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Heinz Melkus isn’t a household name. But his vision and against-the-odds tenacity earned the East German national a place in automotive history.
The Melkus RS 1000 isn’t a particularly good sportscar. Nor is it original in terms of design. But it does hold the distinction of being the only sportscar ever built behind the Iron Curtain in what was then the German Democratic Republic (GDR), or East Germany.
To better understand the challenges faced by Melkus, we need to travel back to post-World War 2 Dresden in what was then the heart of the GDR.
Melkus had established himself, somewhat incongruously, as a capable motor racer and driving instructor, earning respect within the Politburo for his race-winning exploits (he reportedly won 80 of the 200 races he contested) in Formula Junior and Formula 3 events.
Buoyed by his success, Melkus founded his eponymous company in 1959, building single-seat and prototype racing cars, cars which successfully competed in Eastern Bloc championships.
It was at one of these events in what was then Yugoslavia, where Melkus first saw a Lotus Elan and noted its simple, lightweight construction.
Inspired, Melkus hatched a plan to build his own sportscar, one that mirrored the Lotus Elan in construction and philosophy. There was only one obstacle in his way. And it was a big one.
Soviet-era East Germany wasn’t exactly a hotbed of capitalism and private enterprise. And private ownership of things we take for granted, like cars, was tightly controlled and regulated by the government.
Waiting lists for what was essentially a choice of two cars – the now iconic Trabant and the lesser-known Wartburg – could stretch to years, decades even. And this, for cars that were basic, poorly-built, and unreliable. Trying to get approval to build a sportscar in this political environment seemed impossible.
But Melkus was undeterred and using his status as a renowned racing driver, and the imminent 20th anniversary of the German Democratic Republic, he lobbied the government to obtain permission to build his sportscar dream, one that could showcase East German engineering to the world. Remarkably, the government agreed and the seeds that gave rise to the Melkus RS 1000 were sown.
Melkus’s biggest challenge came in sourcing the mechanicals to power his dream. The GDR wasn’t exactly brimming with automotive excellence (one look at the Trabant is testament to his), meaning supply chains for components like brakes, suspension, transmissions and engines were not just thin on the ground, but non-existent.
Melkus’s solution was to use the bare bones of the humble Wartburg 353 (above), which provided the ladder-frame chassis, and inline three-cylinder 992cc two-stroke engine.
Melkus modified the chassis, reducing weight while improving rigidity and changing its fundamental layout from a front- to a mid-mounted engine.
Other components, such as brakes and suspension came from various sources like wrecking yards as well as both the Trabant and Wartburg factories.
The body, designed by Melkus, was fashioned out of fibre-glass and to help keep costs down, the RS 1000’s glasshouse (except for the windscreen) was made of flat panes of glass.
The small three-cylinder engine was uprated with the addition of triple carburettors that boosted power output from around 37kW to 52kW. It was mated to a five-speed manual transmission, modified from the original four-speed donor from the Wartburg 353.
The end result of Melkus’s engineering was a two-seater coupe with sensational gullwing doors that had more than a hint of the Ferraris and Lamborghinis of the day, if not the performance. But neither was it as anaemic as its spec-sheet suggests.
With the Melkus RS 1000 tipping the scales at a svelte 690kg, the diminutive triple-carby fed 992cc three-pot, helped propel the sportscar to a top speed of 165km/h.
Production started in 1969, and each hand-built RS 1000 took several months to complete. With a price tag when new of DDM28,000 (East German Marks, around $AUD25,000), the Melkus RS 1000 wasn’t cheap. A Trabant 601 cost DDM7450 in 1969, that’s if you could get one with the waiting list stretching years.
And yet wait times for new orders only ran to a couple of years, despite the fact that buying one wasn’t exactly an easy process.
To be eligible, prospective buyers needed to provide ‘proof of racing activity’ to the East German Motorsport Association. But it should come as no surprise that any GDR citizens with the ability to fork over DDM28,000 also had the clout to pull a few strings in the Politburo, bypassing the need to prove ‘racing activity’.
Melkus built exactly 101 of the hand-built sportscar between 1969 and ’79, and remarkably, around 80 of the pretty, but slightly gawky, gullwing coupe are still around today.
With a local cult following, prices have climbed and are now close to six figures in Europe, or well over $100,000 in Australian dollars.
Heinz Melkus passed in 2005, his legacy a peculiar creation that has gone on to earn the nickname of ‘The Socialist Ferrari’ and ‘The Ferrari of the East’. While that comparison was, and remains a stretch, Melkus’s place in history is assured, the Melkus RS 1000 the only sportscar ever produced in the German Democratic Republic.
Photo credits: Melkus/Collecting Cars/Wartburg
Rob Margeit is an award-winning Australian motoring journalist and editor who has been writing about cars and motorsport for over 25 years. A former editor of Australian Auto Action, Rob’s work has also appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Wheels, Motor Magazine, Street Machine and Top Gear Australia. Rob’s current rides include a 1996 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and a 2000 Honda HR-V Sport.
