Trabant 601

In short

• Built from June 1964 to July 1990 at VEB Sachsenring, Zwickau; 2,818,547 cars.
• Two-stroke twin of 594 cc: 17 kW (23 PS) at first, 19 kW (26 PS) from 1969.
• Duroplast body panels on a unitary structure; saloon, Universal estate, Kübel and Tramp versions.
• Price in 1985: 8,500 East German marks for the 601 Standard; waiting lists of ten years or more were not unusual.

Trabant 601 at a glance

From the P50 to the 601

The P50 of 1957 had a 500 cc engine with 13 kW (17 PS). In June 1964 the 601 arrived with the 594 cc P60 engine. For the rest of its life the 601 changed mainly in detail. The P62 engine of 1969 raised power to 19 kW (26 PS), and in 1984 a two-stage carburettor cut fuel use by about one litre per 100 km.

The body panels were Duroplast, made from recycled cotton waste and phenol resins from the East German dye industry. Under them sat a unitary structure with independent suspension on all four wheels and rack-and-pinion steering. The Trabant article in English Wikipedia gives the car's average service life as 28 years.

Engine: the two-stroke twin

The 594 cc twin is a two-stroke, so it burns its lubricating oil and leaves the typical blue smoke behind. Owners mixed 88 RON regular petrol with two-stroke oil at a ratio of 1:50. The engine gave 17 kW (23 PS) in its first form and 19 kW (26 PS) from 1969, with 54 Nm at 3,000 rpm. It drove the front wheels through a four-speed gearbox. With 19 kW and 615 kg, the saloon has about 31 kW per tonne, and fuel use rose quickly under hard acceleration or when towing. The power-to-weight calculator puts that figure against modern small cars. The two-stroke design also limited exports to Western Europe from the 1970s, where sales stayed negligible.

Versions: saloon, estate, utility and Hycomat

The Hycomat system was developed in 1964 and built in series from 1965. From 1982 a Universal adapted for disabled drivers was also offered. Trim levels ran from the Standard to the S de Luxe. In 1978 a 601 saloon cost 7,850 East German marks as a Standard and up to 9,600 marks as an S de Luxe with both equipment packages. In 1985 a 601 Standard cost 8,500 marks and a 601 Universal S de Luxe 9,700 marks.

Changes year by year

German Wikipedia lists the updates in detail. The most important were:

Fuel use fell over the years. German Wikipedia quotes test figures of 8.2 litres per 100 km in 1964 and 8.7 in 1970, and a drop from about 8 to 6.9 litres in the 1980s. A 1969 test measured a top speed of 105 km/h.

Production and exports

German Wikipedia dates the milestones as follows: the 500,000th Trabant on 21 April 1968, the millionth on 22 November 1973 and the two-millionth on 1 October 1982. The three-millionth followed on 21 May 1990. The main export markets were Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, and Hungary received its 100,000th Trabant in 1975. A few cars were sold in the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece and Iceland.

Waiting lists, the Wall and the end in Zwickau

Waiting times of ten years or more for a new Trabant were not unusual. The car became a symbol of the breaching of the Berlin Wall in 1989. English Wikipedia also notes that it was not the car of the ruling officials, who usually drove other makes.

After 1989 Sachsenring made a deal with Volkswagen for a 1.1-litre four-stroke engine. The result, the Trabant 1.1, looked almost the same as the 601. The 601 ended in July 1990, and the 1.1 was dropped in April 1991 after only eleven months, beaten by cheaper Western cars. The Mosel part of the Zwickau works was sold to Volkswagen and became a centre for engine production that also builds Golf and Passat models. The rest of the company became HQM Sachsenring GmbH. Volkswagen's side of the story is in the history of Volkswagen.

The Trabant today

Former East Germans remember the car with mixed feelings: loud and uncomfortable, but robust and easy to repair. Trabants are now collectors' items, and owners' clubs exist across Europe. The 601 is still used in rallies, for daily driving, for city tours in Berlin and even as a stretch limousine. It has had roles in films such as Go Trabi Go and Everything Is Illuminated. In 2009 a consortium including Herpa, IndiKar and IAV showed the Trabant nT in Frankfurt. It was an electric concept with a 45 kW motor and a lithium-ion battery.

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