What is it? Quiz #484

Der Kleine Bergsteiger from 1920 by DKW.
Rasmussen let it develop after he was inspired by the Slaby Beringer electro cars.
It was not much more than a wooden two seater (behind each other) and a little 1 cylinder 2-stroke engine with 4-5 hp (build by Hugo Rupe). The car was presented on the fall fair of Leipzig in 1920. It never went into production. Its last outing was on 29 July 1922 when it was shown covered in flowers to celebrate the 20.000 DKW engine built.

Source: Von Dampfkraftwagen zur Meisterklasse – Die geschichte der DKW Automobile 1907-1945 (Thomas Erdmann)

DKW Dampf-Kraft-Wagen, "steam-powered car", Deutsche Kinder-Wagen "German kids' car". Das-Kleine-Wunder, "the little wonder" or Des-Knaben-Wunsch "the boy's wish"
1920 D.K.W.’s first automobile “Der Kleine Bergsteiger” (The Little Mountain Climber), it looked a lot like the Slaby-Beringer cyclecar, Dr Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen had taken control of the company, but was in fact an independent design. The tandem cyclecar was powered by a single cylinder 40cc two-stroke stationary engine mounted on the left hand running board, not powerful enough and vulnerable to overheating, the project was abandoned. Though they did advertise the 250 kg car capable of reaching 60kph.

sources:
http://hartmut-wosch.de/DKW-Auto/Werksfoto_s/werksfoto_s.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DKW
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaby-Beringer
https://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/2014-43/solved-wendax-1313-dkw-der-kleine-bergsteiger/

This is one of the first DKW cars called „Der kleine Bergsteiger“ (the little mountaineer). Two of them were built in 1918/19. This cyclecar was a design of Emil Fischer, who met DKW owner Jorgen Skafte Rasmussen in a café by chance and presented his construction plans to him. The car was supposed to be built with a wooden unit-body and a two-stroke boxer engine. The finished cars had a Ruppe two-stroke engine on the righthand running board though, and the body followed the Slaby-Beringer design. Fischer had left DKW in spring of 1919 already.

Source: Immo Sievers: Jorgen Skafte Rasmussen – Leben und Werk des DKW-Gründers

On the first view it looks a lot like the Slaby Beringer electric car, probably to the fact that a Mr. Rasmussen was one of the first customers (or the first) for such a vehicle. The little car is a predecessor to the DKW. Build at the Zschopauer Maschinenfabrik belongig to Mr. Rasmussen. 1924 Slaby Beringer went bankrupt and was bought by DKW. Mr. Slaby got a job there. So the little car is likely from 1925, it weights only 250kgs, but could manage a speed (on paper) of 60kmh. It was called "der kleine Bergsteiger"
The engine I would assume would have been two stroke motorcycle engine close to the DKW Lomos Sesselrad. You can also find same pictures in the web typing Wendax 1313 , I doubt any connection with the the company of Rasmussen.

Free translation from the book: ''DKW - Die Geschichte einer Weltmarke'' by Siegfried Rauch - Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart (1981).

What we see here is a so called 'Bergsteiger' or hillclimber model from DKW. It's built in 1919 so in the very early days of production by Rasmussen at the Zschopau ''Kaisersaal'' depot so it was rather exaggerating to speak of a Karosserie Fabrik where this car saw the first light.
The small roadster is a twoseater with two in tandem position. It's powered by a5 hp ventilator cooled stationary one cylinder twostroke engine placed on the footboard with a chain driven to the right backwheel. This was a experimental car and not made by Dr. Slaby from Berlin. Hereby a photo with the young son Arne of J.S. Rasmussen behind the wheel.

Best regards,
Joop Terpstra

This is a Berlin built Slaby and Beringer from 1919/20 . The nickname was der kleine Bergsteiger "The Little Climber".
Although many of their products used electric propulsion, it used a single cylinder stationary DKW engine mounted on the left hand running board.
It looked much like their earlier electric cyclecars but was an all-new design which proved prone to overheating and was quickly discontinued after just 2 prototypes were built.
Both Slaby-Beringer and DKW were controlled by industrialist J. S. Rasmussen.


http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2011/02/dkw-germanys-wonder-car.html
http://hartmut-wosch.de/DKW-Auto/Werksfoto_s/werksfoto_s.html