The Trabant 600 (), also known as the Trabant P 60, is the second series production model of the East German
Trabant
Trabant () is a series of small cars produced from 1957 until 1991 by former East German car manufacturer VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. In total, four different models were made, the Trabant 500, Trabant 600, Trabant 601, and the Tra ...
series, made by
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 ...
. It was produced from 1962 until 1965; in total, 106,117 units were built.
[Werner Oswald (ed.): Kraftfahrzeuge der DDR. 2nd edition. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2000, , p. 41] The Trabant 600 was a short-lived intermediate model that combined the exterior styling of the Trabant P 50 with the technical design of the next generation Trabant model, the
Trabant 601
The Trabant 601 (or Trabant P601 series) was a Trabant model produced by VEB Sachsenring in Zwickau, Saxony. It was the third generation of the model, built for the longest production time, from 1964 to 1990. As a result, it is the best-known Trab ...
. For a short period of time, the Trabant 600 estate was built alongside the 601 saloon.
Models
Unlike the Trabant P 50 – which was available with factory options – the Trabant 600 was offered in three distinct models: Standard, De Luxe, and Camping, with the latter only being available with the estate body. At the end of the production run, an estate De Luxe was priced at 9,775
Mark der Deutschen Notenbank.
Technical description
Body
The Trabant 600 is a small, two-axle car with a self-supporting body, a front engine, and front-wheel drive. It was made in two body-styles, two-door
saloon (''Limousine'') and three-door
estate (''Universal''). The Trabant body has a skeleton-like steel frame with body panels made of
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 ...
, a material made from cotton waste and
phenol
Phenol (also called carbolic acid) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () bonded to a hydroxy group (). Mildly acidic, it req ...
resins. Instead of a regular grille and a radiator, the Trabant 600 has small cooling vents below its headlamps. The bonnet is bent around the front, and reaches down to the front bumper. The
drag coefficient
In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient (commonly denoted as: c_\mathrm, c_x or c_) is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment, such as air or water. It is used in the drag equ ...
(c
d) of the P 50 body in the saloon form is 0.55...0.60.
[Werner Oswald (ed.): Kraftfahrzeuge der DDR. 2nd edition. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2000, , p. 53] The paintwork of the Trabant 600 is slightly different from the P 50's with narrow, more rectangular-shaped stripes on its sides.
Interior and exterior
Compared with its predecessor, the Trabant 600 got a new dashboard with a dedicated instrument cluster, and a slot for a radio. The seats were redesigned to improve the rear passengers' leg room.
[Jan Tuček: Auta východního bloku. Grada Publishing a.s., 2009, , p. 108] According to the contemporary sales brochure, the estate has a usable interior volume of 1.4 m
3. Customers could order the Trabant 600 with one of six different paint colour combinations.
Engine
![Trabant 600 (engine) - 002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Trabant_600_%28engine%29_-_002.jpg)
VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau installed a
VEB Barkas-Werke-made P 60-series engine in the Trabant 600. It is similar in design to the P 50 engine used in the Trabant P 50; it is an air-cooled, two-cylinder, two-stroke petrol engine with a rotary intake valve, cross-flow scavenging, a simple crankshaft, and a horizontal draught carburettor. The biggest difference between a P 50 and a P 60 engine is that the latter has conrods with needle bearings. The P 60's engine block is made of grey cast iron with cast-on aluminium cooling fins. The bore is 72 mm with a piston stroke of 73 mm. The engine has a compression of ε=7.6 and runs on petrol with a
research octane number
An octane rating, or octane number, is a standard measure of a fuel's ability to withstand compression in an internal combustion engine without detonating. The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can withstand before detonating. ...
of 78. For engine cooling, the P 60 series engine is fitted with a belt-driven fan.
With a P 60 series engine, a Trabant can reach a top speed of around 100 km/h, with a fuel consumption of approximately 8.5 L/100 km;
the rated fuel consumption (DIN 70030) is 6.8 L/100 km.
;Engine specifications
Drivetrain
The torque is sent from the engine to the gearbox with a single-disc dry clutch. All Trabant 600 cars were fitted with a four-speed manual, column-shifted gearbox. It has synchromesh on all four gears and is fitted with a freewheeling device. The freewheeling device is permanently activated and cannot be switched off to prevent engine failure caused by erroneous freewheeling device operation. From the gearbox, the torque is sent to the front wheels.
Suspension
The Trabant 600 has independent front, and rear suspension. In rear, it has a simple swing-arm axle with two single wishbones (one for each wheel), and a single transverse leaf spring (one for both wheels). It gives the car its distinct negative rear wheel camber when unladen. In front, the wheels are controlled by two single wishbones (one for each wheel), and a single transverse leaf spring (one for both wheels). All wheels are fitted with hydraulic shock absorbers. The steering system is a rather precise rack-and-pinion system that, due to the car's small size, is not power-assisted. VEB Sachsenring installed 4J × 13 in wheels with 5.20–13 in tyres. The car has a ground clearance of 150 mm and a turning diameter of 10 m. The 600 has hydraulically operated 200 mm drum brakes on all four wheels.
Production figures
References
External links
{{Authority control
Trabant 600– Sales brochure, ca. 1962
Cars of Germany
Cars introduced in 1962
Economy of East Germany
1960s cars
Front-wheel-drive vehicles