H O L D F I R E 流 Posted March 27, 2020 Posted March 27, 2020 09 East German sports car legend Melkus returns in new guise Dresden, Germany - The Melkus RS 1000, a sports car legend from communist East Germany mocked as the Ferrari of the East," is set to return later this year in a new guise with a sleek aerodynamic body, gullwing doors and a 270 hp power unit. The Melkus RS 2000 will be priced at about 100,000 euros (141,000 dollars) and come with all the performance status of a high-powered Porsche or Audi, accelerating from zero to 100 km/h in less than five seconds. The small family company, Melkus Sports Car Company GmbH, was established by the famous East German racing driver and constructor Heinz Melkus. Working from a backyard garage with various parts from Trabant and Wartburg cars the small firm produced 101 units of the Melkus RS 1000 in the years 1969 to 1979. Images of the RS 2000 reveal similarities to the original Melkus RS 1000. The chassis and engine have been supplied by a British sports car maker that refuses to be named - at least not until the first cars hit the road. However, a close look at some of the features can hardly disguise some similarity to a Lotus. But Sepp Melkus, grandson of the company founder, says the supplied parts have been given more than just a tune-up. "All the parts that we buy are given a completely new character like the engine which receives a special compressor kit and a new oil sump," he says. The original Melkus, mocked by Westerners as a "Ferrari of the East," was revered by East German car enthusiasts as the most spectacular car ever built in the communist state. Weighing only 750 kilos, the vehicle was fitted with a boosted three-cylinder Wartburg 353 engine that nevertheless topped 170 km/h. Some 80 of the original cars still exist, according to German classic car reports. (dpa)
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