Trabant 601
Encyclopedia
The Trabant 601 was a Trabant
model produced by VEB Sachsenring in Zwickau
. It was the third model, built for the longest time, from 1963 to 1990.
Many former DDR
citizens have mixed emotions in regards to their “Trabi”, which still is a symbol for the demised DDR, since it was a part of the system.
With hindsight it can be considered East Germany's response to West Germany's VW Beetle. Its purpose was to provide a cheap but still reliable car that was very affordable and also easily to repair and maintain. Still it was at the time of its release rather modern in many ways, with front wheel drive, a unitary construction, composite bodywork and independent suspension all around. The main letdown was the engine: by the late 1950s small cars in western countries mainly used cleaner and more efficient four-stroke engines, as employed in the Volkswagen
, whereas budgetary constraints forced the use of a two-stroke engine in the Trabant. However, two-stroke engine was also to be found in cars like the Auto Union 1000
and other cars that were built in Western Germany.
As a symbol for a forgone era it has inspired movies such as Go Trabi Go
that presented the Trabi as a kind of East German character and could make former DDR citizens laugh "not precisely at themselves, but at the absurdities of the system under which they lived until last year." It has also seduced people like the American actor David Hasselhoff
to drive a "Trabi", although he had trouble to enter it. Stephen Kinzer
of The New York Times
likens the Trabi as a symbol for the people who built it, who “survive[d] through difficult times and ultimately triumph[ed]”. The car was also featured in the American film Everything is Illuminated
. Today these distinctive cars have their fans all over the world.
Trabant
The Trabant is a car that was produced by former East German auto maker VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau in Zwickau, Sachsen. It was the most common vehicle in East Germany, and was also exported to countries both inside and outside the communist bloc...
model produced by VEB Sachsenring in Zwickau
Zwickau
Zwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
. It was the third model, built for the longest time, from 1963 to 1990.
Many former DDR
DDR
DDR may refer to:In entertainment:*Dance Dance Revolution, a music video game series by Konami*DDR , a Norwegian rock band singing in German.*DDR , a Greenlandic punk band singing in Danish.In organizations:...
citizens have mixed emotions in regards to their “Trabi”, which still is a symbol for the demised DDR, since it was a part of the system.
With hindsight it can be considered East Germany's response to West Germany's VW Beetle. Its purpose was to provide a cheap but still reliable car that was very affordable and also easily to repair and maintain. Still it was at the time of its release rather modern in many ways, with front wheel drive, a unitary construction, composite bodywork and independent suspension all around. The main letdown was the engine: by the late 1950s small cars in western countries mainly used cleaner and more efficient four-stroke engines, as employed in the Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
, whereas budgetary constraints forced the use of a two-stroke engine in the Trabant. However, two-stroke engine was also to be found in cars like the Auto Union 1000
Auto Union 1000
The Auto Union 1000 was a compact front wheel drive saloon manufactured by Auto Union AG between 1958 and 1963. It was the first model branded as an Auto Union by the manufacturer since the 1930s: it replaced the paradoxically named DKW 3=6, although the latter continued in production,...
and other cars that were built in Western Germany.
As a symbol for a forgone era it has inspired movies such as Go Trabi Go
Go Trabi Go
Go Trabi Go is a 1991 German comedy film. It was the first major box office hit about events concerning the newly reunified Germany. Unlike other films in this period which focused on the problems following the reunification, Go Trabi Go sees the main characters, former citizens of East Germany,...
that presented the Trabi as a kind of East German character and could make former DDR citizens laugh "not precisely at themselves, but at the absurdities of the system under which they lived until last year." It has also seduced people like the American actor David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
to drive a "Trabi", although he had trouble to enter it. Stephen Kinzer
Stephen Kinzer
Stephen Kinzer is a United States author and newspaper reporter. He is a veteran New York Times correspondent who has reported from more than fifty countries on five continents. During the 1980s he covered revolution and social upheaval in Central America...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
likens the Trabi as a symbol for the people who built it, who “survive[d] through difficult times and ultimately triumph[ed]”. The car was also featured in the American film Everything is Illuminated
Everything Is Illuminated
Everything Is Illuminated is the first novel by the American writer Jonathan Safran Foer, published in 2002. It was adapted into a film by the same name starring Elijah Wood and Eugene Hütz in 2005.-Plot summary:...
. Today these distinctive cars have their fans all over the world.