The Trabant 1.1 () is the fourth and final series production model of the East German

Trabant Trabant () is a series of B-segment, small cars produced from 1957 until 1991 by former East Germany, East German car manufacturer HQM Sachsenring GmbH, VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. Four models were made: the Trabant P 50, Trabant 50 ...

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, and operating out ...

. Unlike its predecessors, which have a two-stroke engine, the Trabant 1.1 has a four-stroke engine. In total, 39,474 units of the Trabant 1.1 were made from May 1990 to 30 April 1991. This makes the 1.1 the rarest Trabant model. Most Trabant 1.1 were exported to Poland and Hungary. In Germany, it did not sell very well; in 1990, the 1.1 saloon was offered at a price of DM 10,887, which, at the time, was considered overpriced.

Technical description

The Trabant 1.1 is a small compact car that uses the

front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout In automotive design, a front-engine, front-wheel-drive (FWD) layout, or FF layout, places both the internal combustion engine and driven roadwheels at the front of the vehicle. Usage implications Historically, this designation was used rega ...

. It was made in ''limousine'', ''universal'', and ''tramp'' body styles. The limousine is a two-door saloon, the universal a three-door estate, and the tramp is a doorless ATV off-road-like vehicle with a canvas roof. Oswald 2000, p. 62. Like its predecessors, the 1.1 has a self-supporting body with a steel frame, and body parts made of

duroplast Duroplast is a composite thermosetting resin plastic developed by engineer Wolfgang Barthel in 1953 in the German Democratic Republic. Its production method places it in a similar family as Formica and Bakelite. It is reinforced with fibers (typi ...

. In front, the Trabant has independent suspension with

MacPherson struts The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles. The name comes from American automotive engineer ...

and triangular control arms; in rear, it has independent suspension with coil springs mated with hydraulic shock absorbers and diagonal control arms. The braking system is a dual-circuit hydraulic system with

disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the #Calipers, calipers to squeeze pairs of #Brake pads, pads against a disc (sometimes called a

rake Rake may refer to: Common meanings * Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game ...

rotor) to create friction. There are two basic types of brake pad friction mechanisms: abrasive f ...

s on the front, and drums on the rear wheels. A

rack-and-pinion rack and pinion is a type of linear actuator that comprises a circular gear (the '' pinion'') engaging a linear gear (the ''rack''). Together, they convert between rotational motion and linear motion: rotating the pinion causes the rack to be ...

system is used for steering. The wheelsize is . The Trabant is powered by a carburetted, water-cooled, Barkas B820 four-cylinder,

OHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustio ...

Otto engine The Otto engine is a large stationary single-cylinder internal combustion engine, internal combustion four-stroke engine, designed by the German Nicolaus Otto. It was a low-RPM machine, and only fired every other stroke due to the Otto cycle, a ...

(a version of the VW EA 111 engine produced under licence). This engine displaces 1.05 litres and is rated at and produces a maximum torque of . The torque is transmitted from the engine to the front wheels with a dry single-disc clutch and a manual four-speed gearbox. Unlike the Trabant 601, the 1.1 does not have a column mounted gear shifter, instead, it uses a floormounted gearshift lever on the right-hand side of the driver's seat. The fuel consumption is rated at , the top speed is , and the acceleration from 0–100 km/h (62 mph) is said to be 22 seconds. Oswald 2000, p. 64.

Gallery

20190530 Dresden - Die Welt der DDR - 018.jpg, Trabant 1.1 engine Trabant Trabbi Budapest 085.jpg, Trabant 1.1 Universal Trabant 1.1 Universal (02).JPG, Trabant 1.1 Universal (rear view) 1990 Trabant 601 1.1 (12504291905).jpg, Trabant 1.1 Limousine (rear view)

References

External links

{{Authority control Cars of Germany Cars introduced in 1990 Economy of East Germany 1990s cars Front-wheel-drive vehicles Cars discontinued in 1991 Saloons Station wagons Sachsenring vehicles