Cars Behind the Iron Curtain (Apr, 1956)
Cars Behind the Iron Curtain
Here are the new autos Russia and satellites are building—Detroit has no cause for alarm.ZWICKAU P 70 assembled in the East German Audi plant has 2-cylinder. 2-cycle, 22-hp engine. Claimed top speed is 62 mph. Gas consumption 33 mpg. Car features Duroplast body and pan-carried spare tire which automatically drops when the lock is turned. Trunk is also accessible inside car.
SKODA 440 is the latest auto to be produced in Czechoslovakia. It has a reputed top speed of 71 mph and supposedly runs 39 miles on a gallon of gas. A 4-cylinder engine rated at 40 hp operates the auto.MOSKVICH is a new all-steel Russian auto which will soon be built in Moscow. It has such nobby innovations as directionals and a radio. Reds claim four-seater goes 45 miles on a gallon of gas, does 65 mph.
MODEL 72, another Russian vehicle, was designed for the most rugged terrain and comes with four-wheel drive, low pressure tires with special grip tread. Shown climbing roadless hill, it is made at Gorky.
POLISH SIREN was put into production this year. It has an air-cooled, 2-cylinder, 27-hp mill. 37-mph speed.
But it doesn’t include the Trabant!
http://www.time.com/tim…
One of the last TopGear episodes featured “commie” cars. Quite amusing. Most of them were complete turds.
What did Stalin and Kruchev drive?
Rolls Royce or BMWs?
Stalin and Kruchev likely had Zil limos. BMW wasn’t into luxurious cars in the Stalin era, was it? Unless you count the 600 (http://www.microcarmuse…)
The P70 seen on the first page was the precursor to the Trabant; the first Trabant came out in 1958/59, it was facelifted to the iconic shape in 1964, and then….East Germany stopped funding its’ auto industry and that was it for development.
Stalin and Kruschev rode comfortably in Zil limos that were knock-offs of Packards.
There is a page on Packardinfo.com that shows you all the various Soviet Zils and how close they resembled Packards..however, parts are not interchangeable