Monday 12 November 2018

The Ferrari of the East - Melkus RS1000


When you think of East German motor vehicles, high powered sportscars rarely come to mind. However, East Germany did manufacture a domestic sports sedan that could be purchased by those with the wherewithal to afford one - the Melkus RS1000.

Even as the rubble was still being cleared from the streets, motor sport enthusiasts across Germany began competing in local race meets. The return of local motorsport did much to uplift the people’s spirits and give confidence in a brighter future. This was an era of incredible ingenuity as cars were put together from whatever parts were available. The East German authorities originally frowned on this ‘indulgent’ waste of precious fuel and resources, but as the race meets grew in status and stature, so too did the prize money, making road racing a lucrative pastime for the more skilled drivers. There was also propaganda value in fielding a successful race team on the European race circuit.

Heinz Melkus was born in 1928 in Dresden. He commenced his racing careering in 1950, first as an independent driver racing a car cobbled together from various parts and powered by VW Kubelwagen engine, mounted in the front.

Heinz Melkus in his Kubelwagen custom racer in 1951. The car was assembled from a variety of parts salvaged from wrecked vehicles and powered by a Volkswagen Kubelwagen engine. The body was composed of aluminum.

In 1952 he was racing a modified Veritas racer on the European circuit. By the late 1950s he was competing in the Formula Junior class. He performed well enough to be taken aboard as works driver for IFA Eisenach in the 1960s. He raced highly tuned and modified Wartburg racecars on the East German and Communist Bloc racing circuit.

1954 and Heinz is competing in Formula Junior class. This monoposto racer was powered by a single cylinder JAP motorcycle engine.

In 1966 he began working on a competition sports saloon. The car was based on a modified Wartburg frame chassis with a mid-mounted 995cc three-cylinder two-stroke motor. Triple carburetors and a high compression head combined with lightweight fibreglass bodywork enabled the car to compete successfully in the sub-1 litre sports saloon class. There things may have remained were it not for the involvement of the East German motoring association, VEB.

1969 was the twentieth anniversary of the foundation of the German Socialist Republic and VEB wanted to showcase a new vehicle as part of the celebrations. Heinz Melkus was contracted to develop three prototypes for the exhibition. The original prototype was a competition car and modifications to the design were required to make it suitable for road use. The three cars were exhibited in April 1969 under the designation Melkus RS1000. With standard tuning they were rated at 51 bhp and had a top speed of 165 kph. The car was extremely low and flat requiring the use of distinctive gullwing doors.

Limited production began in 1970. At a price tag of 29,800 Ostmark it could only be purchased by the wealthy elite. Purchasers also needed to hold a motorsport license and obtain party approval before they could submit an order. Each car took under two years to complete, but this was still well under the timeline to obtain a Trabant or Wartburg. Given these constraints, production was slow with each car being custom built. 101 examples were built between 1970 and 1980, when production ceased.

Being a high priced, exotic vehicle, Melkus owners took extremely good care of their cars and at least 80 of the 101 made have survived.

Heinz’ children inherited their father’s motorsport passion, and all were involved in motor racing and the automobile business in some way. When Heinz passed away in 2005, his son Peter decided to build a limited edition Melkus RS1000 tribute. Heinz had bequeathed the fibreglass body panel moulds to his son, allowing the creation of an exact replica body. This was mounted on a donor Wartburg chassis with tuned and modified engine. At least 15 were built in 2006 as part of the tribute run.

The Melkus replica inspired grandson, Sepp Melkus, to attempt a revival of the Melkus brand with a new, modern vehicle. This was the Melkus RS2000, which was a modern sports supercar based on the Lotus Elise platform. Two variants were proposed, the GT and GTS, depending on the spec. The car was powered by a two litre four-cylinder turbo motor (several options were available) putting out more than 320 bhp – a long way from the RS1000’s meagre 51 bhp. The Melkus RS2000 went on sale in 2011 with a pricetag of 125,000 Euros. Sales however did not meet expectations and Melkus filed for bankruptcy in 2012.

After the failure of the RS2000, Peter and Sepp Melkus (above) reverted to building replicas of the Melkus RS1000 on commission.


The Melkus family have a great website with the company history and more here: https://www.melkus-motorsport.de/melkus-motorsport-start.html
Motorsport in the GDR: https://www.ddr-formel1.de/start/einleitung-deutsch.html



A Melkus we photographed at Schloss Schwetzingen in 2016

Sunday 11 November 2018

Trabant 'advertisements' for the US market


Apparently these US Trabant adverts were a parody. That would seem correct as even the East Germans' were not delusional enough to believe that the Trabant would find any market in the United States. 


Saturday 10 November 2018

1971 Wartburg in Eisenach 75th Anniversary


In 1971 the Eisenach Motorenwerkes celebrated its 75th year anniversary. To commemorate this milestone they produced a folder of the vehicles they had produced, from the original Wartburg of 1896 to the VEB Wartburg 353. I have part of one of these packs showing a range of the Eisenach products, ranging from the first Wartburg, to the DIXI, then the BMW and EMW years to the late VEB Wartburgs.



1898 Wartburg wagen

The first Wartburg car was based on the Benz Victoria.




1904 Dixi S12

In 1904 the company changed its brand-name to Dixi.




1907 Dixi U35

Dixi produced a range of rather conventional four cylinder cars during the Edwardian period.




1928 Dixi DA1

Dixi rebuilt its fortunes in the interwar years by manufacturing the English Austin 7 under license (the DA meant Dixi-Austin). By the 1930s Dixi had made substantial changes to the original Austin 7 model, turning it into a completely different car.




1935 BMW 328 Sportswagen

In 1928 the motorcycle manufacturer BMW was looking to expand into car production and purchased the struggling Dixi Eisenach works. BMW made substantial changes to the Dixi-Austin 7 model and by the early 1930s converted it into a handsome sportster. A version of the BMW 328 was even built in Britain under the brand name BMW-Fraser Nash.



1945 BMW 321

BMW introduced the 321 prior to World War II, but it was only after the war that the car was produced in any numbers. From 1945 to 1948 the car was built at the Eisenachwerkes in East Germany, mainly from pre-war spares and left over parts, under the BMW name. In 1948 the East German government nationalised all surviving motorworks under the VEB conglomerate. BMW management lost their claim on the Eisenach factory, who's products were thereafter rebadged under the EMW brand.




1953 AWE Sportswagen

VEB attempted to capitalize on BMW's prewar motorsport tradition in the early post-war years. The AWE sportswagen was a six cylinder four stroke engine racer that participated in Grand Prix racing.




1953 IFA F9

In 1953 VEB transferred the manufacture of the IFA F9 from the old Auto-Union plant at Chemnitz to Eisenach, as Eisenach was under-utilized at that time. This decision put an end to Eisenach's BMW heritage. From now on all Eisenach's vehicles would be powered by two-stroke DKW developed engines.




1956 Wartburg 311

From 1950 t0 1953, DKW in West Germany and IFA in East Germany were producing their own versions of the prewar DKW F9 (as the DKW F89P and the IFA F9 respectively). Once manufacture of the IFA F9 was handed over to Eisenach, the many problems with the early Chemnitz-built cars were quickly addressed and the F9 became a solid export earner. DKW in West Germany were threatened by this development and so sued IFA for patent infringement of the F9 body design. To get around the patent issue, Eisenach gave the car a completely new and modern pontoon body and renamed the car the "Wartburg 311" The Wartburg 311 was a much better car than its DKW and IFA predecessors.

1966 Wartburg 353

In 1966 the Wartburg received a comprehensive makeover. Styling was contemporary - and square! The car was an outstanding success and sold over a million vehicles. Although VEB attempted to update and improve the car over the years, government funding was never forthcoming so only small, progressive improvements were made the years. Nevertheless the Wartburg 353 remains a solid car which still performs well to this day. Many thousands remain on the road.




1974 Wartburg-Eisenach magazine





Videos and Links

A documentary covering the postwar years of BMW East, EMW and VEB IFA.

Contemporary footage of the AWZ racer at work and then the Wartburg and P70 cars.