When the Berlin Wall finally opened in November 1989, one of the enduring images that played out on TV screens across the world, was the sight of hundreds of little Trabant 601s finding their way through the wall from East Germany into the West. It was this sight that brought awareness of the existence of East Germany’s own “people’s car” into the minds of those in the west. This Trabant 601 has certainly made a successful bid for freedom and is now looking for a new home. You will find it listed for sale here on Craigslist. It is located in Elkton, Kentucky, and is being offered for sale with a clean title. You can become a proud owner of this “Trabi” for $6,700. I really have to thank Barn Finder Roger for referring this car to us.
The Trabant body is made out of a material called Duraplast. The material itself is actually a clever invention. It is made of cotton waste and resin, and it can actually be pressed into shape in a mold, pretty well the same as metal panels. The advantage of this is that the panels don’t rust. The disadvantage is the fact that they aren’t biodegradable, and they emit toxic gases when burnt. Since we have no intention of setting this one on fire, that’s not a consideration. This Trabant is basically original, but it did undergo a repaint recently in its original color. The Trabant does look to be in good condition.
If you lived in East Germany in 1987, you would not have seen this Trabant sitting in a new car showroom. Car choice in East Germany at the time was so limited that Trabants were essentially pre-sold, and if you wanted one, the waiting time from order to delivery was 10 years. As you can see from this shot, the interior of a Trabant is pretty basic. This one appears to be in really good condition. I don’t think that the material on the seats is original, but it does look good. Also don’t be fooled into thinking that the hole in the dash is from someone fitting or removing a radio, because the Trabant came fresh from the factory with it. This must be a more luxurious version of the 601 because it has an under-dash storage tray. These were optional on the Trabant. Other options available on the Trabant when this one was built included intermittent wipers and hazard flashers…and that was about it.
The Trabant 601 was in production from 1963 until 1990, and it remained virtually unchanged throughout its life. When it was introduced it was actually considered to have some quite advanced engineering, being a front-wheel drive car. The transmission is a 4-speed manual, while the engine is a 594cc 2-cylinder 2-stroke air-cooled engine which produces 26hp. It’s a bit hard to see the engine, as it is obscured by the gas tank. Yes, the gas tank sits directly above the engine. I can’t see any possible problems with that. After all, motorcycles have been doing the same thing for years. This Trabant is a low mileage model, and the engine bay does look nice and clean. The owner says that the car has recently been fitted with new tires and new brakes.
In East Germany, the Trabant 601 was not a particularly rare car. When you manufacture a car for 27 years, and 2.8 million of them roll off the production line, then they can’t be called rare. However, after the fall of the Berlin wall, many Trabants were scrapped, as suddenly the residents of East Germany could buy western cars for the first time. Finding examples that have made their way out of Europe is not easy, and they have developed something of a cult following. Today a good Trabant 601 can easily fetch prices above $9,000, and there is every indication that these prices will continue to rise as more western countries seek to import them. That means that at the asking price, this Trabant 601 could be a canny buy.
Perhaps I’m wrong, but it’s been my observation that the Trabant fad has come and gone, making the market pretty thin for these oil burning two stroke smokers. I think this car is over-priced for the small market that appreciates them.
Here’s a use for a Trabant. This is a little shop in the former East Berlin in Alexanderplatz. The quickest way to know for sure whether you’re in East or West Berlin now are the traffic signals. If the walk signal is a fat little guy in a hat, you’re on the east side. There is still a couple miles of the wall left as a monument along the river. You never see ineresting cars anywhere on the streets. In two trips to Berlin this year I saw just one old car, a Citroen 2CV. Here’s one for sale in Santa Cruz, California. Check out the “Drive Safety” sign in the background!
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/cto/d/1980-trabant-for-sale/6741087099.html
Wow- you couldn’t be more wrong in your assertion. Trabant prices are going through the roof, as more and more are coming out of barns, fields and forests to be restored, because of their demand. Besides the nostalgia value, they are the last affordable antique German car you can fix yourself and readily get parts for. Fact: there are more Trabants than Teslas on German roads….
I remember very well the first time I drove on the Autobahn. It was the late ’80s and we had rented a VW Polo, but were carefully sticking to the two right-most lanes – trying to get used to the speeds after enduring several years of 55-MPH-U.S.-silliness. Up ahead, I noticed a huge cloud of gray-white smoke in the far right lane. It was so concentrated that I thought that its source must certainly be a vehicle on fire. Nope – it was just a Trabi, cruising at – maybe – 65 MPH or so – winding its little two-stroke heart out.
Used as city-cars, however, they seem to be OK, as I’ve seen quite a few of them buzzing around western Europe in the years since. In any case, GLWTS – and purchase.
Cool car. Too bad the CL post is already gone.
For five hundred buck I would buy it, perform back half surgery and slap an Ls 3 in one, then it might be reliable! Definitely be fun then!
I have been a passenger on many an occasion while dating my ex-wife back in 1991. They have a top speed of 50 miles per hour….and that is going down hill with a strong wind. The material they are made from also has a tendency to expand so doors can stick and they are a finicky vehicle especially in cold weather. Good luck to the happy new owner. By the way, the market price should not be more than 2K if the vehicle is in prime condition. I do have a manual if anyone is interested.
Just my luck. A car finally pops up just 26 miles from me and it’s the last car I would ever buy (at least at the price quoted). A good candidate for my fantasy “Barn Finds Museum” though.
I was there when the wall fell. As I was driving in, the sight of hundreds of two stroke belching Trabants coming towards me was amazing to see. Heres the thing, it takes hours of driving to get out of West Berlin. Normally the speed through East Germany was strictly enforced, but during this crazy time, no one was minding the freeway. So these Trabi’s, which were never designed for prolonged high speed driving, were expiring up left and right along the road. Many had their hoods up, and dozens and dozens were on fire, the overheated engines gas tanks setting the plastic bodies on fire. No one was stopping to help, everyone just wanted out as there was a real fear that the wall would close again.
They were/are a terrible, car, much worse than a Yugo and could be bought for little or nothing. I was at the wall at the Brandenburg Gate ( still have my chunk of concrete sledge hammered from the wall) and walked on Europa Strasse during the enormous unscripted freedom celebrations, it was unforgettable and life changing.
That’s very cool, Jay E. I too have a small chunk that a friend hammered off the night the Wall came down. That was some tougharse concrete…took him everything just to check a small bit out of it.
He flew there on a whim, partied on the Wall and then flew back the next day so he could go to the Rose Bowl game with his alma mater USC representing. He was my hero for those couple days…lol
That is literally a once in a lifetime experience. (much like the Leafs winning the cup). Seriously, that must have been quite a sight.
Mr mayor, make plans for the parade
Leafs last Cup. Was that before or shortly after Confederation?:)
Lynn Dockey, you’re referring to Winnipeg’s Mayor, right? :)
If it doesn’t start u can beat it with a 5 lb sledgehammer just like in the bond movie
Sounds like its made out of papier Mache- bad idea. Hope it fnds a new home- don’t leave it out in the rain!! Cheers
GPC
Trabies are an unusual car in that the body is made wood pulp Mache and tends to crack and decay quite easily. It was the peoples car of the DDR. These cars are so unsafe that the US Army would not allow US Forces to purchase and register them in West Germany. I have driven a Trabie that belong to my relative from the East. Its like driving a truck that has the control pedals in the center of the floor board and the shifter on the dash panel. Its like driving side saddle, not right side or left side but middle side. And of course its a 2 stroke that requires you to manually mix the oil and benzene. Awkward to drive but fun once you acclimate to the drive.
It’s just the outer panels that are made from Duroplast; there’s a steel unibody underneath them.
Worth a pair of pants at least….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yiOPgUs1lA
this is fun too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSCPb5rsgrQ
I too have a chunk of the Wall-it came in a box with an HO scale Trabi….Bought it for my dad for his birthday (cold warrior) and inherited it when he passed.
I have a buddy in the Yukon who has one. Thought to buy it and put in a Ducati or maybe a Guzzi twin in the trunk. Would be fun just to see the faces of those who know when they hear a twin instead of a 2 stroke. Stupid fun fun idea.
Don’t buy it if you live on a farm,the goats will eat it!
I’m 65 years old, was born in the former GDR and lived there for 36 years behind the iron curtain. Sorry for my poor English. It is true that a Trabant was pitiful and a shame for a country that once was the cradle of cars. But never I have seen a Burning Trabant and when the commentator Jay E. is talking about dozens and dozens cars on fire then it might be owed to too much disaster films. If you wan’t to check his words then jump into google maps to search for the mentioned Europastraße in Berlin, where he said to have been, There is no Europastraße in Berlin. And when the talk revolves around fear then please take note that this day market the end of fears in Berlin. The day when the gates opened whas one of these rather surreal days and people at both sides of the city danced in the streets. When Jay E. is talking about a great sscape and hours of fast speed then don’t forget that Berlin was an isolated island amidst a communistic sea. To escape you need an airplane and not a car.
Well said.
Can Trabants be imported to California & used on public roads?
C.A.R.B. must love this car. Today, i bet 500 running daily drivers could bring back the smog of the ’70’s in So Cal. lol
20 years ago there was a class for these in German rallies. Sorta-tricked out units … expansion chambers, larger wheels/tires, etc. The rear swing axles were on OEM rubber biscuits — a lot like upper shock mounts. Semi-stable.