History of the Marque: MZ
Germany 1956 - today
1907: A bicycle factory is founded in Zschopau, Germany, the later DKW
factory (DKW stands for "Dampf Kraft Wagen"= Steam Engine Vehicle, which
was one of the first constructions of the factory)
1919: Production of a twostroke engine begins. It is a toy engine. The
people started to translate DKW with "Des Knaben Wunsch" (Little Boy's
Wish). People were poor, and the toy engine wasn't a great success. But
the little engine was robust and strong, and in 3 years more than 30000
were sold as bicycle engines. This engine was called DKW = "Das Kleine
Wunder" (The Little Wonder).
1922: The first motorcycles were built.
1925: The first motorcycle assembly line in Germany is installed at
DKW in Zschopau.
1931: The removable alloy cylinder head leads to better cooling.
In the first twenty years the factory had an output of 650000 two stroke
motorcycles.
1932: The AUTO UNION is founded with the brands DKW (Zschopau), Wanderer
(Chemnitz), Audi and Horch (Zwickau). The logo of the new brand were four
rings like Audi still has it today.
1939: DKW has to build war motorcycles for the Nazis.
1945: The complete factory is disassembled, the machinery is confiscated
by the Russians. The AUTO UNION management moves to Ingolstadt in the western
part of Germany.
1946: Production of parts and engines starts again
1949: Motorcycle production starts again
1950: The IFA (Industrievereinigung FAhrzeugbau) RT 125 leaves the production
line. It is an improved prewar design, robust and reliable. Later an engine
with a displacement of 150cc was available besides the 125cc RT.
The fan cooled versions of RT engines were used in the IWL Pitty, Wiesel
, Berlin and Troll scooters.
1956: The brand "MZ" (Motorradwerk Zschopau) is introduced. In the best
years 3200 employees built more than 80000 motorcycles, many of them were
exported to more than 100 countries. The new ES 250 is introduced.
1957: First year of the 175cc version of the ES
1958: First GP victory at Hedemora
1962: The RT production ends.
1971: The 175cc production ends.
1976: Last GP at Anderstorp.
1983: July, 6th: a ETZ 250 as the two millionth MZ motorcycle leaves
the production line
1989: The wall between the western and the eastern (communistic) part
of Germany falls.
1990: The former "people's factory" is now managed by the Treuhandanstalt-office,
which is intended to lead the former state-owned factories to private ownership
1991: MZ sales drop dramatically, because the old communistic market
has vanished and the bikes are not attractive enough for the new market.
1992: the MuZ (Motorrad und Zweiradwerk) brand is established. Only
80 employees are left, but they are enthusiastic: the first new models,
now with ROTAX four stroke engines, are a hit at the motorshows.
1993: MuZ wins some designer awards for the SKORPION model: Silver Award
from the Designers and Art Directors Association (London), International
Design Award (New York) and a BBC Design award.
1994: The production moves to a modern factory in Hohndorf, just outside
of Zschopau. The SKORPION models are now approved for 49 states in the
U.S.A.
1995: The SKORPION gains even the DOT/EPA/CARB approval for California!
Here is the homepage of the MZ (now MuZ) factory: http://www.muz.de
The mention of MZ returning to GPs prompted a look at
their history.
Here are some notable dates from a long record:
| DATE |
CIRCUIT |
CLASS |
RIDER |
POSITION |
NOTES |
| 1955 |
Nurburgring |
125 |
K.Petuschke |
5th |
GP |
| 1958 |
Hedemora |
250 |
H.Fugner |
1st |
First GP Victory |
| 1971 |
Ulster |
350 |
P.Williams |
1st |
Last GP Victory |
| 1976 |
Anderstorp |
250 |
T.Virtanen |
9th |
Last GP |
13 GP victories in all. Hope the new racer uses disc valves like the
MZ racers of old.
Dave Nixon
More MZ history at Wikipedia
If you have a query about MZ History , or wish to share your knowledge
of these classic German machines, please contact
us!
MZ Motorcycles
