View source for Trabant

{{NPOV|date=April 2025}}
{{Short description|1957–1991 automobile brand of VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau}}
{{About|the car}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox automobile
| name = Trabant
| image = IFA Trabant Logo.svg
| manufacturer = [[HQM Sachsenring GmbH|VEB Sachsenring]]
| production = {{ubl |1957–1990 ([[East Germany]]) |1990–1991 ([[Germany]]) |3.7 million produced}}
| body_style = {{ubl |2-door [[sedan (automobile)|sedan]] |3-door [[station wagon]] (Universal) |Doorless jeep ([[Volkswagen Kübelwagen|Kübelwagen]])}}
| layout = [[Front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout|Transverse front-engine, front-wheel-drive]]
| engine = {{ubl
  |499&nbsp;cc [[Two-stroke engine|two-stroke]] [[Straight-twin engine|I2]] (1957–1962)
  |594&nbsp;cc two-stroke I2 (1962–1990)
  |1043&nbsp;cc ''[[List of discontinued Volkswagen Group petrol engines#AAK|BM&nbsp;820]]'' four-stroke [[Straight-four engine|I4]] (1990–1991)
  }}
| wheelbase = {{convert|2020|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}<ref name="Legends">{{cite book|title=Legends of the Open Road|publisher=Rizzoli International Publications|isbn=978-88-6130-066-8|year=2007}}</ref>
| length = {{convert|3360|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}<ref name="Legends"/>
| width = {{convert|1500|mm|in|2|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite book|title=World Cars 1978|year=1978 |publisher=Herald Books|isbn=0-910714-10-X}}</ref>
}}

'''Trabant''' ({{IPA|de|tʁaˈbant|lang|de-Trabant.ogg}}) is a series of [[B-segment|small car]]s produced from 1957 until 1991 by former [[East Germany|East German]] car manufacturer [[HQM Sachsenring GmbH|VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau]]. Four models were made: the [[Trabant P 50|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.

It featured detachable [[duroplast]] body panels on a galvanised steel unibody chassis, front-wheel drive, a transverse two-stroke engine, and independent suspension. Because this 1950s design remained largely unchanged until the introduction of the last model, the [[Trabant 1.1]] in 1990, the Trabant became symbolic of the former East Germany's stagnant economy and the collapse of the [[Eastern Bloc]] in general.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.autotrader.com/car-video/the-trabant-was-an-awful-car-made-by-communists-258699|title=The Trabant Was an Awful Car Made by Communists|date=November 2016|first = Doug | last = De Muro | website=[[Autotrader.com]]|access-date=17 November 2018}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=May 2025}} Called "a spark plug with a roof", 3,096,999 Trabants were produced.<ref>{{cite news | last=Williams | first=Adam | title=Boxy East German icon plans comeback | publisher=[[Reuters]]| date=2007-09-06 | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-trabant-idUSL0678633320070906 | access-date=2020-05-13}}</ref> Older models have been sought by collectors in the United States due to their low cost and fewer restrictions on the importation of [[antique car]]s. The Trabant also gained a following among [[car tuning]] and [[rallying]] enthusiasts.

== Overview ==
[[File:Trabant 601 Mulhouse FRA 001.JPG|thumb|alt=Small white Trabant in a museum|Trabant 601 limousine]]The [[German language|German]] word ''Trabant'', derived from [[Middle High German]] ''drabant'', means 'satellite' or 'companion'.{{efn|According to [[Elof Hellquist]]'s ''Svensk etymologisk ordbok'' (''Swedish [[Etymological dictionary|Etymological Dictionary]]'', {{ISBN|91-40-01978-0}}), the word also exists in [[Low German]] ''dravant'', French ''trabant'' and Italian ''trabante'' but its origin is unknown: "It is not even certain whether the Romance words have been borrowed from the German, or vice versa."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://runeberg.org/display.pl?mode=facsimile&work=svetym&page=0187|title=99 (Svensk etymologisk ordbok)|date=1922|website=runeberg.org|language=sv|access-date=28 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107055443/http://runeberg.org/display.pl?mode=facsimile&work=svetym&page=0187|archive-date=7 November 2017}} {{in lang|sv}}</ref>}} The car's name was inspired by the Soviet [[Sputnik]] satellite.<ref name="Go Trabi">{{cite news |author=James, Kyle |date=19 May 2007 |title=Go, Trabi, Go! East Germany's Darling Car Turns 50 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2542584,00.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911072830/http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2542584,00.html |archive-date=11 September 2007  }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first=Raymond G. | last=Stokes | chapter=Plastics and the New Society: The German Democratic Republic in the 1950s and 1960s | editor-last =Reid | editor-first =Susan E. | editor2-last =Crowley | editor2-first =David | title = Style and Socialism: Modernity and Material Culture in Post-War Eastern Europe | publisher = Berg | location=Oxford, U.K.; New York, N.Y. | date=2000 | isbn=1-85973-239-9 | oclc=898724665 }}</ref> The cars are often referred to as "Trabbi" or "Trabi". Produced without major changes for nearly 30 years, the Trabant became the most common automobile in East Germany. It came to symbolise the country during the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] in 1989, as images of East Germans crossing the border into [[West Germany]] were broadcast around the globe.<ref name="IHT">{{cite news|last=Williams |first=Adam |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/06/news/trabi.php |title=The 'Trabi' automobile, once a symbol of East Germany, to be revived |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |agency=Reuters |date=6 September 2007 |access-date=17 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204094054/http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/06/news/trabi.php |archive-date=4 December 2008 }}</ref><ref name="Revamped">{{cite news |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2773343,00.html |title=German Firm Plans to Launch Revamped Trabant |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=7 September 2007 |access-date=2 December 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224161159/http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2773343,00.html |archive-date=24 February 2009  }}</ref>

Manufactured by a [[state monopoly]], a Trabant took about ten years to acquire.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/commuting/the-12-worst-cars-ever-built/article4392663/|title=The 12 worst cars ever built|date=January 2010|website=[[The Globe and Mail]]|access-date=29 June 2019}}</ref> East German buyers were placed on a waiting list of up to thirteen years.<ref name=":2" /> The waiting time depended on their proximity to [[Berlin]], the capital.<ref name="Go Trabi" /> Official [[State (polity)|state]] [[price]] was 7,450 [[East German mark|GDR marks]] and the demand to production ratio was forty three to one (1989).<ref name=":2" /> The [[free market]] price for a second-hand one was more than twice the price of a new one.<ref name=":2" />

[[File:Trabant 2.JPG|thumb|alt=Simple automobile interior|Interior of a 601]]

The Trabant had a steel frame, with the roof, boot lid, bonnet, wings and doors made of [[duroplast]], a hard [[plastic]] made from [[Cotton recycling|recycled cotton]] waste from the Soviet Union and phenol resins from the East German dye industry.<ref name="Go Trabi" /><ref name="Frontiers" /> It was the second car with a body made of recycled material; the first was the [[AWZ P70 Zwickau]], produced from 1955 to 1959. The material was durable, and the average lifespan of a Trabant was 28 years.<ref name="Frontiers">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/saf/transcripts/transcript402.htm#4 |title=Special From Germany: Show 402 |work=Scientific American Frontiers |publisher=PBS |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703075913/http://www.pbs.org/saf/transcripts/transcript402.htm |archive-date=3 July 2015}}</ref>

The Trabant's build quality was poor, and it was loud and slow.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|url=https://academic.oup.com/hwj/article/68/1/27/661625|title=The Trabant: Consumption, Eigen-Sinn, and Movement|volume = 68 | issue = 1 | date=18 September 2009|first = Eli | last = Rubin | journal = History Workshop Journal |pages=27–44|doi=10.1093/hwj/dbp016| issn = 1363-3554 |doi-access = free |url-access = subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://blog.consumerguide.com/driving-a-trabant-the-worst-automotive-monstrosity-known-to-the-modern-world/ |website=blog.consumerguide.com |title=Driving a Trabant |last=Cotta|first=Rick |date=15 July 2013 }}</ref>

The car had four principal variants:

*The [[Trabant P 50]], also known as the Trabant 500 (produced 1957–1962)
*The [[Trabant 600]] (1962–1965)
*The [[Trabant 601]] (1964–1990)
*The [[Trabant 1.1]], produced in 1990–1991 with a {{convert|1043|cc|cid|lk=on|abbr=on|adj=on}} VW engine

[[File:Trabant Engine Block.jpg|thumb|alt=Trabant with the hood up; the engine is small.|Trabant [[two-stroke]] engine]]

The engine for the 500, 600 and the original 601 was a small [[two-stroke engine]] with two cylinders, accounting for the vehicle's modest performance. Its [[curb weight]] was about {{convert|600|kg|0|abbr=on}}. When it ceased production in 1989, the Trabant delivered {{cvt|26|PS|kW|0}}{{efn|PS stands for Pferdestärke (metric horsepower): 1PS equals 0.9863 horsepower (US)}} from {{cvt|594|cc|cid}} [[Engine displacement|displacement]].
It took 21 seconds to accelerate from zero to its top speed of {{cvt|100|km/h}}.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A21605410 |title=BBC |publisher=BBC |date=1 January 2007 |access-date=14 January 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116073526/http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A21605410 |archive-date=16 January 2014  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A21605410 |title=carfolio.com |publisher=carfolio.com |date=28 February 2013 |access-date=2 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116073526/http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A21605410 |archive-date=16 January 2014  }}</ref>

The engine produced a very smoky exhaust and was a significant source of [[air pollution]] &ndash; nine times the hydrocarbons and five times the carbon-monoxide emissions of the average 2007 European car. Its fuel consumption was {{convert|7|L/100 km|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.transtrabant.cz/small-car/ |title=Trans National Trabant Tour 2007 |publisher=Transtrabant.cz |access-date=2 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718185212/http://www.transtrabant.cz/small-car/ |archive-date=18 July 2011 }}</ref> Since the engine was [[two stroke oil|two-stroke]], oil had to be added to the {{convert|24|L|U.S.gal impgal|adj=on}} fuel tank<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/2722019/Anyone-for-Trabants.html |title=Daily Telegraph |work=Telegraph|date=3 May 2003 |access-date=2 December 2010 |location=London |first=Bernard |last=Silk |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111023035525/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/2722019/Anyone-for-Trabants.html |archive-date=23 October 2011  }}</ref> at a 50:1 (or 33:1) ratio of fuel to oil at each fill-up. Contemporary gas stations in countries where two-stroke engines were common sold a premixed gas-oil mixture at the pump. Because the Trabant had no [[Fuel pump (engine)|fuel pump]], its fuel tank was above the engine so fuel could reach the carburettor by gravity; this increased the risk of fire in front-end accidents. Earlier models had no fuel gauge, and a dipstick was inserted into the tank to determine how much fuel remained.

Known for its dull colour scheme and cramped, uncomfortable ride, the Trabant is an object of ridicule for many Germans and is regarded as symbolic of the fall of the [[Eastern Bloc]].<ref name="Berlin">{{cite news |author=Hockenos, Paul |date=7 November 2014 |title=Berlin Welcomes Back the Trabant, if Only for a Day |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/automobiles/berlin-welcomes-back-the-trabant-if-only-for-a-day.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107061453/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/automobiles/berlin-welcomes-back-the-trabant-if-only-for-a-day.html |archive-date=7 November 2017  }}</ref> Known as a "spark plug with a roof" because of its small size, the car did gain public affection.<ref name="IHT" /><ref name="Revamped" />

Its design remained essentially unchanged from its introduction in the late 1950s, and the last model was introduced in 1990. The 1980s model had no [[tachometer]], no indicator for either the headlights or turn signals, no fuel gauge, no rear seat belts, no external fuel door, and drivers had to pour a mix of gasoline and oil into a tank located directly under the bonnet/hood.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-11-09 |title=The Trabant Was an Awful Car Made By Communists {{!}} CarThrottle |url=https://www.carthrottle.com/news/trabant-was-awful-car-made-communists |access-date=2025-08-05 |website=www.carthrottle.com |language=en}}</ref>  For comparison, the West German [[Volkswagen Beetle]] received a number of updates (including improvements in efficiency) over a similar period,<ref>{{cite book|author=Richard Stroup|title=Eco-nomics: What Everyone Should Know about Economics and the Environment|publisher=Cato Institute|url=https://archive.org/details/economics00rich|url-access=registration|year=2003|page=[https://archive.org/details/economics00rich/page/32 32]|isbn=978-1-930865-44-0}}</ref> although, with imported components, the 1990 Trabant 1.1 did have major changes including the engine ([[VW Polo]] engine) and increasing fuel efficiency.

== History ==

=== Origins ===
VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau had its origins in the former [[Auto Union]]/[[DKW]] business which had operated out of the site prior to the war, and the company's first products were essentially copies of pre-war DKW designs. Following the partition of Germany, Auto Union re-established itself in [[West Germany]] (ultimately evolving into [[Audi]]), leaving VEB Sachsenring with the two stroke engine inherited from DKW.

The Trabant was the result of a planning process which had been intended to design a three-wheeled motorcycle.<ref name="Go Trabi" /> In German, ''Trabant'' is an astronomical term for a moon (or other natural satellite) of a celestial body.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.interglot.com/dictionary/de/en/translate/Trabant|title=Translate Trabant from German to English|website=www.interglot.com|access-date=9 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007021005/http://www.interglot.com/dictionary/de/en/translate/Trabant|archive-date=7 October 2017}}</ref>

=== Full production ===
[[File:Trabant P50.jpg|thumb|alt=Two-door sedan, with a driver at the wheel|A 1959 P 50]]
The first of the Trabants left the VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau factory in Saxony on 7 November 1957. It was a relatively advanced car when it was formally introduced the following year, with [[front wheel drive]], [[unitary construction]] and independent suspension. The Trabant's greatest shortcoming was its engine. By the late 1950s, many small West European cars (such as the [[Renault 4CV]]) had cleaner, more-efficient [[four-stroke]] engines, but budgetary constraints and raw-materials shortages mandated an outdated (but inexpensive) two-stroke engine in the Trabant. It was technically equivalent to the West German [[North German Automobile and Engine|Lloyd]] automobile, a similarly sized car with an air-cooled, two-cylinder four-stroke engine. The Trabant had a front, [[Transverse engine|transversely mounted]] engine and [[front-wheel drive]] in an era when many European cars were using rear-mounted engines or front-mounted engines with rear-wheel drive. Its greatest drawback was its largely unchanged production; the car's two-stroke engine made it obsolete by the 1970s, limiting exports to Western Europe.

The Trabant's air-cooled, {{convert|500|cc|cid|abbr=on|adj=on}} engine—upgraded to {{convert|600|cc|cid|abbr=on|adj=on}} in 1962–63—was derived from a pre-war [[DKW]] design with minor alterations during its production run. The first [[Saab Automobile|Saab]] car had a larger (764 cc), water-cooled, two-cylinder two-stroke engine. [[Wartburg (marque)|Wartburg]], an East German manufacturer of larger sedans, also used a water-cooled, three-cylinder, one-litre, two-stroke DKW engine.

The original Trabant, introduced in 1958, was the [[Trabant P 50|P 50]]. Trabant's base model, it shared a large number of interchangeable parts with the latest 1.1s. The 500&nbsp;cc, {{cvt|17|PS|kW|0}} P50 evolved into a {{cvt|20|PS|kW|0}} version with a fully synchronised gearbox in 1960, and received a {{cvt|23|PS|kW|0}}, {{cvt|594|cc|cid|1}} engine in 1962 as the P 60.

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-B0503-0015-001, Sachsenring Trabant 601.jpg|thumb|alt=Trabant with brown trim in a museum|A 1963 Trabant 601]]

The updated P601 was introduced in 1964. It was essentially a facelift of the P 60, with a different front fascia, bonnet, roof and rear and the original P50 underpinnings. The model remained nearly unchanged until the end of its production except for the addition of 12V electricity, rear coil springs and an updated dashboard for later models.

[[File:Trabant P1100 front 20040924.jpg|thumb|alt=A blue Trabant|P1100 prototype]]
The Trabant's designers expected production to extend until 1967 at the latest, and East German designers and engineers created a series of more-sophisticated prototypes intended to replace the P601; several are displayed at the [[Dresden Transport Museum]]. Each proposal for a new model was rejected by the East German government due to shortages of the raw materials required in larger quantities for the more-advanced designs. As a result, the Trabant remained largely unchanged for more than a quarter-century. Also unchanged was its production method, which was extremely labour-intensive.

Production started from 34,000 per year in 1964, reached 100,000 in 1973, and was up to a high of 150,000 in 1989.<ref name=":2" />

The Trabant 1.1 was a 601 with a better-performing {{cvt|1043|cc|L|2|disp=flip}}, {{cvt|45|PS|kW|0}} [[VW Polo]] engine. With a slightly modified look (including a floor-mounted gearshift), it was quieter and cleaner than its predecessor. The 1.1 had front disc brakes, and its wheel assembly was borrowed from [[Volkswagen]]. It was produced from 1989 to 1991, in parallel with the two-stroke P601. Except for the engine and transmission, many parts from older P50s, P60s and 601s were compatible with the 1.1.

=== {{anchor|Late production (1989~1991)}}1989–1991 ===
[[File:Checkpoint Charlie Nov. 1989, Ostberliner überqueren zum ersten Mal die Grenze nach Westberlin ohne Grenzkontrolle. DF-ST-91-01399.jpg|thumb|Trabant 601 entering [[West Berlin]] in 1989, [[Checkpoint Charlie]]]]
[[File:Trabant 1.1.jpg|thumb|alt=Two-door sedan with a man standing behind it|Trabant 1.1 with [[VW Polo]] four-stroke engine]]
In mid-1989, thousands of East Germans began loading their Trabants with as much as they could carry and drove to Hungary or Czechoslovakia en route to West Germany–the so-called "Trabi Trail". Many had to get special permission to drive their Trabants into West Germany. The cars did not meet West German emissions standards and polluted the air at four times the European average.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sebetsyen|first=Victor|title=Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire|publisher=[[Pantheon Books]]|location=New York City|year=2009|isbn=978-0-375-42532-5|url=https://archive.org/details/revolution1989fa00sebe}}</ref>

A licensed version of the [[Volkswagen Polo]] engine replaced the Trabant's two-stroke engine, the result of a trade agreement between East and West Germany. The first prototypes were built in 1988, with pre-series cars appearing in 1989, but series production only began in May 1990 - By which time the two German states had already agreed to [[German reunification|reunification]]. The locally built [[List of Volkswagen Group petrol engines#EA111|EA111-series engine]] was given the model code BM&nbsp;820 by the East Germans; the plant also made 1.3-litre versions for the [[Wartburg 1.3]] (BM&nbsp;860) and the [[Barkas (van manufacturer)|Barkas utility vehicle]] (BM&nbsp;880).<ref name=PK1>{{cite journal | url = http://www.qucosa.de/fileadmin/data/qucosa/documents/13998/DBGT28_2003Kirchberg.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151220174611/http://www.qucosa.de/fileadmin/data/qucosa/documents/13998/DBGT28_2003Kirchberg.pdf | archive-date = 2015-12-20 | title = Die Implantation des VW-Motors in den DDR-Automobilbau. Ein Bericht zur Innovationsgeschichte der DDR | trans-title = The installation of VW engines in East German cars: An episode in the history of East German innovations | language = de | first = Peter | last = Kirchberg | issue = 128 | journal = Dresdener Beiträge zur Geschichte der Technikwissenschaften | page = 129 | date = 2003 }}</ref> The model, the Trabant 1.1, also had minor improvements to its brake and signal lights, a renovated grille, and [[MacPherson strut]]s instead of a leaf-spring-suspended chassis.

By April 1991, after only eleven months, the Trabant 1.1 was discontinued. In total, 3.7 million Trabant vehicles had been produced.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://krasivmir.tk/?p=361 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110414143248/http://krasivmir.tk/?p=361 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 14 April 2011 | title = Trabant}}</ref> However, it soon became apparent that there was no place for the Trabant in a reunified German economy. Its inefficient, labour-intensive production line had only survived thanks to government subsidies.

The [[Zwickau]] factory in Mosel (where the Trabant was manufactured) was sold to [[Volkswagen]] AG; the rest of the company became [[HQM Sachsenring GmbH]]. Volkswagen redeveloped the Zwickau factory into a centre for engine production; it also produces some [[Volkswagen Golf]]s and [[Volkswagen Passat|Passats]].

=== {{anchor|1990s and beyond}}1990s and later ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F086568-0046, Leipzig, ausgeschlachteter PKW Trabant (Trabbi).jpg|thumb|alt=Junked, vandalised car|Many Trabant vehicles were abandoned in Germany after 1989 (this one photographed in [[Leipzig]], 1990). A [[Volkswagen Golf Mk2|Volkswagen Golf]] can be seen parked in the background. Private brands like [[Volkswagen]] spilled over into East Germany after its state-owned auto industry collapsed.]]
[[File:Trabi World (Berlin-Mitte 2013) 1209-1089-(120).jpg|thumb|Trabi World, a tourist attraction in Berlin featuring a Trabant museum and a self-driven tour of Berlin in Trabants.]]
According to Richard Leiby, the Trabant had become "a symbol of the technological and social backwardness of the East German state."<ref>{{cite book|author=Richard A. Leiby|title=The Unification of Germany, 1989–1990|url=https://archive.org/details/unificationofger00leib|url-access=registration|year=1999|publisher=Greenwood|page=[https://archive.org/details/unificationofger00leib/page/185 185]|isbn=978-0-313-29969-8}}</ref> Trabants became a symbol of the GDR's serious flaws in the West after the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]], when many were abandoned by their Eastern owners who migrated west. Unlike the [[Lada Niva]], [[Škoda 120|Škoda Estelle]], [[Polski Fiat 125p|Polski Fiat]] ([[Fiat 125|design licensed]] from the Italian car manufacturer) and [[Zastava Koral|Yugo]], the Trabant had negligible sales in Western Europe.

A Trabant could be bought for as little as a few [[Deutsche Mark]]s during the early 1990s, and many were given away. Although prices recovered as they became collector's items, they remain inexpensive cars. In her ''Bodywork'' project, [[performance artist]] [[Liz Cohen]] transformed a 1987 Trabant into a 1973 [[Chevrolet El Camino]].<ref>{{cite news
 |last        = Keats
 |first       = Jonathon
 |title       = High-Performance Artist
 |publisher   = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]
 |date        = July 2003
 |url         = https://www.wired.com/2003/07/high-performance-artist/
 |access-date = 1 December 2016
 |url-status     = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20161201143910/https://www.wired.com/2003/07/high-performance-artist/
 |archive-date = 1 December 2016
}}</ref> The Trabant was planned to return to production in [[Uzbekistan]] as the Olimp during the late 1990s,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/1997/08/16/050.html |title=Trabant Clunks Back to Life |publisher=Moscowtimes.ru |access-date=2 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211234731/http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/1997/08/16/050.html |archive-date=11 February 2008  }}</ref> but only one model was produced.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://courses.wcupa.edu/rbove/eco343/040Compecon/Soviet/Uzbek/040900autos.txt |title=Automobile Industry in Uzbekistan |access-date=2 December 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110703225339/http://courses.wcupa.edu/rbove/eco343/040Compecon/Soviet/Uzbek/040900autos.txt |archive-date=3 July 2011  }}</ref>

[[File:Trabant P50 or 60 during the First Trabant Rally.jpg|thumb|alt=White Trabant with lettering, with the Capitol Building in the background|A Trabant during the first Parade of Trabants in 2007]]

Former Bulgarian [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Bulgaria)|Foreign Minister]] and [[Atlantic Club of Bulgaria]] founding president [[Solomon Passy]] owned a Trabant which was blessed by [[Pope John Paul II]] in 2002 and in which he took [[Secretary General of NATO|NATO Secretaries General]] [[Manfred Wörner]], [[George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen|George Robertson]], and [[Jaap de Hoop Scheffer]] for rides. In 2005, Passy donated the vehicle (which had become symbolic of Bulgaria's NATO accession) to the [[National Historical Museum (Bulgaria)|National Historical Museum of Bulgaria]].<ref name="vesti">{{cite news|url=http://www.vesti.bg/?tid=40&oid=752914|title=Соломон Паси подари трабанта си на НИМ|date=13 July 2005|publisher=Вести|language=bg|access-date=13 November 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718003113/http://www.vesti.bg/?tid=40&oid=752914|archive-date=18 July 2011}}</ref> In 1997, the Trabant was celebrated for passing the [[moose test]] without rolling over, as the [[Mercedes-Benz W168]] had; a [[Thuringia]]n newspaper's headline read, "Come and get us, moose! Trabi passes A-Class killer test".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.drive.com.au/drive/new-car-comparison/petite-feat-20100824-13odc.html |title=Petite feat |publisher=drive.com.au |date=6 May 2005 |access-date=2 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325180528/http://news.drive.com.au/drive/new-car-comparison/petite-feat-20100824-13odc.html |archive-date=25 March 2012  }}</ref>

The Trabant entered the world of [[diplomacy]] in 2007 when Steven Fisher, [[Deputy chief of mission|deputy head of mission]] at the British [[Embassy]] in [[Budapest]], used a 1.1 (painted as close to [[British racing green]] as possible) as his [[diplomatic car]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.politics.hu/20081204/british-deputy-ambassadors-ride-small-and-green |title=British Deputy Ambassador's ride small and green |publisher=Politics.Hu |access-date=28 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721112943/http://www.politics.hu/20081204/british-deputy-ambassadors-ride-small-and-green/ |archive-date=21 July 2011  }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url = http://totalcar.hu/magazin/szerelem/drtrabi/ | title = A brit nagykövethelyettes Trabantja ("The British Deputy Ambassador's Trabant") | publisher = TotalCar.hu Ltd. | first = Csikós | last = Zsolt | date = 10 November 2008 | access-date = 5 October 2012 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110812132127/http://totalcar.hu/magazin/szerelem/drtrabi/ | archive-date = 12 August 2011}}</ref> American Trabant owners celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall with the Parade of Trabants, an annual early-November rally held in [[Washington, D.C.]] The event, sponsored by the privately owned [[International Spy Museum]], includes street tours in Trabants, rides, live German music and displays about East Germany.<ref>{{cite web|date=7 November 2020|title=14th Annual Parade of Trabants|url=https://www.spymuseum.org/past-events/14th-annual-parade-of-trabants-virtual/2020-11-07/|access-date=15 April 2021|website=International Spy Museum|publisher=[[International Spy Museum]]}}</ref>

== Planned reintroduction ==
The [[Herpa]] company, a [[Bavaria]]n miniature-vehicle manufacturer, bought the rights to the Trabant name and showed a scale model of a "newTrabi" at the [[Frankfurt Motor Show#2007|2007 Frankfurt Motor Show]]. Plans for production included a limited run, possibly with a BMW engine.<ref name="IHT" /><ref name="Revamped" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Adam |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/world/europe/06iht-trabi.4.7409536.html?_r=0 |title=The 'Trabi' automobile, once a symbol of East Germany, to be revived |newspaper=The New York Times |date=6 September 2007 |access-date=5 October 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113043549/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/world/europe/06iht-trabi.4.7409536.html?_r=0 |archive-date=13 January 2015  }}</ref> A Trabant nT model was unveiled two years later in Frankfurt.<ref>{{cite web |title=Photo Gallery: Electric Trabant Unveiled at Frankfurt Motor Show |url=http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/photo-gallery-electric-trabant-unveiled-at-frankfurt-motor-show-fotostrecke-46708.html |publisher=Spiegel Online |date=16 September 2009 |access-date=5 October 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329000227/http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/photo-gallery-electric-trabant-unveiled-at-frankfurt-motor-show-fotostrecke-46708.html |archive-date=29 March 2014  }}</ref>

The Trabant nT [[consortium]] includes Herpa, the German specialized-auto-parts manufacturer IndiKar and the German automobile-engineering company [[IAV]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8201313.stm |title=German group develops new Trabant |publisher=news.bbc.co.uk |access-date=14 August 2009 | date=14 August 2009 | location=London}}</ref> The group was looking for investment, design and production in the Trabant's original hometown of Zwickau,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/frankfurt-motor-show/6023813/Smoke-belching-Trabant-to-be-reborn-as-electric-car.html |title=Smoke-belching Trabant to be reborn as electric car |work=telegraph|date=14 August 2009 |access-date=14 August 2009 |location=London |first=Allan |last=Hall |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817230516/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/frankfurt-motor-show/6023813/Smoke-belching-Trabant-to-be-reborn-as-electric-car.html |archive-date=17 August 2009  }}</ref> with sales "in 2012".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trabant-nt.de/374/en/the-project/trabant-nt.aspx |title=The "newTrabi" idea becomes the "Trabant nT" concept car |publisher=Trabant nT GmbH |access-date=5 October 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905125455/http://www.trabant-nt.de/374/en/the-project/trabant-nt.aspx |archive-date=5 September 2012  }}</ref> The Trabant nT [[electric car]] would be equipped with a {{Convert|45|kW|hp PS|0|abbr=on}} [[asynchronous motor]] powered by a [[lithium-ion battery]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-cars-all-electric-trabant-nt-gears-to-clean-20-year-old-mess |title=Eco Cars: All-electric Trabant NT Gears To Clean 20-year-old Mess |publisher=Ecofriend |date=17 September 2009 |access-date=14 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923140153/http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-cars-all-electric-trabant-nt-gears-to-clean-20-year-old-mess |archive-date=23 September 2009  }}</ref>

== Models ==
[[File:Fotothek df ps 0002918 Stadt ^ Stadtlandschaften ^ Camping.jpg|thumb|alt=A Trabant in Dresden in 1961|Trabant P 50 Universal, later known as the 500 Universal, at the [[Pirnaischer Platz]] in [[Dresden]] ([[Saxony]]) in 1961]]
[[File:16. Oldtimertreffen Hartmannsdorf - Trabant 1,1 Tramp links.jpg|thumb|Trabant Tramp / civilian Kübelwagen (doorless field car)]]
* P 50: Later known as the 500 (Limousine and Universal [Combi])
* 600 (Limousine and Universal)
* 601 Standard (Limousine, Universal)
** 601S (''Sonderwunsch''; Special Edition) with fog lamps, a rear white light and an odometer
** 601 DeLuxe: Similar to the 601S, with two colours and a chrome bumper
** 601 Kübel: Doorless jeep with a folding roof, auxiliary heating system and RFI-shielded ignition
** 601 Tramp: Civilian version of the Kübel, primarily exported to Greece
** 601 [[Hycomat]]: For drivers unable to use their left leg, with an [[automated manual transmission|automatic clutch]]
** 800RS: Rally version
* 1.1: Limousine, Universal and Tramp ([[convertible]])

== Prototype and concepts ==
Dozens of prototypes have been created over the years that have not gone into mass production.

* 1954 Trabant P50 prototype<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.paul-wouters.nl/trabantschema.htm |title=Trabant-modellen inclusief voorlopers en prototypen |access-date=2025-10-22 |website=www.paul-wouters.nl}}</ref>
* 1954 Trabant P50 Universal prototype
* 1961 Trabant P100
* 1965 Trabant P602V
* 1967 Trabant P603 Prototype
* 1970 Trabant P760
* 1971 Trabant P610 Prototype 
* 1981 Trabant P601 Z 
* 1982 Trabant 601 WE II Prototype<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.favcars.com/trabant-601-we-ii-prototype-1982-pictures-44078 |access-date=2025-10-22 |website=www.favcars.com |title=Trabant 601 WE II Prototype 1982 pictures}}</ref>
* 1988 Trabant 1.1 E
Non official prototypes:
* 2009 Trabant nT Concept
* 2022 Trabant P50e Concept

=== Gallery prototypes ===
<gallery>
P 50.jpg|Trabant P 50
P 1.1 Trabant Kubelwagen.jpg|Trabant P 1.1 Kubelwagen
P 601 Trabant WE II - front.jpg|Trabant P 601 WE II
Trabant500Pickup.jpg|Trabant 500 Pickup
Trabant P50 Kombi vr bicolor TCE.jpg|Trabant P 50 Kombi
Trabant nT.JPG|Trabant nT
</gallery>

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="200" heights="145">
File:Trabant 600 Kombi hr.jpg|alt=White-and-red station wagon|600 universal
File:Berlin Wall Trabant grafitti.jpg|alt=See caption|Graffiti of a Trabant driving through the Berlin Wall
File:Trabant601K.jpg|alt=White station wagon|601S universal, with sliding roof
File:Trabant601.jpg|alt=White sedan|601 Deluxe limousine
File:Trabant 601 Kübelwagen.JPG|alt=Green jeep|601 Kübel
File:Trabant 1.1 Universal (02).JPG|alt=White station wagon|1.1 universal
File:East Berlin Trabant Foursome.png|Trabants in an East Berlin, East Germany parking lot during the freedom summer of 1990 (between the fall of The Wall and German Reunification)
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{portal|Cars|East Germany}}
* [[August Horch Museum Zwickau]]
* [[Jokes about the Trabant]]
* [[List of automobiles known for negative reception]]
* [[Ostalgie]]
* [[Soybean car]]
* [[Yugo]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* Berdahl, Daphne. "'Go, Trabi, Go!': Reflections on a Car and Its Symbolization over Time." ''Anthropology and Humanism'' 25.2 (2000): 131–141. [http://is.muni.cz/el/1423/podzim2013/SOC762/re/s3/Berdahl__2001__Go_Trabi_Go._Reflections_on_a_Car_and_Its_Symbolization_over_Time._Anthropology_and_Humanism_25_2__131-141.pdf online]
* {{citation|surname1=Lisse, Jürgen|title=Fahrzeuglexikon Trabant |edition=2. erweiterte|publisher=Bildverlag Böttger|location=Witzschdorf|year=2010|isbn=978-3-937496-34-4|language=de}}
* {{cite news |last1=Logerot |first1=Raphaelle |last2=Colborne |first2=Femke |title=35 Years Later, Beloved East German Car Still Sputters On |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/35-years-later-beloved-east-german-car-still-sputters-on-bacd6fb1 |access-date=8 October 2025 |work=[[Barron's]] |agency=[[Agence France Presse|AFP]] |date=2 October 2025 |language=en-us}}
* {{citation|surname1=Röcke, Matthias|title=Die Trabi-Story. Der Dauerbrenner aus Zwickau |publisher=Parragon|location=Bath|year=2011|isbn=978-1-4454-6266-0|language=de|id=vormals in zwei Auflagen erschienen im Heel Verlag}}
* Rubin, Eli. "The Trabant: Consumption, Eigen-Sinn, and Movement." ''History Workshop Journal'' (2009) 68#1 pp 27–44. [https://hwj.oxfordjournals.org/content/68/1/27.full online]
*{{Cite book|title=The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall|last=Sarotte|first=Mary Elise|publisher=Basic Books|year=2014|location=New York|pages=291|isbn=978-0-465-06494-6|language=en}}
* {{citation|surname1=Stiegler, Theo|title=Der Trabant wird 50! In guten wie in schlechten Zeiten |publisher=edition Sächsische Zeitung/Saxo’Phon|location=Dresden|year=2007|isbn=978-3-938325-36-0|language=de}}
* Zatlin, Jonathan R. "The vehicle of desire: The Trabant, the Wartburg, and the end of the GDR." ''German History'' 15.3 (1997): 358–380. [http://gh.oxfordjournals.org/content/15/3/358.short online]
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{External links|date=August 2020}}
{{Commons and category|Trabant|Trabant}}
*[http://www.ifaclub.co.uk/ UK-based official Wartburg, Trabant and IFA owners' club]
* [http://www.trabantforums.com/ TrabantForums] TrabantForums.com
* [http://www.gizmohighway.com/autos/trabant.htm History of the Trabant]
* [http://totalcarmagazine.com/eastofeden/2013/09/18/the_story_behind_east_germany_s_iconic_trabant/ The story behind Trabant]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121017123108/http://home.clara.net/peterfrost/trabant.html Sachsenring Trabant site]
* [http://www.ifavereniging.nl/ IFA Mobile 2-takt Vereniging, de oudste vereniging voor Oost-Duitse auto's]
* [http://www.trabant.cz/ Trabant history and prospects] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130052052/http://trabant.cz/ |date=30 January 2009 }}
* [http://trabantberlin.de/unsere-oldtimer/p601s-rudi/ Technical Data and additional Information about Trabant 601.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119043823/http://trabantberlin.de/unsere-oldtimer/p601s-rudi/ |date=19 November 2010 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150512225839/http://www.team.net/www/ktud/601_1.html Technical details and pictures of the Trabant 601]
* [http://micromaniacsclub.co.uk/ British microcar club that welcomes trabant owners and drivers]
* [http://www.ausedcar.com/blog/trabant-east-germanys-finest.html Trabant – East Germany's Finest]
;Media
* [http://www.601.pl/ Interactive presentation of Red Pearl Trabant 601z]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071025031530/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9158103117341857527 Trabant TV ad] at [[Google Videos]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110627063110/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6220796499007505990 Trabant test drive] at [[Google Videos]]
* {{YouTube|id=BqAs3KOwzLs|title=Production of the Trabant car (Final Quality Testing)}}

{{Automotive industry in Germany}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1960s cars]]
[[Category:1970s cars]]
[[Category:1980s cars]]
[[Category:1990s cars]]
[[Category:Cars introduced in 1957]]
[[Category:Front-wheel-drive vehicles]]
[[Category:Ostalgie]]
[[Category:Sachsenring vehicles]]
[[Category:1957 establishments in East Germany]]