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Only sports car Ferrari Reviving socialist East Germany.
It looks like something James Bond would have resulted in one of the first films secret agent yet stylish automobile is not a classic Aston Martin, Jaguar or Ferrari, but a sports car built by the East German Communist - and one that is made from virtually the same parties as the Wartburg, the decidedly unsexy German sedan. East
Now, nearly three decades after the last Melkus RS1000 was built, designer descendants of the car Heinz Melkus have revived the brand Peter and Sepp Melkus, son and grand-son of Heinz Melkus, is building a limited edition the unique sports car into their grandmother's memory over the past two years, the two have built 15 classic two-seater.
Sepp Melkus told SPIEGEL ONLINE the idea of building cars again had always been in the back of the family members minds Over the years, we have always received requests from people who wanted to know where they could buy one of the cars, Sepp Melkus says at one point we then thought, why do not we try to build five cars, if all that so request, in May 2006 - 26 years after the last RS1000 was produced - Sepp and Peter Melkus revive the sports car company.
Dubbed the Ferrari of the East, the RS1000 was the only sports car to be built in communist East Germany About 90 percent of its parts were the same as those used to build cars Wartburg, a slightly higher version range from the ubiquitous Trabant When building the new series of cars - they called the RS1600 - Peter and Sepp Melkus added a new engine, but otherwise stuck to the original drawings.
The RS1000 is the brainchild of Heinz Melkus, a race car driver who won six championships of East Germany in the 1950s and 1960s, Melkus designed and built Formula 3 race cars and participated in runs through Eruope, winning 80 out of 200 races he started.
In 1969 he began RS1000s construction, production of 101 over the next 10 years Sepp Melkus said that the vision of his grandfather was to build a race car that could be driven on the road - not a task easy German communist East.
While the West Germans were circulating in Mercedes, BMWs and Audis, most of their compatriots behind the Iron Curtain had to settle for Trabant or Wartburgs But even those who were difficult to get hold of time to Average wait for a Trabi or Wartburg was 15 years.
However, this did not put off Heinz Melkus After obtaining the authorization of the East German authorities to build a sports car to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the communist state, he trawled the German plants of the east and yards automotive section for parts that could be used to build Heinz Melkus RS1000 had to be very innovative, said his grandson Sepp son there was no other way to do it in the German Democratic Republic in those days.
Using a Wartburg 353 chassis, Melkus designed a car that was nothing like those found on the roads then East Germany a sleek sports car, low and curvy with scissor doors Although the cars only a two-stroke engine 100 providing only power, incredibly lightweight vehicle design, the RS1000 can reach speeds up to 180 km / h 112 miles per hour.
In the 1980s, Heinz Melkus, who also directed a driving school in Dresden, continued to build racing cars, but did not build any more sports cars It was only two years ago - after his death in 2005 - his son Peter and grandson Sepp son decided to build classic sports cars again.
Using plans that still existed and the hiring of part of the original staff - some of whom came out of retirement specifically for the project - they began to build the RS1600 Although the new cars have an engine with four modern times, they are being built in exactly the same way as those of the 1970s, a team of 10 people to build cars by hand in a small factory near the German city of Dresden.
And just as in the 1970s, the company has struggled to get hold of some of the pieces in the 1970s, Heinz Melkus and his mechanics would build each RS1000 a little differently - using all the components were available at time - because East Germany's notorious lack of spare parts.
But a shortage of spare parts has also made life difficult for the mechanical construction of the new cars Although parts, like them, are still being Wartburg windshields construction, the company had to put a lot of effort to find some rare parts, scouring vintage car markets and tracking collectors.
Of the 101 RS1000s that were built in the 1970s, about 80 are still around According Sepp Melkus, one of the older models in good condition can fetch about 55 000 87000, while the new customized templates from 60000 94000.
Besides the sports car revival, Peter and Sepp Melkus plan to realize one of unfulfilled dreams of their ancestor of the family to build a successor to the RS1000 The RS2000, which is still designed, will largely be on Sepp Melkus original model, which compares the new car Lotus Elise roadster, said they will keep the lightweight design but give it a modern look.
Now, however, Sepp Melkus and Peter are busy finishing the 15 of RS1600s, which will be delivered to its new owner soon.
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