Car Spot: Trabant 601 S “Delux”

East Germany’s answer to West Germany’s “People’s Car” ….

Growing up in the 1960s and ’70s I remember the Cold War, and how the communists used East Berlin as a showcase for the success of socialism. Automobiles were a big part of that but ultimately, they were just terrible cars like this week’s car spot, the Trabant 601 S Dulux.

The Trabant was powered by a 2-cylinder, 2-stroke engine, producing 28 hp on a good day. In an effort to keep the costs low, the Trabant’s body consisted of compressed plastic and cotton panels attached to a galvanized steel chassis.

The car was just horrible. One reviewer said the car’s power was hardly sufficient to pull the skin from rice pudding, the seats are pretty uncomfortable, the brakes only just adequate, and the rear seats suitable only for pixies, gnomes, or children. All this and the citizens of East Germany often had to wait eight years or more to get one. In 1985 a Trabant cost 9,700 marks or $5,429 in US dollars. That would be $15,230 today.

This was the third generation of the Trabant and 2,818,547 were produced from 1964 to 1990. Originally the plan was to replace the 2-stroke-motor with a Wankel rotary engine of East German design, but that never happened. So, Trabant was forced to use its crappy 2-stroke engine that became outdated by the end of the 1960s, and obsolete by the 1980s.

After the reunification of East and West Germany, the Trabant factory could not compete in a free market with such an inferior product, and the last Trabant came off the assembly line in 1991.

What are they worth now? Surprisingly they are holding their own. I found several late-model Trabants for sale around $10 grand.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my car spot. While you’re here, check out my other spots along with Mark’s new car and die-cast reviews. Come back next week for another one of my spots along with some of its history and have a great weekend.