The AWZ P70 "Zwickau" is a small family car which was produced in
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
by ''VEB Automobilwerke Zwickau (AWZ)'' between 1955 and 1959.
It succeeded the
IFA
IFA or Ifa may refer to:
Organisations
Economics
* Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK
* Index Fund Advisors
* Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK
* Institute of Ac ...
F8 using the same 684 cc two-cylinder,
two-stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being comple ...
engine but with a completely new
Duroplast
Duroplast is a composite thermosetting plastic, a close relative of Formica and Bakelite. It is a resin plastic reinforced with fibers (either cotton or wool) making it a fiber-reinforced plastic similar to fiberglass.
Uses
Duroplast was used by ...
body on a wooden frame and plywood floor. The engine produced .
The saloon was introduced in 1955, followed by an estate version in 1956 and a coupé in 1957. After the
Chevrolet Corvette (C1)
The Chevrolet Corvette (C1) is the first generation of the Corvette sports car produced by Chevrolet. It was introduced late in the 1953 model year, and produced through 1962. This generation is commonly referred to as the "solid-axle" generati ...
, the P70 was one of the first cars to be built using an all plastic body.
In 1958 AWZ was united with the former Horch factory to become the
VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau
HQM Sachsenring GmbH is a Zwickau-based company that supplies chassis and body parts to the automotive industry. The company was named after the Sachsenring race track. Founded as VEB Sachsenring after the end of World War II, Sachsenring was one ...
and the AWZ P70 became the ''Sachsenring P70''.
The P70 was replaced by the
Trabant P 50
The Trabant P 50 (), also known as the Trabant 500, is the first series production model of the East German Trabant series, made by VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. It was produced from 1957 until 1962; in total, 131,495 units were built ( ...
in 1959 after 36,151 examples had been produced.
File:P 70 (7906422426) (2).jpg, AWZ P70 Zwickau estate
File:AWZ P70 Coupe.jpg, AWZ P70 Coupé
File:AWZ P70 1957.jpg, AWZ P70 serial number plate
References
{{commons category, AWZ P70
P70
Cars introduced in 1956