MODEL DETAILS: The Trabant 601 was a Trabant model produced by VEB Sachsenring in Zwickau, Saxony. It was the third generation of the model, built for the longest production time, from 1964 to 1990. As a result, it 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 produced overall and it was the most common vehicle in the former East Germany.
In hindsight, the Trabant 601 can be considered East Germany’s answer to West Germany’s “People’s Car”, the VW Beetle. Its purpose was to provide a cheap but still reliable car that was very affordable and also easy to repair and maintain. Still, it was at the time of its release rather modern in many ways, with front wheel drive combined with transversely mounted motor, a low maintenance engine, unitary construction, rack and pinion steering, composite bodywork and independent suspension all around. The car body was made of Duroplast. The main letdown was the pre-war DKW based engine that was competitive when launched, but from the late 1950s into the 1960s, small economy cars in western countries that used two-stroke engines were replaced with cleaner and more efficient four-stroke engines, as employed from the start in the Volkswagen Beetle. Two-stroke engines of this sort, with crankcase scavenging and lubricating oil provided during fuel intake, burn their lubricating oil by design and produce smoky tailpipe emissions. Plans were to replace the two-stroke-motor with a Wankel engine; however, East Germany failed to develop such a motor with satisfying parameters. Later, the lack of development funds in East Germany forced the continued use of a two-stroke engine in the Trabant, thus causing this vehicle to become outdated towards the end of the 1960s and obsolete by the 1980s.
The Trabant 601 was a modern automobile when introduced in 1963, with 150 pre-production examples. The body was modified from the previous P50/P60 variants of the Trabant, with a heavy emphasis on the front and roof area. The back of the car was also modified with different taillights and a higher trunk loading height as compared to previous models. Overall, the design was praised, particularly on the then-modern double trapezoid design. Originally, production was only planned to run from 1967 to 1971, but instead continued until 1990. Through the addition of a two-stage carburetor in 1984, the fuel consumption was brought down. Even with these improvements, the fuel consumption could still rise rapidly with extended acceleration or when towing a trailer. The P601 also had an overrunning clutch when running in fourth gear.
Over the course of decades, the design of the Trabant changed little. This caused the increasingly obsolete Trabant’s reputation to worsen as time progressed. However, this had little effect on the sales figures — wait times of 10 years or longer for a new car were not uncommon. The price for a new Trabant in 1985 was 8,500 Mark for the 601 Standard, and 9,700 Mark for the most expensive model, the 601 Universal S de Luxe. Available options at this time included a shelf under the instrument panel and intermittent windshield wipers. With change to 12 V in 1984, options as hazard flashers and rear window heater became available.
New models were considered and improvements were researched, but all additional improvements were blocked by the DDR government, which considered them unnecessary and costly.
WHY THIS MODEL IS FASCINATING: Many former DDR citizens have mixed emotions in regards to their “Trabi”, which is very loud and uncomfortable and still a symbol for the demised DDR, since it was a part of the system. On the other hand, the Trabant was a robust, functional and repair-friendly car, so many people developed a strong relationship to their Trabant. Furthermore, Trabant never was a symbol of the representatives (these people rather owned Lada, Polski Fiat and Volga). Finally, the Trabant also is a symbol for breaking through the wall in 1989.
In recent years, these distinctive cars have become collectors’ items, with growing popularity. Green Trabants are especially popular, as they are rumored to bring good luck to their owners. Many Trabant owners’ clubs exist throughout Europe and 601s have their fans all over the world. Also, many Trabant 601s are still used as rally racing cars.
Principled Thoughts 