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Herpa New Trabant renderings - Click above for high-res image gallery

Anyone who's spent any time in East Germany is likely very familiar with the original Trabant, a diminutive automobile that was built and sold in the communist bloc. While the Trabant wasn't a particularly good car, it enjoys something of a cult following and is apparently ripe for a remake.

Unlike the old Trabant's smoky and extremely dirty two-stroke engine, the proposed New Trabant from Herpa Miniaturmodelle GmbH will feature clean electric power. Interestingly, Herpa is a German company that specializes in model cars and the whole idea sprang forth from a tiny little toy that brought the would-be automaker a ton of attention.

A rooftop solar panel should add a bit of power to the battery, which is reportedly expected to push the New Trabant up to a range of 250 kilometers (about 156 miles). A concept will be shown at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show and Herpa hopes to have the electric vehicle into production by 2012 if adequate investment can be procured.


Gallery: Herpa new Trabant


[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Electric Trabant revival slated to debut at Frankfurt originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Click to view in our high-resolution image gallery

If you were born on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, the Trabant should need no introduction. Ditto if you're a U2 fan. The notorious little sedan, nicknamed "Trabi", was made in East Germany and exported around the world, mostly inside the communist bloc. Not exactly the most ideal candidate for resurrection, but while it may not be as fondly remembered as the original Fiat 500, Volkswagen Beetle or the Mini, the Trabi has a cult following and has been featured in countless movies and video games. U2 featured the Trabi on its Zoo TV tour in the early '90s, and one hangs from the ceiling in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH.

At the last Frankfurt Motor Show, a German model-carmaker showed a mockup of what a re-born Trabi might look like to gauge public reaction. Herpa secured the rights to use the name, and has now announced a deal with IndiKar, an automotive components manufacturer based in Saxony (where the original Trabant was made) to build it. Herpa and IndiKar hope to have a full-size concept ready to show by the next Frankfurt show, which doesn't roll around until the Fall of the Berlin Wall 2009. In the meantime, Herpa is putting a toy version on the market to be unveiled at the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg in February.

Press release after the jump.

[Source: Herpa via World Car Fans]

Gallery: Herpa new Trabant

Continue reading Herpa toys with idea of Trabant revival

Herpa toys with idea of Trabant revival originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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