Little illustrates the difference between West Germany and East Germany as much as the cars of the respective states. With the reunification 30 years ago, the streetscape in the new all-Germany changed visibly. 2-stroke cars rattled through Hamburg, Porsche and Mercedes raced towards the East.
East Germany also used to have more luxurious sedans. Some were imported from the West, while others were bought from other Eastern states. All in all, they were much rarer than in the West. But no less beautiful. Below are five great cars from East Germany. We explain what they once meant to East Germany and what became of the manufacturers. And how much used examples cost today.
Melkus RS 1000: The most beautiful Wartburg since Lotus was invented
The legend behind the creation of East Germany’s most spectacular car: In 1963, at the airfield race in Vienna Aspern, East Germany’s star racing driver Heinz Melkus (1928-2005) saw the Lotus Elan – the light flounder from Colin Chapman’s design office. He thought to himself: I could build that, as well.
However, the political leadership in his home country had to permit before he was allowed to do so. The exclusive sports cars were only partly compatible with the understanding of socialism at the time. The budding designer’s hero status helps the hang-up even more: Officially, the Melkus RS 1000 is built from 1969 in honor of the 20th anniversary of the founding of East Germany.
Optically, the 850-kilogram sports car measures up to Lotus and Lambo, but under the body is a Wartburg 353. A three-cylinder two-stroke engine is located in front of the rear axle. This 1.0-liter unit delivers 70 hp in the road version and up to 90 hp in the motorsport variant.
By way of comparison, a V8 engine between the axles of a Ford GT40 produced a scant 380 hp at the time. Overall international victories and global attention failed to materialize. Yet in its displacement class, Melkus was a weapon, in its home country a dream car.
At 30,000 East Marks, this gullwing with a lattice tube frame didn’t cost that much more than an imported limo. However, the sports car was first only sold to selected racing drivers. Later, several examples found their way into the garages of high-ranking party officials. 101 examples are said to have been built between 1969 and 1979; two exactly identical models from the original series will be hard to find.
The Dresden production facility often had to improvise. The Eisenach plant’s fixed parts quotas only in the early phase. The engineers are also experimenting with the available assemblies: Optionally, brakes from the Polski Fiat 126 P decelerate at the front instead of Wartburg stoppers. Meanwhile, Melkus installs engines from BMW, Moskwitsch and WAS.
The second life of the Melkus RS 1000 begins in 2006: Founder-brother Peter Melkus manufactures replicas according to original plans. On the used car market, originals like replicas are rare. There were one perfectly preserved example for sale, number 43 from the first series was priced at 145,000 euros.
Barely three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany’s only sports car brand is merging with its technical role model: Heinz Melkus’ grandson Sepp offers the Melkus RS 2000, which is a modern small-series adaptation based on a Lotus Elise 111R. The Lotus Elan, which was the initial spark of inspiration, has long since ceased to exist in that spring of 2010.
The Dacia 1300 and Dacia 1310: The Western car from the East
Four-door notchback sedan on Renault technology at reasonable prices: Dacia 1300 could be the blueprint for the Logan, the brand’s 2005 relaunch on the German market. But things were different in 1973. For one thing, the 23,450 Ostmark base price that the Dacia 1300 cost in East Germany was only competitive in relation to other import sedans.
Polski-Fiat near the 4.34-meter Dacia are similarly priced, and Skoda’s options are slightly cheaper. The Dacia is far from its current status as “Germany’s cheapest car”. To put it in perspective, the Trabant’s fighting price is around 10,000 Ostmarks.
In addition, Renault’s technology made the Dacia one of the most advanced cars on East German roads. Front-wheel drive cars with four-stroke engines were rare at the time. In concrete terms, the car was a licensed copy of the Renault 12 and its 1.3-liter basic four-cylinder with 54 hp.
Contemporary witnesses describe Dacia’s reliability as mediocre and its workmanship as poor. Nevertheless, it is one of the most popular import models in East Germany. One crucial reason: because of its Renault affinity, 1300 is considered by many to be a “Western car” – even if the production facility is in Pitești, Romania.
In 1978, the license expired, and Dacia continued to build the car. The model is now officially called 1310, with more plastic on the radiator grille and new body variants. There is an estate car and a pick-up, among other things. They start at 3,000 euros.
After the reunification, the popularity of the import Romanian decreases abruptly. Eastern Germans favor used cars from the West. However, this Dacia will still be produced on the domestic market until 2004. That is, virtually until the complete Renault takeover of Dacia.
Golf 1 for East Germany: 10,000 cars for a planetarium and tin presses
Western European manufacturers’ cars were rare in East Germany. Still, they existed: Western Germans could give gifts to their East German family members or friends through the Genex catalogue. From 1956 to 1990, the catalog contains models from Lancia, Fiat, Ford and VW. However, only a significant number of the VW Golf 1 made it into East Germany and into a free sale.
Volkswagen delivered 10,000 units in 1978, and the compact cost up to 31,500 East Marks, which was three times as much as a Trabant. In addition, the purchase price is preceded by another hurdle: East Germany management only makes the offer to selected people.
The Golf was too expensive for many of those selected. The VW only sells after a significant price reduction of 10,000 Ostmarks. That may be one reason why the East Germany grandees do not pursue the loose plan for license production. Volkswagen gains only limited access to the East Germany market. So the original deal was kept: in return for the five-digit number of Golf models, sheet metal presses, tooling and components for a planetarium were shipped to the West.
According to contemporary witnesses, VW manufactured the windows, and some of the panels were thinner than in the original. A gasoline or diesel engine with 50 hp is used for propulsion. The prices, ranging from 2,900 to just under 20,000 euros, show that the Light Golf has a cult following – and in some cases, is still affordable.
The Citroën CX Stretch-Limo: Honecker’s failed greeting to France
That stretched Citroën CX is considered the last official car of the penultimate East Germany head of state: SED Secretary-General Erich Honecker ordered two stretch versions of the Citroën from Swedish coachbuilder Nilsson in the mid-1980s. However, these 5.5-meter-long sedans (plus 40 centimeters compared to the original) remained stuck in customs for a long time. They do not arrive in East Germany until mid-1989.
That’s fitting: East Germany was celebrating its 40th anniversary in that year, but there weree already rumblings among the population. Foreign policy in East Germany was isolated, but French President Francois Mitterrand wanted to congratulate them personally in the fall. A worthy reception is befitting the noble Citroën with soft velour seats, fantastic legroom and one of the best cassette radios available in East Germany (from RFT Greifenstein).
A 2.5-liter four-cylinder works under the long hoods, which sends its 136 hp to the front axle via a torque converter automatic. The engine gets along great with the conventional version of the CX, but not with the weighty state coach, says brand fans. Honecker and Mitterrand don’t roll over East Berlin’s roads as quickly as they should.
The French president never got to see the Swedish special edition (for 120,000 crowns). Around the time of the planned visit in the fall of 1989, something more important happened in Berlin: On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, followed by reunification with the Federal Republic on October 3, 1990.
In the meantime, the long-wheelbase Citroën CXs did not clock up many kilometers: The odometer showed 17,800 kilometers when one of the CXs was auctioned off by the French auction house Artcurial at the end of 2015. Honecker’s failed greeting to Mitterand fetches 92,800 euros. The Citroën CXs road-ready examples can be had for less than 4,000 euros.
Tatra 603: A limo with rear-wheel drive
You don’t choose the limo, but the limo chooses you: East Germany citizens can’t buy a Tatra 603; at best, they get the hatchback model from 1959 on. However, only higher officials had a chance to buy the 4.97-meter-long Czech. This unites the Tatra 603 with all other luxury cars from the Soviet Union and the “Eastern Bloc countries” (Warsaw Pact).
Technically, Tatra differs fundamentally from the stretch versions of (Russian) GAZ models, which are more common among party grandees, visually anyway. What noble limo comes with a V8 rear engine and the front design of a bumper car?
The drop shape and the centrally positioned main headlight behind glass served aerodynamic purposes. Its 2.5-liter eight-cylinder engine is supposed to provide the appropriate power for this finer car. Tatra used the naturally aspirated engine with 105 hp and 166 Newton meters in the brand’s only formula racing car. Lengthwise dynamics count in the Tatra 603, as the idea for this car was born out of dissatisfaction. The Russian limos were simply too slow for Prague’s party officials.
Actually, in the 1950s, Tatra was no longer building cars. The factory in Koprivnice (near Ostrava) was supposed to produce only military trucks. But Tatra restarted passenger car production for the 603 in 1956. From 1969, Tatra builds the front of the 603 with four individual headlights. Contemporary vehicle tests show that the air-cooled rear-wheel-drive car (with swing axle) eventually loses its marked tendency to oversteer.
Tatra produced the 603 until 1975, and used models eventually found their way to cab stands and into the fire department in the Czech home market. In East Germany, Tatra 603 remains rare until the end and a vehicle of the elite.
During the years after reunification, vintage car fans recognized the special nature of this V8 sedan: Used examples are rare and expensive on car websites, two Tatra 603s are offered 30 years after reunification. The later version with two double headlights on the front costs 34,000 euros; for the Ur version of a 603, a seller estimates 145,000 euros.
Alternatives from the same manufacturer do exist. Other eight-cylinder sedans followed the 603 from the Czech manufacturer (613, 623, 700). Just under 10 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this truck manufacturer built its last series-produced passenger car to date.
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