Melkus RS 1000 is a

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

produced by

Melkus Melkus was a marque of single seat racing cars and sport cars founded by the race driver Heinz Melkus in Dresden in East Germany. The company existed from 1959 to 1986, and then from 2009 to 2012. The cars originally used engines from Wartbur ...

. It is powered by a tuned, mid-mounted 3-cylinder 2-stroke 992 cm³ engine, similar to the one in the

Wartburg 353 The Wartburg 353, known in some export markets as the Wartburg Knight, is a medium-sized family car, produced by the East German car manufacturer AWE for their Wartburg brand. It was the successor of the Wartburg 311, and was itself succeeded ...

, and features

gull-wing doors In the automotive industry, a gull-wing door, also known as a falcon-wing door or an up-door, is a car door that is hinged at the roof rather than the side, as pioneered by Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, first as a race car in 1952 ( W194), and then a ...

. 101 cars were made between 1969 and 1979 in the

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

factory.

Technical description

The RS 1000 has a traditional

ladder frame A vehicle frame, also historically known as its ''chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism. Until the 1930s, virtually every car had a ...

and features a body-on-frame design. Being a racecar, it has a roll bar integrated into the windscreen frame and an addition roll bar installed behind the driver's seat. The RS 1000 has independent front and rear suspension, coil springs, stabilisers and drum brakes. The gearbox is a 5-speed manual; the clutch is the same as in the

Barkas B 1000 The Barkas B 1000 is a forward control panel van made by the East German manufacturer VEB Barkas-Werke in Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and ...

. A specially-tuned version of the water-cooled, two-stroke 992 cm³ AWE353/1

Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the p ...

engine is used. Unlike the standard, single-carb Wartburg engine, it has three

carburettor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meterin ...

s, as well as a higher compression ratio. This engine produces at 4500 min⁻¹ and gives a maximum torque of 118 N·m (87 lb ft.) at 3500 min⁻¹.

Fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

was used as the body material. The top speed is 165 km/h.

After the ''Wende''

The RS 1000 did not have an immediate successor. However, in time for the 50 year jubilee a limited series of 15 RS 1000 have been made. The first sports car of this series was presented on November 26, 2006. In 2009, the production of the indirect successor, the ''Melkus RS 2000'' began. The production was halted in 2012 when Melkus registered as insolvent.Legende stellt Insolvenzantrag
/ref> A Melkus RS 1000 is featured in the music video for ATC's 2000 hit, "

Around the World (La La La La La) "Around the World (La La La La La)" is the debut single of German-based international Eurodance group ATC (also known as A Touch of Class). The song is a cover of the Russian hit "Pesenka" by Ruki Vverh! and uses the song's melody with addition ...

References

External links

Melkus homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melkus Rs 1000 Sports cars Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles Automobiles with gull-wing doors 1960s cars 1970s cars Goods manufactured in East Germany