Transaxle (alias Toprope)
Trabant P1100 (prototype) 1973
Dresden Transport Museum (Saxony, Germany) www.verkehrsmuseum-dresden.de/index.php?page=20&lang=en, 7 June 2003, Olympus
The Trabant's designers expected production to extend to 1967 at the latest, and East German designers and engineers created a series of more sophisticated prototypes through the years that were intended to replace the Trabant P601; several of these can be seen at the Dresden Transport Museum. However, each proposal for a new model was rejected by the GDR leadership for reasons of cost. As a result, the Trabant remained in production largely unchanged; in contrast, the Czechoslovak Škoda automobiles were continually updated and exported successfully. The Trabant's production method, which was extremely labour-intensive, remained unchanged.
Trabant P1100 (prototype) 1973
Dresden Transport Museum (Saxony, Germany) www.verkehrsmuseum-dresden.de/index.php?page=20&lang=en, 7 June 2003, Olympus
The Trabant's designers expected production to extend to 1967 at the latest, and East German designers and engineers created a series of more sophisticated prototypes through the years that were intended to replace the Trabant P601; several of these can be seen at the Dresden Transport Museum. However, each proposal for a new model was rejected by the GDR leadership for reasons of cost. As a result, the Trabant remained in production largely unchanged; in contrast, the Czechoslovak Škoda automobiles were continually updated and exported successfully. The Trabant's production method, which was extremely labour-intensive, remained unchanged.