Uploaded December 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

---

When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Trabants were used as escape vehicles for a population that had been locked behind the Soviet Iron Curtain for decades. Trabants were ridiculed – a symbol of a socialist planned economy gone wrong. It seemed like a piece of ancient history compared to cars from the West. Yet when the Trabant launched it used upcycled innovative new materials to bring freedom of movement to a country ravaged by war and lacking basic raw materials. It had a modern front wheel drive design with rack and pinion steering. What were the Trabant’s origins, what updates nearly came to market, and what happened after production ended?

Trabant Optional Extra video: youtu.be/aJbrEjC0OCo

A special thanks to Tim Keil for helping me with information and photos for the video.

If you'd like to support what I do, and get early access to advert-free videos and exclusive channel updates, please consider supporting the channel from just $1 or 80p a month: patreon.com/bigcar

Support me using PayPal: paypal.com/paypalme/bigcartv
Big Car merch: teespring.com/stores/bigcartv
Twitter: twitter.com/bigcartv

My second channel - Little Car: youtube.com/littlecar

Sources:
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant_(Pkw)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horch
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_Union
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobilwerk_Zwickau
p70-coupe.hpage.com/der-p70/modellgeschichte.html
thomasnet.com/articles/plastics-rubber/all-about-polyester-resins
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duroplast
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/IFA_F_8
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/AWZ_P_70
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant_P_50
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant_P_50
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant_600
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant_600
pommerngreif.de/1server/web_trab/menue.html
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verf%C3%BCgbarkeit_von_Pkw_in_der_DDR
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant_601
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant_601
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sachsenring_(Unternehmen)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_96
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hycomat
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wartburg_353
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0koda_1000_MB
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGW-Auto
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Berlin_Wall
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunification
trabantteam-freital.de/extra/60jahretrabantrallyesport/index.html
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant_1.1
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpa
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant_nT

#bigcar