Trabant 600
The Trabant 600, also known as the Trabant P 60, is the second series production model of the East German Trabant series, produced by VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau from 1962 until 1965. In total, 106,117 units were built. 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. 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 and three-door estate. The Trabant body has a skeleton-like steel frame with body panels made of duroplast, a material made from cotton waste and phenol 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 of the P 50 body in the saloon form is 0.55...0.60. 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. According to the contemporary sales brochure, the estate has a usable interior volume of 1.4 m3. Customers could order the Trabant 600 with one of six different paint colour combinations.Engine
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 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 is 6.8 L/100 km.;Engine specifications
| P 60 | |
| Production | 10/1962–10/1968 |
| Type | two-cylinder, two-stroke spark ignition engine; cross-flow scavenged, rotary intake valve, air-cooling with belt-driven fan |
| Bore × Stroke | |
| Displacement | |
| Rated power | at 3800...4000 min−1 |
| Rated torque | at 2700...2800 min−1 |
| Compression | 7.6 |
| Carburettor | BVF 28 HB horizontal draught carburettor |
| Fuel-oil-ratio | 33:1 |
| Fuel type | Petrol, 78 RON |
| Source |