What does the "W" stand for in Mercedes Benz racing types, for example the W196?

"Wagen" is n't it ?

Just a guess, but I always thought it was 'Werk', which can be translated as Company, Workshop or Work

Definitely "Wagen". M type numbers indicate "Motor".

I always thought it stood for....WOW!

ZOOOM

Not Sure, I would Say "Werk" or "Werks"?



I would like to know myself.

Jose

See post #4, Vitesse2 doesn't say things he isn't sure of.

Indeed.

It definitely stands for 'wagen'

Tom

So true!

What a joy.

Henry

PKW = Personenkraftwagen
LKW = Lastkraftwagen
PzKpfw = Panzerkampfwagen

So what did DKW stand for!
ZOOOM

Der Kleine Wunder

(not!)

Actually Dampf Kraft Wagen ("steam powered car")

Or, more correctly, Deutsche Kraftfahrzeug-Werke (German Motor Car Factory)

Always thought the W was for WAY out of my price range.

More correct would be DAS Kleine Wunder.
Or also Des Knaben Wunsch (The Boy´s Wish) - both names for the little (bicycle) engines they produced (or marketed), after it came to nought with the Dampf Kraft Wagen.

This is what wikipedia says:

* W = Wagen (sedan), in the past also Coupé, Kombi or Roadster
* S = Stationwagon
* R = Roadster
* C = Coupé
* A = Convertible
* V = Verlängerte Limousine (stretched sedan)
* F = Fahrgestell (Chassis)
* VF= Verlängertes Fahrgestell (stretched Chassis)
* VV= Pullman-Limousine
* CL = Coupé Leicht (light coupe)
* X = Geländewagen, SUV
* T = Tourer
And of course M for motor.
But don't ask for the numbering system. I don't think they have one anymore.

Hi Ralf

I had a vague feeling "der" was wrong, it didn't feel quite right, like saying "die madchen", but it is about 45 years since I failed German at high school, and I just didn't know for sure what was right. So I let it sit.

That's the reason I failed German at school I guess. I never got the declension of the definte and indefinite articles right, though I did understand the logic of the verbs in subordinate clauses coming last. I recall the teacher (a Hungarian migrant to Australia no less) even had a made-up sentence which produced a truly amazing collection of verbs, one after another, at the end. We all fell about laughing, but we remembered how to treat verbs in subordinate clauses.

Crikey, school nostalgia now!

Terry - no problem at all !
The German language can be hard for Germans, too....but examples would be better suited to the "Blood Pressure" thread...

That is my recollection. I seem to recall an article in Road & Track back in the late fifties when DKWs were being imported. The article explained that DKW stood for Das Kleine Wunder, or in English, IIRC, The Little Wonder.
Tom

I think you're correct. It's true that the company's original name was Dampf Kraft Wagen, they made steam fittings. Later post WW1, they made a two-stroke toy engine called Des Knaben Wunsch — 'The Boy's Desire', but when they put a slightly modified version of the engine into a motorcycle, they called it Das Kleine Wunder, the little marvel, and surely that was the official name? Interesting to note that in the 1930s, DKW were turning out more motorcycles than anyone else in the world.

Yes, that was widely accepted.
But it's a myth

What David? The meaning of DKW or the motorcycle production?
Tom

What DKW stood for
See Post 14

Way back in the times you could see them on the road DKW was often jokingly referred here in Holland as "Duitse KinderWagen"..... ("German Pram")

Sorry, just trying to sort out antecedents.
Tom

I thought the 2-stroke DKW was Dreizylinder Kinder Wagen?

MB has not forgotten after 55 years: it W01 for MS and Nico. Wagen 01.

What does the " 01 " denote

It's nine years late...

DCN

Dislexia?