On this day in motoring - Thursday 10th July 1958

http://www.365daysofmotoring.com/showonthisday/article/12333

On This Day
Thursday 10th July 1958
63 years ago

The Trabant, that started out as East Germany's answer to the Volkswagen Beetle as the people’s affordable car, went into regular production. It was simple design that could easily be maintained and repaired by its owner using a few basic tools. Most owners carried a replacement belt and sparks plugs at all times. The first Trabant, a P 50, was powered by a smoky two-stroke generator that maxed out at 18 hp; the P was stood for plastic and the 50 signified it’s 500cc engine that used only 5 moving parts. To conserve expensive metal, the Trabant body was manufactured using Duroplast, a form of plastic containing resin strengthened by recycled wool or cotton. Surprisingly, in crash tests the Trabant actually proved to be superior to some modern small hatchbacks. Refueling the Trabant required lifting the hood to fill the six gallon gas tank and then adding two-stroke oil and shaking it back and forth to mix it. But that didn’t deter folks from enjoying the main selling points of the car in it had room for four adults and luggage, it was compact, fast, light and durable. The lifespan of an average Trabant was 28 years, probably due to the fact that it could take over ten years for a one to be delivered from the time it was ordered and people who finally received theirs were very careful with it. Subsequently, used Trabants often fetched a higher price than new ones, as they were available immediately. East German designers and engineers created a series of more sophisticated prototypes through the years that were intended to replace the original Trabant, however each proposal for a new model was rejected by the GDR leadership for reasons of cost. Instead subtle changes came in 1963 with the P 60 series including improved brakes and electrical systems.The Trabant P 60 (600cc) still took 21 seconds to get from 0 to 60 with a top speed of 70mph while producing nine times the amount of hydrocarbons and five times the carbon monoxides of the average European car. It was in a Trabant that thousands of East Germans drove over the border when the Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989. This made the Trabant a kind of automotive liberator and one of the most recognizable symbols of the failed former East Germany and the fall of communism. As German reunification began, demand for the Trabant plummeted. Residents of the east preferred second-hand western cars and the production line closed in 1991. Out of the 3,096,099 Trabants produced, there are over 100K reported to be still on the road. Today these little cars have a huge following of young drivers because they are so easy to repair and customize. There are several Trabant enthusiast clubs all over the world which is amazing for car that rarely left the communists states.

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