Trabant 601

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Trabant 601
AWZ Trabant 601S, Verkehrszentrum des Deutschen Museums.JPG
Trabant 601, original condition (1990)
Overview
Manufacturer VEB Sachsenring
Production1964–1990
Assembly Zwickau, East Germany
Body and chassis
Class Subcompact (B)
Body style 2-door saloon ("Limousine")
3-door estate ("Universal")
Doorless ATV ("Tramp"/"Kübel")
Layout FF layout
Platform Trabant P601
Powertrain
Engine 594 cc P60-P66 two-stroke I2
Transmission 4-speed manual
4-speed Hycomat semi-automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase 2,020 mm (6 ft 8 in)
Length3,555 mm (11 ft 8 in)
Width1,505 mm (4 ft 11 in)
Height1,440 mm (4 ft 9 in)
Curb weight 615 kg (1,356 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor Trabant 600
Successor Trabant 1.1

The Trabant 601 (or Trabant P601 series) 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 "Trabi". During this long production run, 2,818,547 Trabant 601 units were produced overall, and it was the most common vehicle in East Germany.

Contents

Overview

A 1986 Trabant 601 S De Luxe. Trabant 601 S de Luxe from 1986 original condition I.jpg
A 1986 Trabant 601 S De Luxe.

In hindsight, the Trabant 601 can be considered East Germany's answer to West Germany's "People's Car", the VW Beetle. [1] [2] 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 engine, which was a two-stroke based on a pre-war DKW. It 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. However, two-stroke engines also powered cars such as the West German Auto Union 1000 that ended production in 1965, and the Swedish Saab 96 that changed to four-stroke in 1967. It was planned 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.

History

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. The original P 60 engine was only 23 PS (16.9 kW). In 1969 the new P62 version was offered with a 26 PS (19.1 kW) engine. In 1974, a needle roller bearing was added to the connecting rod, allowing for a 50/1 lubricant to be used. Through the addition of a two-stage carburetor in 1984, the fuel consumption was brought down by 1/100 L/km. With these additions, the top speed was measured to be 107 km/h. [3] 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. [4] 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 with the P602, P603, and P610 being planned in Zwickau. Among other improvements researched were larger motors and also wankel engines. All improvements however were blocked by the East German (DDR) government, which considered them unnecessary and feared the extra costs.

When a successor, the Trabant 1.1, was eventually developed, it received minimal external differences. The only exterior changes were a new radiator grille, bumpers, taillights, a more square bonnet, and the movement of the fuel cap to the rear right of the car. The interior was subject to many changes.

Variants

A P 601 A Kubel of the LSK on display at the Luftwaffenmuseum Berlin-Gatow. 2012-08 Kleinkuebelwagen P 601 A anagoria.JPG
A P 601 A Kübel of the LSK on display at the Luftwaffenmuseum Berlin-Gatow.
A Trabant 601 Tramp. Trabant 601 Tramp.jpg
A Trabant 601 Tramp.
A 1970 Trabant 601 DeLuxe Universal. Trabant 601 Universal 1970.jpg
A 1970 Trabant 601 DeLuxe Universal.

Technical data

Trabant 601 saloonTrabant 601 Universal
Engine:Two cylinder two stroke otto engine type P65/66
Displacement:594.5 cc (36 cu in)
Bore × Stroke:72 mm × 73 mm
Rated power:19.1 kW at 4200 rpm
Torque:54 N·m at 3000 rpm
Compression ratio:7.8 ± 2 : 1
Cooling system:Air-cooled
Clutch:Single disk dry clutch
Gearbox:Four-speed gearbox
1st gear: 4.08
2nd gear: 2.32
3rd gear: 1.52
4th gear: 1.103
Reverse gear: 3.83

Final drive: 4.33

Fuel type:"Regular" gasoline 88 RON
Oil type:Two stroke engine oil MZ-22
Fuel-oil-ratio:1 : 50
Weight:615 kg650 kg
Dimensions L × W × H:3555 mm × 1505 mm × 1440 mm3560 mm × 1510 mm × 1440 mm
Top speed:100 km/h (62 mph)
Source: [5]

Export countries

Eastern Europe

Western Europe

The 601 today

A Trabant 601 S in daily use in Chemnitz in 2019. Trabant in Chemnitz, 14.04.2019.png
A Trabant 601 S in daily use in Chemnitz in 2019.
A Trabant 601 modified into a stretch limousine. Trabant 601 L at the Szocialista Jamuipar Gyongyszemei 2008.jpg
A Trabant 601 modified into a stretch limousine.
Trabant 601s being used for tours in Berlin At Berlin 2024 375.jpg
Trabant 601s being used for tours in Berlin

Many former DDR citizens have mixed emotions toward their "Trabi". It is very loud and uncomfortable, and still a symbol for the demised DDR, [6] as it was a part of the system. [7] However, the Trabant was a robust, functional and repair-friendly car, so many people developed a strong relationship to their Trabant. Further, the Trabant never was a symbol of Communist bureaucrats (who tended to own a Lada, Polski Fiat or Volga). Finally, the Trabant also is a symbol for breaking through the wall in 1989.

In recent years, the car has become collectors' items, with growing popularity. Green Trabants are especially popular, as they are rumoured to bring good luck to their owners.[ citation needed ] Many Trabant owners' clubs exist throughout Europe and 601s have their fans all over the world. [8] Also, many Trabant 601s are still used as rally racing cars.

As a symbol of a forgone era, it has inspired movies such as Go Trabi Go which presented the Trabant as a kind of East German character and could make former DDR citizens laugh "not precisely at themselves, but at the absurdities of the system under which they lived until last year", symbolised by the three main aspects of the Trabant: slow, breaks down frequently and often ridiculed by Western society. [9] It has also seduced people including the US actor David Hasselhoff to drive a Trabant, although he had trouble getting into it. [10] Later he admitted he is a fan of the Trabant. [11] Stephen Kinzer of The New York Times likens the Trabant as a symbol for the people who built it, who "survive[d] through difficult times and ultimately triumph[ed]." [9] The car was also featured in the US film Everything Is Illuminated . [12]

The Trabant 601 is the subject of Jalopy , a 2016 roadtrip video game. Set in June 1990 East Germany, during the early months of German reunification, the player is tasked to maintain a fictionalized version of the Trabant 601, the Laika 601, and use it to drive the player character's uncle to Istanbul, Turkey, via Eastern and Southeastern Europe. [13]

The Trabant 601 makes an appearance in Half Life 2 as wreckage across City 17 and the surrounding area. The model is based on the Trabant 601 Universal. There are two game models, one where the vehicle is heavily damaged and one where the vehicle is abandoned. [14]

Related Research Articles

Trabant is a series of small cars produced from 1957 until 1991 by former East German car manufacturer VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. Four models were made: the Trabant 500, Trabant 600, Trabant 601, and the Trabant 1.1. The first model, the 500, was a relatively modern car when it was introduced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wankel engine</span> Combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design

The Wankel engine is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. The concept was proven by German engineer Felix Wankel, followed by a commercially feasible engine designed by German engineer Hanns-Dieter Paschke. The Wankel engine's rotor, which creates the turning motion, is similar in shape to a Reuleaux triangle, with the sides having less curvature. The rotor spins inside a figure-eight-like epitrochoidal housing around a fixed-toothed gearing. The midpoint of the rotor moves in a circle around the output shaft, rotating the shaft via a cam.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">HQM Sachsenring GmbH</span> German auto parts manufacturer

HQM Sachsenring GmbH is a Zwickau-based company that supplies chassis and body parts to the automotive industry. The company was named after the Sachsenring race track. Founded as VEB Sachsenring after the end of World War II, and operating out of the former Auto Union factory in Zwickau, Sachsenring was one of the few manufacturers of vehicles in East Germany, its best known product being the Trabant, produced between 1957 and 1991. Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, Sachsenring transitioned from a government-owned company under a centrally-planned economy to a private corporation in a free market economy.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wartburg (marque)</span> 1956–1991 automobile brand of VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach

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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to automobiles:

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auto Union 1000</span> Motor vehicle

The Auto Union 1000 is a luxury compact front-wheel drive automobile manufactured by Auto Union GmbH between 1958 and 1965. It was the first model branded as an Auto Union by the manufacturer since the 1930s; it replaced the DKW 3=6, although the latter continued in production until the end of 1959. The two cars were broadly similar, but the new car had its two-stroke engine enlarged to 981 cc yielding a 10% - 37% power increase.

<i>Go Trabi Go</i> 1991 German film

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trabant 600</span> Second production series model produced by Trabant (1962-1965)

The Trabant 600, also known as the Trabant P 60, is the second series production model of the East German Trabant series, produced by VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau from 1962 until 1965. In total, 106,117 units were built. The Trabant 600 was a short-lived intermediate model that combined the exterior styling of the Trabant P 50 with the technical design of the next generation Trabant model, the Trabant 601. For a short period of time, the Trabant 600 estate was built alongside the 601 saloon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RGW-Auto</span> Motor vehicle

RGW-Auto was a joint project for the construction of passenger cars in the former East Germany and Czechoslovakia. Both countries were members of Comecon. The aging Trabant 601, Wartburg 353, Škoda 100 and Dacia 1300 were to be replaced by vehicles with a modern design. The manufacturers involved were Automobilwerk Eisenach (Wartburg), Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau (Trabant), AZNP Mladá Boleslav (Škoda) and Uzina de Autoturisme Pitești (Dacia). Mass production of the ambitious project was to begin in 1978, but it never happened.

References

  1. ↑ "The Trabant was East Germany's answer to the peoples car as the Volkswagen Beetle was to West Germany" . Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  2. ↑ "It's the VW Beetle of Eastern Europe" . Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  3. ↑ "Trabant 601". Der Deutsche Straßenverkehr (in German). 12. 1984.
  4. ↑ "Preis im Januar 1985 (inkl. ein Jahr Haftpflichtversicherung)". Fluter. 30: 21.
  5. ↑ Sachsenring (ed.), Betriebsanleitung für den Personenkraftwagen Trabant 601 (PDF) (in German), Leipzig: Fachbuchverlag Leipzig, pp. 62–66
  6. ↑ Rodden, John (2002). Repainting the Little Red Schoolhouse: A History of Eastern German Education, 1945-1995. Oxford University Press. p. 176. ISBN   9780195112443.
  7. ↑ Rubin, Eli (18 September 2009). "The Trabant: Consumption, Eigen-Sinn, and Movement (Abstract)". History Workshop Journal. 68 (1, Autumn 2009): 27. doi:10.1093/hwj/dbp016.
  8. ↑ "These once forlorn vehicles from Eastern Europe enjoy a nostalgic revival all over the world". Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  9. 1 2 Kinzer, Stephan (7 March 1991). "Chemnitz Journal; That Good-for-Nothing Car Is Good for a Laugh". The New York Times . Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  10. ↑ "It is really funny how he barely could fit inside" . Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  11. ↑ Reiber, Vanessa (28 October 2019), "David Hasselhoff admits he's a fan of the Trabant", Independent News & Media
  12. ↑ "Trabant 601 Trombi/Estate featured in Everything is Illuminated". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  13. ↑ "Jalopy". Valve . Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  14. ↑ Bruner (February 23, 2022). "𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗖𝗘 𝗩𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗦: Half-Life 2". LambdaGeneration.com. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
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