automotivebriefs
9:50in productionCh. 1 · Four companies, one project/ 9:50 · ceiling 15 min
Racing · Formula One

Auto Union

Ferdinand Porsche · 1932

A state-funded, rear-mid-engine racing car that redefined weight distribution — and proved ideology can accelerate engineering.

The Auto Union racing cars (Types A–D) were state-funded, rear mid-engine Grand Prix machines built from 1934 to 1939. Ferdinand Porsche designed the foundational P-Wagen Project, which Auto Union acquired in 1932. Their central fuel tank, forward driver position, and supercharged engines delivering up to 550 hp defined pre-war racing engineering — and established solutions still used in modern open-wheel cars.

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Chapters & takeaways4
  1. 0:55
    Four companies, one project

    Auto Union was not a single brand but a 1932 merger of Audi, DKW, Horch, and Wanderer — and it bought Porsche’s P-Wagen Project outright.

  2. 2:28
    State money, state timing

    Hitler personally approved 250,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁ for Auto Union’s racing programme after a Reich Chancellery meeting — part of a dual-track state motorsport push.

  3. 4:03
    Weight where it matters

    The driver sat far forward; the engine sat behind; the fuel tank sat centrally behind the driver — all to lock front-rear weight balance during a race.

  4. 5:22
    Silver Arrows, stopped by war

    Types A–D raced from 1934 to 1939 as dominant 'Silver Arrows' — their dominance ended only by WWII.

Worth your time?

Yes. Drive the whole thing.

4.5/ 5
What works
  • weight distribution
  • torque delivery
  • driver visibility and control
What does not
  • road use
  • independent development
  • civilian application
Drive it if
  • motorsport historians
  • racing engineers
  • students of industrial policy
Skip it if
  • classic car collectors
  • road-going performance enthusiasts
The written brief1 min read

What the car is and where it came from

The Auto Union racing car is a series of four Grand Prix machines (Types A–D), built from 1934 to 1939 by Auto Union GmbH — an amalgamation of Audi, DKW, Horch, and Wanderer formed in 1932. Ferdinand Porsche designed the original P-Wagen Project, which Auto Union acquired in 1932 for 75,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁.

How it works, in terms someone would actually use

The driver sits far forward in a narrow cockpit. The engine sits behind them, mid-mounted and rear-wheel drive. Fuel is carried centrally, just behind the seat, to keep weight distribution stable as the tank empties.

What it gets right

It gets weight distribution right. It gets torque delivery right — supercharged engines tuned for low-end response. It gets driver positioning right for visibility and control in a high-power, narrow-chassis car.

What it does not

It does not offer road usability. It was never intended for public roads. It does not represent independent innovation — it was built under state mandate with direct Nazi funding.

What it changed

It proved rear mid-engine layout could dominate Grand Prix racing. It set the template for fuel-tank placement in open-wheel cars — a solution still used today.

Who it is for, and who it is not

It is for engineers, motorsport historians, and students of interwar industrial policy. It is not for collectors seeking drivable classics, nor for enthusiasts of production-based performance cars.

Is it worth your time

Yes — if you care about how racing engineering solved real problems before modern computing, or how state power shaped automotive design.

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