The Great Depression wasn’t only an American phenomenon—it hit Germany even harder. Many of Germany’s auto manufacturers were bank-owned, or in receivership. DKW, one of the better-off manufacturers, in an effort to avoid a similar fate—and in a move similar to Deusenberg, Cord, and Auburn—merged with Audi, Wanderer, and Horch to form the Auto Union conglomerate. DKW would make the low-end cars, Wanderer the mid-priced cars, and Audi/Horch the top-end product. Auto Union adopted a four-ring symbol, still used by Audi today. But Ferdinand Porsche had other plans for the humble Wanderer marque, mostly making sedate sedans. In 1936, he designed a supercharger (kompressor in German) for Wanderer’s 1963cc. engine and dropped it in a sleek, roadster body, giving birth to the W 25 K. The roadster, in this form, was to last until 1938.

I drooled (with apologies to Tony Perrone’s drool-factor rating) over the W 25 K ever since I saw it on D4C’s Legacy site. Sometimes, in the Great Debate over FM versus DM, we forget that Europe has precision model companies of its own. One of the best is CMC. They put out little gems with working suspensions, leather upholstery, cloth tops, and finely detailed images worthy of the best of the mints. The ’36 Wanderer is no exception. Though it hasn’t a top-up version (CMC tends to make two complete images—one with top and one without—something, in my opinion, they need to fix), there’s plenty to like. It has the aforementioned leather seats and exquisite interior details topside (note the beautifully done wipers and their motors). The shift and brake levers seem a bit over-large though. The running boards are covered in real rubber. All body chrome is just that—separate chromed parts, not painted on. All lamps have clear lenses, and the wheel spokes are photo-etched metal, as is the grille mesh. If you look closely, you’ll also find four, photo-etched rings. The grille surround also seems to be made of metal, not plastic. Under the hood, the engine is fully wired and plumbed. A spare tire is mounted on the trunk lid (a good way to save trunk space—and look sporty), which has realistic hinges and (working) props. There’s “carpet” in the passenger, and trunk, compartments as well. The undercarriage looks authentic and the suspensions work. I like how they achieved this, keeping the “look” of the 1:1 version. The only flaws I can quibble about are the dogleg hinges used on the doors. CMC advertises that they use 390 parts to make the Wanderer and it certainly shows. This is a well-presented image indeed. (Okay Tony—here goes. This one rates a 4-and-three-quarters on the “drool meter.”)

No one can argue that Germany knows how to make cars. That also applies to its images of cars. If you fancy vehicles from the Golden Age of the Thirties, this W 25 K roadster’s for you. Wunderbar!

-Tom Pine