The Horch P240 or Sachsenring P240 was a

luxury car A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars. The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the ...

built by the VEB Kraftfahrzeugwerk Horch Zwickau 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 ...

between 1955 and 1959. The early preproduction models can be identified by the grill, which is divided in two and has vertical bars. Despite a provision issued by the

Comecon The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (, ; English abbreviation COMECON, CMEA, CEMA, or CAME) was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under the leadership of the Soviet Union that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc along wi ...

limiting production of luxurious cars in Czechoslovakia to no more than 300 per year, Tatra was manufacturing more units than the limit. This became an issue in 1957 and 1958, especially considering

was producing the Sachsenring P240 as its own luxurious car. The Comecon decided that the two countries must reach a deal to decide which country would continue production to supply the other with luxurious passenger vehicles. In 1958 the Ministries of Interior of both countries took part in trials, which the East German Minister of Machinery personally attended. The

Tatra 603 The Tatra 603 is a large rear-engined luxury car which was produced by the Czechoslovak company Tatra from 1956 to 1975. It was a continuation of the series of Tatra streamlined sedans which began with the Tatra 77. In Socialist Czechoslovakia, ...

won, and subsequently East Germany's higher communist officials began to drive the T603, while lower officials had to drive imports from the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

(especially

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

). 1957 Horch Sachsenring P240 IMG 0308.jpg, Horch (7907437176).jpg, SR-P240.jpg, P240 Sachsenring.JPG, Sachsenring P240 Sachsenring P 240 in August Horch Museum Zwickau.jpg, Bundeswehrmuseum Dresden 28.jpg, Sachsenring P 240 Repräsentant (1969)

References

External links

UK-based official Wartburg, Trabant and IFA owners' club

Photograph of a P240 sedan in the August Horch Museum in Zwickau
Sachsenring vehicles {{Classicpow-auto-stub