1956 DKW Elektro Schnellaster, on the road in Wangerooge. Photos courtesy of Audi Media Services.
From 1955 to 1962, DKW built a limited-production electric version of its Schnellaster Kastenwagen delivery van, targeted to niche customers. Just 100 examples were assembled, and only two are known to survive today. Following a restoration by Audi Tradition, one of these surviving Elektro Schnellaster vans is set to become part of Audi’s museum mobile in Ingolstadt, Germany.
Targeted to public utility companies, battery manufacturers and other commercial users willing to accept a range of 80 kilometers (roughly 50 miles) at a top speed of 40 kilometers per hour (just under 25 MPH) the Elektro Schnellaster substituted a five kilowatt (6.7 mechanical horsepower) electric motor for the standard DKW van’s 900cc, 32-horsepower two-stroke triple. Power was supplied by two removable trays of lead-acid batteries, providing a combined output of 80 volts and a capacity of 200 amp-hours.
Top speed was likely determined by the absence of a transmission, making the electric vans suitable only for urban or specialized environments. At least one of the Elektro Schnellaster vans found a home on the North Sea island of Wangerooge, a tourist mecca in the Frisean Islands measuring less than two square miles in total area. Aside from fire department vehicles, internal combustion engines are generally banned on Wangerooge, which made the DKW the ideal choice for a utility or delivery van in the 1950s. As a testament to the durability of the Elektro Schnellaster, the van restored by Audi was used into the 1970s to shuttle passengers and luggage from the docks and the train station to island hotels and guest houses.
The five kW electric motor; by comparison, the electric motor in a contemporary Nissan Leaf is rated at 80 kW.
As one of the first vehicles assembled by the reborn, postwar Auto Union (relocated to Ingolstadt, then in West Germany), the entire DKW Schnellaster line holds a special significance for Audi. Saving one of the two known remaining Elektro Schnellaster vans surely wasn’t a difficult decision for the German automaker, and following a multi-year restoration (and subsequent TÜV certification), Audi returned the battery-powered van to its former North Sea home for a photo shoot. Look for the DKW to join the permanent collection of museum mobile, Audi’s heritage collection in its home town of Ingolstadt.
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