Assetto Corsa: 1991 Trabant 601 RS at Oran Park

Motor racing flourished in Western Germany after World War 2, but the Eastern Bloc saw very little until the USSR fell in 1990. Produced by VEB Sachsenring from 1964 until 1991, the Trabant was by far the most iconic car of Eastern Germany, with over 2.8 million produced in that time. The Trabant was cheap and reliable, yet still had some forward thinking ideas, such as fully independent suspension and a lightweight duroplast body. Steel mills were rare in eastern europe, so to keep costs down Wolfgang Barthel came up with a cotton/plastic fiber material nearly as strong as fiberglass. The engine was a 600cc DKW 2 stroke, a popular design from the 1930's, which by the late 50's was already going out of style. 2 stroke engines burn oil at a hellacious rate, leaving blue smoke in their wake, and by the late 60's western car makers had upgraded their engines to 4 stroke, but no car maker in eastern europe had the money to develop this technology.

With little money and not many options, it's not a surprise that the Trabant was one of the few cars people raced in Eastern Germany during the 60's and 70's, and hilariously, some still compete during historic races today.

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