In the early 1950's the DKW [Dampf-Kraft-Wagen] Auto Union [a combination of four German Auto Manufacturers] was contacted by the Western Allies and West German Military to develop a jeep like vehicle to be used to patrol the border between the two Germany’s created after WWII.

Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS, Federal Border Protection ) and NATO [North American Treaty Organization] forces were used to patrol the border areas and needed a more efficient and up-to-date vehicle to be used instead of the left over jeeps from the war.

So the engineers at DKW Auto Union went to work to design a four wheel drive, three cylinder creature they called the MUNGA [Mehrzweck UNiversal Gelandewagen mit Allradantrieb” ] which in English means “multi-purpose universal cross-country car with all-wheel drive.”

To say the design was odd looking is an understatement….appearing like a duck type amphibious vehicle [it wasn’t] that would basically spew forth smoke from its under-powered three cylinder engine as it crawled along the border roads. It was however a vehicle that could take on the hills and valleys and off road excursions in the German countryside as well as any previous jeep like design.

The photo on this site of the side view of the MUNGA shows a hybrid version…..with a MUNGA body on a Volkswagen chassis and engine. The vehicle currently [2014] resides in New Jersey and appears in occasional parades and car shows.

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