Istorie
It was the most common vehicle in East Germany, and was also exported to countries both inside and outside the Eastern Bloc. It was advertised as having room for four adults and luggage in a compact and durable shell; and being relatively fast. The Trabant was a relatively advanced car when it was launched in 1958, with front wheel drive, a unitary construction, composite bodywork, and independent suspension.
Full description
The Trabant 601 (or Trabant P601 series) was a Trabant model produced by VEB Sachsenring in Zwickau. It was the third generation of the model, built after the Trabant 500 (or P50, 1957-1962) and the Trabant 600 (1962-1964). Because it was produces for almost 30 years between 1964 and 1990, the 601 is the best-known Trabant model and often referred to simply as "the Trabant" or "the Trabi". During this long production run, 2,818,547 Trabant 601s were assembled. The Zwickau factory produced almost 3.1 million Trabant units during its three generation span.
The Trabant was the result of a planning process that had originally intended to design a three-wheeled motorcycle. In German, a Trabant is an astronomical term to denote a natural satellite of a celestial body.
It was the most common vehicle in East Germany, and was also exported to countries both inside and outside the Eastern Bloc. It was advertised as having room for four adults and luggage in a compact and durable shell; and being relatively fast. The Trabant was a relatively advanced car when it was launched in 1958, with front wheel drive, a unitary construction, composite bodywork, and independent suspension.
The updated P601 was introduced in 1964. This car was essentially a facelift of the P60, with a different front fascia, bonnet, roof, and rear, whilst retaining the original P50 underpinnings. This model stayed practically unchanged up to its production end, with the most major changes being 12V electronics, coil springs for the rear, and a different dash for the latest models.
The Trabant's designers expected production to extend to 1967 at the latest, and East German designers and engineers created a series of more sophisticated prototypes through the years that were intended to replace the Trabant P601; several of these can be seen at the Dresden Transport Museum. However, each proposal for a new model was rejected by the GDR leadership due to constant shortages of critical raw materials, which were required in larger quantities for the more advanced designs. As a result, the Trabant remained in production largely unchanged.
This car has covered 74.903 km.
