Celebration of the 50,000th Wanderer car

As with many other car early car manufacturers, the Wanderer name has long since vanished from the motoring landscape. In its day, though, it was an impressive marque. It was founded in 1896 as Winklhofer & Jaenicke and was renamed Wanderer in 1911 for foreign sales only, but the new name eventually came to be used across the board. In these early years, several models were made, mostly with small engines.
 

After the Great Depression, Wanderer became part of the Auto Union group along with Horch, Audi and DKW. Its focus shifted to the middle-classes and in 1936 the top model was the W50, which used a 2257 cc six-cylinder engine that produced 50 hp. It was a success and in 1936 the Auto Union Group celebrated the 50,000th Wanderer car built at its factory in Chemnitz-Siegmer, Germany, where the above photograph was taken.
 

Sadly, it was to have an ignominious ending. During the Second World War the factory was used for military purposes and in 1945 it was destroyed, with Wanderer never to return.

 

Source: Audi Media Center