1963 Auto Union Universal 1000
Few cars in the Auto Union stable are as rarely encountered in the UK as the Universal 1000 estate, with only a handful of right-hand drive examples known to exist there.
The Universal was the three-door load-lugger variant of the Auto Union 1000, produced by the conglomerate whose four-ringed badge represented Audi, DKW, Horch, and Wanderer. Volkswagen acquired a controlling stake in Auto Union in 1964, and the marque would eventually become part of the modern Audi brand following its merger with NSU in 1969.
The body presents in two-tone pale yellow with a black roof, its front end dominated by oversized lamps and front-hinged doors (Auto Union had moved away from rear-hinged front doors by this point). The rear hatch opens outward to reveal a notably spacious cargo area.
Mechanically, the specification is genuinely unusual. The 981cc engine is a two-stroke inline-three, with a separate ignition coil and breaker points for each cylinder. Being a 1963 car, it carries the “Frischölautomatik” (Lubrimat) system, which automatically meters two-stroke oil from a dedicated tank rather than requiring pre-mixed fuel.
Output was approximately 50 bhp from the factory, driving the front wheels through a four-speed column-shift manual gearbox.
This example was originally supplied new to the South African market in right-hand drive configuration before being imported to the UK in 2017.
Source
