Wanderer W21 History

The W21 arrived in 1933 as the first Wanderer to reach market after the marque joined Auto Union alongside Horch, Audi, and DKW. A six-cylinder 1,690 cc overhead-valve engine producing 35 PS gave it a top speed of around 95 km/h, and the car was explicitly positioned as a competitor to the Mercedes-Benz 170 in the German middle class.

Engineering highlights included a subframe, a swing rear axle with lateral leaf springing — a layout associated with Ferdinand Porsche's earlier work — and hydraulic brakes. Within Auto Union's brand hierarchy, Wanderer occupied the Buick/Oldsmobile equivalent: quality above the mass-market DKW yet below the prestige of Horch.

The W21 was renamed W235 in 1935 and then W35 in 1936 with minimal mechanical changes. It was part of the family of 3-metre-wheelbase six-cylinder Wanderers of which approximately 29,111 were built collectively between 1933 and 1938.