[新聞] Toymaker Revives Trabant with Pure Electric Concept at Frankfurt Show, Could go on Sale in 2012

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By far the strangest story to come out of this year's is the resurrection of the long-gone Trabant nameplate with thepresentation of a pure-electric concept model shown by German toycarmanufacturer Herpa Miniaturmodelle. The original Trabant was producedby former Eastern German auto maker VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke withminor changes for almost three decades. A little over three millionexamples of the car were built between 1957 and 1991.
Unlikethe original model with its smoky two-stroke, two-cylinder engine(funny how nostalgia can "smog" memories...) , the 'New Trabi'prototype in Frankfurt gets an all-electric drivetrain. Herpa did notrelease any technical details on the concept car other that it has arooftop solar panel to help recharge its batteries, a range of aroun250 kilometers or155 miles and a kerb weight of under 1,000kg or 2,200lbs.
The conceptTrabi, which features a similar (retro) design philosophy to the BMWGroup's MINI, was built with the help of IndiKar, a German company thatmanufactures individual car bodies as well as prototypes.

"Weare past the vision– we are in the implementation phase", said IndiKarCEO, Ronald Gerschewski, who is one of the chief initiators for thevehicle's development. "Our goal is the series-production-readiness."

Herpa,which bought the Trabant copyright in 2007, said that the concept is"sound and ready for a strong investor to become involved in the serialdesign and production", and that if all goes well, the electric vehiclecould go on sale in 2012.