5 is nothing more than a larger, Crossover version of the Audi A4.
So it was quite a surprise to me when I stumbled across the DKW Munga at the Volkswagen museum in Wolfsburg, Germany. Under the corporate umbrella of Auto Union, the German manufacturing giant that would later become Audi, DKW was one of four different carmakers to make up the brand. Following the Second World War, Auto Union was reestablished in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, with DKW being it’s primary derivative. The new West German government initiated a competition between home grown manufacturers to build a light utility vehicle for the military so they did not have to acquire Willys Jeeps or Land Rovers. Between the three competitors, Borgward, Porsche, and DKW, it was DKW’s little Munga that received the lucrative government contract.
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. The small cross-country car came in three different variants. The Munga 4, 6, and 8 respectively referred to the number of seats each model provided. The Munga 4 and 6 were short wheelbase vehicles, with the 6 having bench seats in the rear to handle two extra passengers. The 8 was a long wheelbase version that had longer rear benches to seat 6 passengers in the rear along with the two front seats.
Powering the little Munga was a 900cc, 3-cylinder, two-stroke engine that was used in the DKW 3=6, with improved torque to make it more suitable to off-road conditions. Power was then distributed through a four-speed gearbox.
This prototype was built in 1955, and production of the Munga began a year later in 1956, supplying the West German Bundeswehr (Army) as well as several civilian organizations such as the forest service and many fire brigades and agricultural operations. It was also a favoured vehicle used by the West German Border Guards during the Cold War, who used it to monitor their side of the Berlin Wall, whilst their East German contemporaries on the other side were using Trabant Kubels. Ironically both vehicles used two-stroke engines of DKW origin.
The Munga’s simple and rugged design made it quite popular in South Africa and South America, with licensed versions being built in Brazil. German production lasted from 1956 to December 1968 with the roll of the light utility vehicle eventually being taken over by the Mercedes G-wagon in 1979. In all, 47,000 units of the Munga were built, but don’t think that you are out of touch if you don’t recognize it, as there was never any imported to Canada, at least in its day. However, in a world full of Jeep imitations, this was a refreshing surprise addition to my historical off-road vehicle knowledge that does not directly imitate the original light utility four-wheel-drive. And it’s an Audi of all things.