Created by Auto Union AG in 1938, the model is the ancestor of the East German Trabant
Elegant design, reliability and affordability, combined in one automotive masterpiece. This is how we would describe the German car DKW F8 Limousine – 1938 in one sentence. An exceptional copy of the car, which is one of the last masterpieces of the German automotive industry before World War II, will be presented at the upcoming Spring Auto-Retro Salon, within the framework of the tourist exhibition Holiday&SPA Expo 2026.
The 3rd Spring Auto-Retro Salon, which from February 12 to 14 will gather over 100 cars in halls 1 and 5 of Inter Expo Center, will bring together collectors, enthusiasts and fans of cars from different eras.
The beginning
August Horch, a visionary engineer, founded his own brand Horch in 1899. After leaving the company following disagreements with the management, he lost the right to use his family name for his new venture. In 1909, inspired by friends, he translated “Horch” (“listen” in German) into Latin, creating the name Audi.
In 1932, four Saxon manufacturers – Audi, DKW, Horch, and Wanderer – merged to form Auto Union AG, symbolized by the four interlinked rings. Even today, many people mistake this emblem as belonging solely to Audi, while in the 1930s it stood for the union of all four brands.
1938 – DKW F8 Limousine is launched
The F8 model, introduced in 1938 as the successor to the successful F7, featured a two-cylinder, two-stroke engine, front-wheel drive, and DKW’s typical wood-and-steel body construction. The car was registered as Reichsklasse, but it is equipped with the larger 690 cm³ (Meisterklasse) engine producing 20 hp.
It was affordable, reliable, and quickly became popular across Germany until wartime production was interrupted.
Ancestor of the Trabant
With the outbreak of World War II, Auto Union’s factories were bombed and, after 1945, found themselves in the Soviet occupation zone. Machinery and technology were dismantled and transferred to the USSR. Nonetheless, production was resumed in Zwickau under state control as the IFA F8.
The model thus became the bridge between pre-war German engineering and post-war socialist automotive production. From IFA later emerged the Trabant, with its P50 and 601 models inheriting the technical DNA of the DKW F8.
Therefore, this DKW F8 Limousine stands both as a witness to the elegance of pre-war Germany and Auto Union’s spirit, and as the ancestor of East Germany’s most iconic car.
The spectacular event 3rd Spring Retro Car Salon is organized by the Sofia Auto Retro Club (SARC), in partnership with Inter Expo Center. From February 12 to 14, it will be part of the Bulgarian tourism exhibition Holiday&SPA Expo 2026.
Авто Ретро Салон завладява София от 12 до 14 февруари
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