Trabant
The Trabant was produced from late 1957 by the government in the former Eastern block country of East Germany. The Trabant (also known popularly as the Trabbi) was a particularly basic yet functional car with front wheel drive. The Trabant engine was the prewar DKW derived 2 stroke 2 cylinder of 500cc capacity . The body was virtually indestructible, consisting of a fibre reinforced plastic construction bonded onto a steel chassis. The engine was increased in capacity to 594cc in the early 1960's along with a new shape. Nothing much changed until 1987 when a replacement VW engine (as used in the Polo) was used, under licence. The Berlin wall came down in 1989 along with reunification which started at the end of 1990. Trabant production ended shortly afterwards in 1992, after the production of some 3 million units..
