1935 Audi Front 225 Gläser Cabriolet

Long before Audi became known for quattro all-wheel drive and modern performance cars, the company was experimenting with an entirely different drivetrain concept: front-wheel drive.

The 1935 Audi Front 225 was part of that pioneering era. Beneath the elegant lines of this rare four-window Cabriolet is an unusual combination of engineering and craftsmanship that brought together several of Germany’s most important automotive names: Audi, Wanderer, Horch, DKW and the renowned Dresden coachbuilder Gläser.

Today, this beautifully restored example is part of the collection at the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum.

An Audi Built from the Strengths of Auto Union

The story of the Front 225 begins with the creation of Auto Union in 1932. Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer joined together during a difficult period for the German automobile industry. The four companies retained their individual identities, but increasingly shared engineering knowledge, components and production resources. The four interlocking rings still associated with Audi today originally represented these four manufacturers.

The Audi Front was a perfect example of that cooperation.

Audi drew on DKW’s experience with front-wheel drive, while its six-cylinder engine came from sister company Wanderer. The engine family had been developed with Ferdinand Porsche’s involvement before the creation of Auto Union. Production resources were also shared with Horch, while Cabriolet bodies were supplied by Gläser of Dresden.

The result was a car that brought several branches of Auto Union together under the Audi name.

Front-Wheel Drive in the 1930s

Front-wheel drive was still highly unusual in a car of this size and class during the early 1930s. Audi entered this territory in 1933 with its first Front model, using an unconventional layout that sent power to the front wheels rather than through a driveshaft to the rear.

Making that arrangement work with a six-cylinder engine required considerable engineering. Audi adapted a Wanderer engine family developed with Ferdinand Porsche’s involvement in 1931, combining it with a front-wheel-drive chassis and a transmission mounted at the front of the drivetrain. The unusual configuration became known as the “reverse Wanderer.”

For 1935, Audi introduced the Front 225 with a larger 2,257 cc water-cooled, overhead-valve inline-six. Producing approximately 50 PS at 3,300 rpm, the engine was paired with a four-speed manual transmission driving the front wheels. Rather than being designed as a sports-car powerplant, the smooth six-cylinder engine gave Audi the refinement expected of its position within the Auto Union lineup.

The chassis was equally advanced for its time. It used a central box-section frame with independent front suspension, while the rear featured swing arms and a transverse leaf spring. Together, these features made the Front 225 an ambitious attempt to combine comfort, six-cylinder refinement and front-wheel-drive engineering in a single automobile.

Approximately 2,600 Audi Front 225s of all body styles were produced between 1935 and 1938, making surviving examples uncommon today.

Coachwork by Gläser of Dresden

Engineering was only half of the Front 225's appeal.

This Cabriolet's body was produced by Gläser-Karosserie of Dresden, one of Germany's respected specialist coachbuilders. Gläser supplied open bodies for a number of prestigious manufacturers and was especially known for elegant convertible coachwork.

The construction methods were typical of high-quality coachbuilt automobiles of the period. A structural wooden framework formed the foundation of the body, which was then covered with sheet-metal panels.

This example is particularly striking in its four-window Cabriolet configuration. With its long hood, dual side-mounted spare wheels, sweeping fenders, upright grille and folding convertible top, the body has a much more imposing presence than its mechanical dimensions might suggest.

The combination of advanced front-wheel-drive engineering and traditional hand-built coachwork makes the Front 225 an intriguing bridge between two eras of automobile construction.

From a Florida Field to the Museum

The story of the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum's Audi is nearly as remarkable as the car's original engineering.

After a long search for a restorable example, the Audi was located near Lakeland, Florida. It had reportedly spent decades deteriorating, leaving the car with extensive rust, damaged and rotted wood and numerous missing or unusable components.

Restoring a coachbuilt automobile in this condition required far more than replacing mechanical parts.

Since the Gläser body was constructed around a wooden framework, deterioration affected the underlying structure as well as the exterior panels. Components that could no longer be sourced had to be recreated. Museum records describe parts being fabricated from scratch, including hubcaps, while other pieces were recast or reconstructed whenever possible.

The mechanical systems, body, wood structure, paint, upholstery and convertible top all required attention during the extensive restoration.

The result is a dramatic transformation from an automobile that had been allowed to deteriorate for decades into one that once again demonstrates the craftsmanship and engineering of its era.

More Than a Rare Audi

The 1935 Audi Front 225 Gläser Cabriolet tells a larger story than its rarity alone suggests.

It represents a period when the newly formed Auto Union was combining the expertise of four separate automobile manufacturers. Its drivetrain reflected Audi and DKW's exploration of front-wheel drive. Its six-cylinder engine connected it to Wanderer and Ferdinand Porsche. Its production shared resources with Horch. Its handcrafted Cabriolet body came from Gläser in Dresden.

Nearly a century later, those different strands of German automotive history come together in a single automobile.

That may be what makes the Front 225 so fascinating. Beneath its elegant coachwork is not simply an old Audi, but an early expression of the cooperation represented by the four rings that Audi still wears today.