Sunday, July 28, 2013

Barkas Prospect


The Framo motorwerkes at Frankenberg was one of the few auto factories that found itself in the Russian Occupation Zone of Germany. Framo started life manufacturing fittings for DKW cars. In the 1920s they began building three-wheeled commercial vehicles, powered by DKW engines. JDKW founder Jorge Rassmussen bought Framo but did incorporate into the Auto Union conglomerate, preferring to keep it as an outlet for his personal projects. Despite producing a range of interesting prototype vehicles, the company primarily produced light commercials. After the war the company was completely stripped of all assets and equipment by the Russians. However, by the mid-1950s the factory was finally up and running again producing its prewar range of light trucks. In 1961 Framo completely revised its product range and released their new Barkas light van, which would remain in production until 1991. This prospect shows the new Framo-Barkas range, including stationary and diesel engines.