Rare meets weird in Berlin's Trabant museum

Open to the general public, the museum houses a collection of historically-significant models (including the P50, which is widely considered to be the original Trabant) and an assortment of quirky one-and few-off models.

While it doesn’t look like it belongs on the Trabant family tree, the AWZ P70 had a formative influence on the East German emblem’s design. It was designed by a state-owned firm called Automobilwerk Zwickau and it was available in three body styles: a saloon, an estate, and a rare coupe (pictured). The saloon was released in 1955 with a wood frame and body panels made with a type of plastic called Duroplast.

The idea of replacing sheet metal with composite material was extremely innovative in the 1950s and few carmakers had mastered this technique (though many tried, or were trying).

Power for the P70 came from a 690cc two-stroke two-cylinder engine rated at 22bhp. This was an evolution of the unit that powered the IFA F8 that the P70 was developed to replace, which in turn was an evolution of the DKW F8 released in 1939. Although using what was essentially a carry-over engine kept manufacturing costs in check, building the Duroplast panels remained far too expensive.

Few considered the P70 a success when it retired in 1959. However, the lessons learned during this project trickled down to the original Trabant. One important takeaway was that Duroplast could be financially viable as an alternative to sheet metal if it was used on a mass-produced car.

Released in 1958, the P50 is the car that the Trabant most people associate with East Germany traces its roots to. It represented an attempt by the East German government to create a people’s car, so it had to be cheap to build, manufacture, and operate. It also needed to seat four passengers in relative comfort; making a bubble car in the vein of the BMW Isetta was ruled out early on in the project.

The decision to build the car’s body panels using plastic was taken early on to keep weight in check and to circumvent sheet metal shortages, and front-wheel-drive was adopted to clear up a relatively spacious cabin.

The P50 entered series production in July 1958. While the name Trabant quickly stuck, the P50 was built by a state-run carmaker called Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau created by merging a Horch plant with an Audi one. Power for the two-door saloon came from a 499cc air-cooled two-cylinder two-stroke engine initially rated at around 17bhp, though slightly more powerful evolutions were later released. An estate model joined the line-up in 1960, and production of both P50 variants ended in 1962.

The second evolution of the Trabant was released in 1962. It was called P60, and the new name denoted a 595cc air-cooled two-cylinder two-stroke engine that developed about 23bhp, a small but noticeable (and very welcome) increase over the P50. The engine remained transversally mounted, and it continued to spin the front wheels via a four-speed manual transmission. Pricing for the new model increased, too.

Keeping developing and manufacturing costs in check remained hugely important so management chose not to make significant visual changes to the P60. It looked almost exactly like the P50 that it replaced, though a model-specific emblem on the boot lid denoted the bigger engine. Saloon and estate models were part of the line-up, and a delivery van was made available but very few units were built.

Production of the P60 saloon ended in 1964, when it was replaced by the 601 (the variant that remained in production for nearly three decades). The estate and the van received small improvements that year and carried on until 1965. All told, the early Trabant models are far rarer than the later cars.

Trabant sales collapsed after the reunification of Germany as former East German citizens rushed towards more modern Western cars that were often cheaper, especially as they got to convert their dubious currency at an advantageous rate into West German Deutschmarks. Company management made a last-ditch effort to keep the 601 afloat: they purchased a license to build the water-cooled, 1.1-litre four-cylinder that Volkswagen used in the Polo and used it to replace the two-stroke two-cylinder. Shown above on the right, the final evolution of the 601 wore the 1.1 nameplate and stood out with a redesigned front end.

Production started in 1990 and ended the following year due to catastrophically low sales. Not enough motorists were interested in buying a Trabant in 1990, even one powered by a relatively modern engine. Just short of 3.1 million Trabants were produced in total.

One of the most obscure cars displayed in the museum is the Panzertrabi. As its name implies, it’s a scaled-down replica of a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier called BTR-152 that was built by Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau on a modified Trabant platform; the wheelbase was notably extended. Two units were made and sent to the army, where they were used to train new soldiers.

The tank-like body hides off-the-shelf Trabant components, including the engine, the gearbox, and the braking system. The second axle added to the back end is 601-sourced as well. Making a Trabant that’s about as long as today's Volkswagen Golf cleared up enough space for nine passengers, but the conversion also added a tremendous amount of weight. The Panzertrabi tips the scale at around 801kg (1763lb), compared to the 615kg of the Trabant itself. We suspect this vehicle was rather slow.

Members of the National People’s Army used several variants of the Trabant. One was the Kübelwagen, an open-top model launched in 1966 with four removable doors, a removable soft top, and a redesigned rear end. It was mechanically identical to the standard Trabant. The Kübelwagen optimistically spawned a civilian model called Tramp in 1978 but most historians agree fewer than 500 units were built.

Built from 1964 to 1990, the 601 owes part of its unusual longevity to its simplicity. Power came from an air-cooled, two-cylinder two-stroke engine with a displacement of 595cc. Shown above, it was compact, robust, and unrefined in equal measures. Early models were rated at about 23bhp, but 1969 brought an updated engine tuned to develop 26bhp. Mounted transversally, the two-cylinder spun the front wheels via a four-speed manual transmission linked to a gear selector that poked out from the dashboard.

Don’t let this one-of-a-kind 601 fool you: Zwickau didn’t collaborate with Maranello to build an open-top Trabant with Ferrari guts. Humorously named Ferrabi, this roadster is a one-off model fitted with a body kit that’s loosely inspired by the Testarossa. However, the Trabant and modern-day Ferrari models have at least one thing in common: getting one takes time. Buyers sometimes waited years for a new 601.

While its supercar-themed body kit might suggest otherwise, the Ferrabi isn’t the world’s fastest Trabant. For many years, that dubious honour went to a heavily-modified 601 built for racing with a two-cylinder engine that was tuned to develop about 80bhp, which was enough to send the car to a top speed of roughly 122mph. That’s approximately twice the top speed of an unmodified model.

Raced in historic rallies by Steffen Grossmann, the record-breaking Trabant featured a custom-made body kit that included a massive wing on the boot lid, more aerodynamic door mirrors, and an interior stripped to save weight, among numerous other modifications. It was also equipped with a roll cage.

Grossmann’s 601 gained enough notoriety on and off the track that toy manufacturer Revell turned it into a slot car. Its record has since been broken, however. In 2010, enthusiasts Maik and Ronny Urland reached 146mph in a modified 601. One of the numerous jokes made about the Trabant over the years pokes fun at its brakes: “Nothing stops a Trabant, not even its brakes.” We're hoping for the duo's sake that it's not true.

The 601 is widely considered a collector’s item in 2022 but values remain relatively low. This colourful Universal model is one of the rare exceptions to this rule. In 2001, German television show host Kai Pflaume told then-Volkswagen CEO Ferdinand Piëch (1937-2019) that he had ordered a new Trabant in the middle of the 1980s and never received it. He still had the order form to prove it. Piëch promised to get him one.

Piëch bought a low-mileage, water-cooled example from its original owner and reportedly had it refurbished by Volkswagen in Wolfsburg. It was then painted by artist Christoph Bellhen for a German television show called “Love Counts” and the executive kept his word by personally giving it to Pflaume.

The multi-coloured Trabant embarked on a tour of Germany and was later auctioned for 42,500 euros, a figure that makes it the most expensive Trabant in the world. The proceeds from the sale were donated to a charity called A Heart for Children, which at least partially explains why it sold for such a high price.