The IFA P2M was an off-road vehicle built in the German Democratic Republic for military service. It was developed in the early 1950s at the Forschungs- und Entwicklungswerk Chemnitz as the successor of the IFA P1, and it used a six-cylinder petrol engine designed for a whole family of P2 vehicles.
IFA P2M at a glance
| Built in | the German Democratic Republic |
|---|---|
| Type | off-road car (Geländewagen) for military use |
| Developed | early 1950s, Forschungs- und Entwicklungswerk Chemnitz |
| Predecessor | IFA P1 |
| Engine | OM 6-35, six-cylinder petrol |
| Engine origin | developed at the former Wanderer works in Siegmar |
| After 1955 | engine development continued at the Horch works in Zwickau |
| Family | P2M, P2S amphibious vehicle and P2L saloon |
based on one source (German Wikipedia), which is short.
History of the IFA P2M
The P2M was developed in the early 1950s at the Forschungs- und Entwicklungswerk Chemnitz, the FEW. It was the successor of the IFA P1, a vehicle that had also been designed at the FEW and built by Sachsenring in Zwickau. When the FEW was dissolved in 1955, engine development continued at the Horch works in Zwickau.
Its engine was part of a wider programme. The six-cylinder OM 6-35 petrol unit was developed in the 1950s at the former Auto Union works in Siegmar, formerly Wanderer, in Chemnitz, under the former Wanderer engine engineers Orth and Träger. It was designed for the new family of vehicles — the P2M, the amphibious P2S and the P2L saloon — and a similar unit, the OM 6-42,5, was used in the Sachsenring P 240.
New requirements shaped the family: the ability to swim was implemented in the P2S variant rather than in the P2M. The designations Sachsenring P2M and Horch P2M, common since 1990, are incorrect; they probably arose because the engine was produced at the VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau.
Design and features
- OM 6-35 engine: a six-cylinder petrol unit designed specifically for the P2 family of vehicles.
- Military purpose: an off-road car built for the armed forces of the DDR rather than for private buyers.
- Family design: the P2M was developed together with the amphibious P2S and the off-road saloon P2L.
- Chemnitz engineering: created at the FEW, with engine work later continued at Zwickau.
IFA P2M versions
- P2M: the off-road car described here.
- P2S: the amphibious version, able to swim.
- P2L: the off-road saloon of the same family.
- P3: a later development with the aluminium OM 6-35L engine.
The P2M and the IFA P3 come from the same P2 programme. More vehicles are in the IFA collection.
Sources
- IFA P2M, German Wikipedia: development, engine, family, naming
