The Dacia 500 Lăstun () was a small

city car The A-segment is the first category in the passenger car classification system defined by the European Commission. It is used for city cars, the smallest category of passenger cars defined. A-segment sales represented approximately 4.2% of the ...

manufactured by Tehnometal,

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

, under the auto marque

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...

. The name derives from the Romanian for

house martin ''Delichon'' is a small genus of passerine birds that belongs to the swallow family and contains four species called house martins. These are chunky, bull-headed and short-tailed birds, blackish-blue above with a contrasting white rump, and ...

, a small bird related to swallows.

History

The Lăstun was a low-cost

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n car for urban transport built between 1988 and 1991, featuring a two-cylinder air-cooled engine of 499 cc, producing , fuel consumption of , a maximum speed and fiberglass bodywork similar to the Lancia Y10. A stretched bodywork prototype 500 Lăstun was exhibited at the 1989 Bucharest trade fair. Another prototype from the early 1990s featured hubcaps, body-coloured bumpers, and head restraints. The Lăstun was marketed with the advertising slogan was "Un Autoturism de Actualitate" (A Contemporary Vehicle). Production continued until 1992. Due to its size, the Lăstun was primarily a city car, suitable for use as a second car. In 1989 cars received side lights, and in 1991 the Lăstun was lightly restyled to the front, the only modification being a new bonnet with a one-piece grille. Also the small 0.5L engine had some carburateur break-downs, which brought the average petrol consumption to almost , making the car less economical than the long running

Dacia 1300 The Dacia 1300 () is a medium-sized family automobile, car based on the Renault 12 that was built during the Cold War by Romanian auto maker Dacia (car), Dacia. The "1300" stands for the engine displacement. The first Dacia 1300 left the assembly ...

series. Tehnometal manufactured a total of 6,532 vehicles.

Engines

Historical context and public reception

The Dacia Lăstun was developed during the final years of Romania's communist regime, as part of a broader effort to produce affordable and fuel-efficient vehicles for urban use. Its launch in 1988 came at a time when the country was facing severe economic austerity, fuel rationing, and increasing pressure to modernize domestic industry. The car’s compact size and low fuel consumption (marketed at 3 L/100 km and a top speed of 70 km/h) reflected these priorities. Despite its promising concept, the Lăstun quickly became unpopular due to poor build quality, lack of reliability, and limited performance. Many units suffered from rust, engine problems, and electrical failures, leading to negative public perception. The production run was short—between 1988 and 1991—and less than 7,000 units were built, reflecting its commercial failure. Today, the Dacia Lăstun remains a symbol of Romania's late‑communist automotive ambitions, often remembered more for its shortcomings than its intended innovation.

References

External links

Dacia 500 Lăstun
at autoevolution.com
Dacia 500
at automobileromanesti.ro {{DEFAULTSORT:Dacia Lastun Timișoara Lastun Cars of Romania Front-wheel-drive vehicles City cars Hatchbacks 1990s cars Cars introduced in 1986 Cars powered by 2-cylinder engines Cars discontinued in 1991