BERLIN — Once the bane of drivers behind the Iron Curtain, the stolid little Trabant car is about to return as an electric-car prototype at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show. The Trabant nT is the work of a German team that includes moonlighting Volkswagen interior designer Nils Poschwatta, specialist firm IndiKar and the miniature-car company Herpa Miniaturmodelle.
According to German media, Herpa took a poll at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show as to whether people would like to see a latter-day version of the Trabant. The famously environmentally unfriendly car got a "Ja" from 93 percent of the nearly 10,000 people who responded. Perhaps it's not that surprising, given the huge success of the Herpa-made miniature Trabant. Herpa even has a "Trabi Shop" selling new and old versions — and a 50th anniversary diorama of the no-frills cars.
The Trabant was built in East Germany from 1957-'91. It had a two-stroke engine and was well known for polluting the air around it. IndiKar says the Trabant nT prototype will make up for the sins of the father with such 21st-century amenities as solar-panel roof, satellite navigation, iPod connectivity and all-electric power.
Can't wait for the real thing? Herpa has a downloadable Trabant nT that you can cut out and put together as a craft project.
Inside Line says: Nostalgia can take some strange turns. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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