DKW - Das Kleine Wunder (The small wonder). The German carmaker's pre-war type F8 became the archetype of all East German family cars.

The Zwickau Automobile Factory (AWZ) continued the production of the F8 and an updated version, the F9 after the War under the authority of the Soviets and then the East Germans.

At the early '50s it became crystal clear that these models were outdated. In 1953 production of the F9 was transferred to Eisenach, where EMW and later Wartburg were produced.

At Zwickau, a new model was developed, the P70 (P for plastic and 70 for the displacement which is about 700 cc).

This car was the first German small car with plastic body. The name of the material was Duroplast and contained resin, strengthened by wool.

The AWZ P70 debuted at the 1955 Leipzig Fair. Its engine was based on the old F8: two-cylinder, two-stroke, 690 cc, 22 bhp. With this engine the car which weighed 820 kg had a max. speed of 90 km/h. A three-speed asynchronized gearbox was fitted which transmitted the power to the front wheels.

The mechanical components were plain F8, but the powerplant was rotated by 90 degrees and placed further the front axle. So the wheelbase should've been lengthened by 220 mm. This resulted in better handling.

Beside the "Limousine" body style a "Kombi" estate and even a coupé was offered.

During the four year production life about 30 thousand cars were supplied.

In the meantime from 1957 on, a new updated model was on the market: the P50.