page_title: Auto Union racing car
section_title: Auto Union clones
hierarchical_section_title: Auto Union racing car / Auto Union clones
caption_attribution_description: The final Auto Union Grand Prix racer, the Sokol 650. Actually designed and built by a team of ex-AU staff under the direction of the Soviet government in 1945, but based on old Auto Union designs.
context_page_description: The Auto Union Grand Prix racing cars types A to D were developed and built by a specialist racing department of Auto Union's Horch works in Zwickau, Germany, between 1933 and 1939.
  Of the 4 Auto Union racing cars, the Types A, B and C, used from 1934 to 1937 had supercharged V16 engines, and the final car, the Type D used in 1938 and 1939 had a supercharged 3L V12 that developed almost 550 horsepower. Wheelspin could be induced at over 100 mph, and the marked oversteer that persisted throughout the cars' development thanks to the uneven weight distribution and the large amount of weight in the rear of the car made all the Auto Unions difficult to handle, although the smaller engined Type D was a bit easier to drive because of the smaller engine and the half as much space it took up in comparison to the 6L V16 in the previous Type C.
  Between 1935 and 1937 Auto Unions won 25 races, driven by Ernst von Delius, Tazio Nuvolari, Bernd Rosemeyer, Hans Stuck and Achille Varzi. Their main competition came from the Mercedes Benz team, with Auto Union proving particularly successful in the 1936 and 1937 seasons.
context_section_description: In 1947, Automobiltechnisches Büro (ATB) created the Sokol Typ 650 Formula Two racer in the German Democratic Republic, using the talents of chassis designer Otto Seidan and engine designer Walther Träger (both former Auto Union employees), along with spare Auto Union parts and resembled the Type D.  As Awtowelo it was successfully tested but never raced.
caption: The "Auto Union" Sokol Typ 650 in the Donington Grand Prix Collection
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