Engine Punk

This splendid Belgian-registered example appeared at the 2022 Imp Club National at Borden in Hampshire. It's a developed version of the DKW 3=6 and uses a 981cc (74 x 76mm) version of the 3-cylinder two- stroke engine ( VT No.13 ) that's fascinated me for many years.  In later years, DKW was held to stand for  Das Kleine Wunder, or the little wonder but in 1916 it originally meant  Dampf-Kraft-Wagen when   Danish engineer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen built a  steam-powered car in Zschopau, Germany. When that venture failed, he made toy two-stroke engines for children under the name of  Des Knaben Wunsch or "the boy's wish". Once fitted into bicycle frames, these became  Das Kleine Wunder although some called the little Deeks the  Deutsche Kinder-Wagen, or "German children's car".  After a brief flirtation with rear-engined, two stroke-powered cars using a pumping cylinder for supercharge (I love that sort of thing), DKW introduced the three-cylind...

Tarkus is the title of a 20 minute Emerson, Lake and Palmer prog rock epic describing the three battles of a turret toting armadillo on caterpillar tracks by the name of Tarkus. But of course I knew nothing of this until recently, being a punk rocking gear head. To me, Tarkus was the grandaddy of all Citroen hill climbing trikes. The existence of the hillclimbing Tarkus had often been mentioned just within my earshot in hushed whispers as I stalked around the Cornish hillclimb paddocks and pits. It was always in connection with a fire breathing supercharged Citroen powered trike called Kermit . Gradually, I pieced the story together and discovered that Tarkus was the inspiration behind Kermit. Tarkus was built by a chap with the suitably heroic name of Jake Challenger and is actually one of six. The very first one was originally designed around a two-stroke three-cylinder engine from a DKW (Vintage Thing No. 13) . Tarkus - small loud and very fast. I love the matching helmets...