Trabant nT Concept Full Size Unveiling in Frankfurt

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The historic Trabant’s history

52 years ago, the first Trabant was manufactured and delivered by VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke

Zwickau. In the production period from November 1957 until April 1991, a total of 3,051,385 vehicles were produced. After the Fall of the Wall in 1989, the Trabant’s era drew to a close. Seemingly. However, there were still enough enthusiasts who cared for and maintained their “Trabi” for it to live on as cult car. Which is why even today approx. 52,000 vehicles of the Trabant series are still registered in Germany.

The types of the Trabant series

The Trabant P50 was the first type in the Trabant series which was manufactured by Sachsenring

P50 stands for passenger car with a cubic capacity of 500 m³. 131,440 examples were produced. The second Trabant edition was named “Trabant 600”. The significant distinguishing feature is the improved performance of the twin-cylinder two-stroke engine to 599 m³ with 23 HP. 106,626 examples were manufactured of that type. The most produced vehicle of Sachsenring’s vehicle series was the Trabant 601 with 2,818,547 examples. It entered mass production with 26 HP.

The successor model, the Trabant 1.1 received a VW engine. Next to the classic models Limousine (sedan) and Universal (formerly station wagon), the 1.1 was also available as Tramp, an open variant with folding top and loading platform. 39,474 examples were manufactured. On April 30, 1991, after more than 33 years, the Trabant production and with it Sachsenring’s vehicle manufacturing, ended.

Previous history of the “Trabant nT” – “newTrabi”

A lot of time had to pass in the unified country first before the Trabant turned out to be a distinctive contemporary witness and an object of affection. All quiet at first, covered by the GDR’s supposed collective end, the “Trabi” ripened and became a worldwide cult car with the history of the two Germans states entwining around it and leaving its mark in countless interesting life stories. Due to the long professional experience with the popularity of automobiles and its fans, it was no surprise that it was the miniature manufacturer Herpa who began to sense the special character of the Trabant brand. Herpa developed a perspective for the cult car for the “50th Trabant anniversary” on November 7, 2007, and presented it as “Initiative newTrabi” at the IAA 2007. The overwhelming response of many thousands of interviewees around the IAA 2007 suggested the initiative’s continuation so the “newTrabi” idea became a project with capable partners from the Autoland

Saxony resulting in the development of the “Trabant nT” concept car.

PROJECT „TRABANT nT“

Initiators

IndiKar – Individual Karosseriebau GmbH

IndiKar has already made a superb name for itself as a manufacturer of individual car bodies – but is also a highly competent contact for building prototypes. Thrilled by the “newTrabi” idea, it was here that the concept car of the Trabant successor “Trabant nT” was developed.

D-08112 Wilkau-Haßlau • Am Schmelzbach 85 • phone: 0375/60680 • www.indikar.de

Nils Poschwatta Design

Nils Poschwatta was born in Schwerin and majored in industrial design. Beginning in 2002, he worked for VW as a “Transportation Designer”. Out of enthusiasm for the newTrabi, he decided to devote himself to the project full-time and came up with the entire design-work for the “Trabant nT”.

Herpa Miniaturmodelle GmbH

Herpa is a manufacturer of high-quality vehicle- and airplane miniatures based in Dietenhofen, Bavaria. In 2007, Herpa had the idea of putting the Trabant back on the road again in a new shape. A first draft of the “newTrabi” obtained so much approval, that the idea has become a project for the German motor industry.