Initially presented early in 1933, the Audi Front UW 220 was Europe’s first car to combine front-wheel drive with a six-cylinder engine. It remained in production for slightly under two years before being replaced by the Audi Front UW 225 featuring a larger 2.25-litre engine. The larger-engined car introduced in 1935 was built till April 1938 and continued to be listed into 1939. Between 1933 and 1938, the Front was the only Audi in volume production.
The engine installation
At launch the Front UW 220 featured a straight-six-cylinder ohv engine of 1,950 cc. Claimed maximum power output was 40 PS (29 kW; 39 hp) at 3,500 rpm. The two-litre engine was shared with the Auto Union group’s Wanderer W22 introduced at the same time. The letters "UW" in the car's name stood for "Umgekehrter Wanderer" and referred to the fact that it featured a Wanderer engine that had been "umgekehrt" (turned around) through 180 degrees in order to drive wheels which, on this application, were actually ahead of the engine.
1935 upgrade
For the UW 225 produced from 1935, engine size was increased to 2,257 cc, and reported maximum power rose to 50 PS (37 kW; 49 hp) or 55 PS (40 kW; 54 hp), respectively at 3,300 or 3,800 rpm: increased power was reflected by a modest increase in the claimed top speed to 105 km/h (65 mph). The ohv engine came, again, from fellow Auto Union group member Wanderer, being shared with the Wanderer W245 and its successors.
Despite the relative novelty of the front-wheel-drive configuration, the manufacturer quoted the car's turning circle as 12.5 metres (41 ft) which was not greatly above the norm for cars of this size. The rear-wheel-drive Wanderer with which the Audi shared its engine featured an advertised turning circle of 12 meters.
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