Compare and contrast

"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse) 03/09/2016 at 17:41 • Filed to: Horch, Trabant

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Here we have:

A Horch 670 (pic by Charles01) with a 6.0 V12 producing 120 bhp, making it the most powerful car Horch made. A little over a hundred of the 670 and the almost identical 600 were made, four are thought to survive.

A Trabant 601. Twin cylinder two stroke, 600cc and about 26 bhp.

These two products of the German motor industry have something unexpected in common.

TheHondaBro > Cé hé sin 03/09/2016 at 17:46

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They’re both made of aluminum?

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Cé hé sin 03/09/2016 at 17:46

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Their hometowns! :)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Cé hé sin 03/09/2016 at 17:47

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Neither has adjustable seats. (Probably true for the Horch, definitely true for the Trabant.) Not what you were looking for, but I’m saying it anyway.

Cé hé sin > TheHondaBro 03/09/2016 at 17:49

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Neither, I’d guess. The Trabi was notoriously made of Duroplast, a concoction made from cotton waste, various scraps and phenols.

Cé hé sin > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/09/2016 at 17:51

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That may well be true. Also, they both had four gears and NA engines.

Cé hé sin > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 03/09/2016 at 17:52

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Is the right answer. I’m told that up to the 1980s you could still see the faded Horch sign on the side of the Trabant factory.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Cé hé sin 03/09/2016 at 17:53

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On the topic of other cars sharing features with the Trabbi, I wonder how many other cars have gravity-fed fuel?

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Cé hé sin 03/09/2016 at 17:56

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Awesome, I got something right! :D I knew I liked Trabants and often commit obscure automotive facts to memory for a reason! :P

See....everybody dumps on the Trabi for being smokey, noisy, basic and being made of Duroplast....

..........but there’s some pedigree there from being built in the Horch factory! Right? Right....? You know I’m right. The Trabant continued Horch’s fine pedigree of luxury motor vehicles.FACT.

Cé hé sin > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/09/2016 at 17:59

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Not many at a guess! Not a design feature conducive to longevity.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Cé hé sin 03/09/2016 at 18:02

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I thought surely I had one when I thought of the Briggs and Stratton hybrid, but even it seems to have had a pump.

ly2v8-Brian > Cé hé sin 03/09/2016 at 18:11

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4 wheels too.

ly2v8-Brian > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/09/2016 at 18:13

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That would be an interesting article right there.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Cé hé sin 03/09/2016 at 18:13

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Most would probably not connect these either:

... but of course, the higher relative obscurity of old Bims and Wartburgs in the first place probably makes it likelier someone will get it right if they recognize either at all. No, for genuine confusion you throw in this one:

Cé hé sin > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/09/2016 at 18:18

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I’ve been there!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Cé hé sin 03/09/2016 at 18:25

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As have I. I kind of wish I’d known to visit the Automobile Welt Eisenach nearby, as the display cases in the factory entrance leave something to be desired in comparison. It would have been nice to see a 311/5 Camping in person.

Cé hé sin > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/09/2016 at 18:33

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You could buy one ..

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Cé hé sin 03/09/2016 at 18:34

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The same seller actually has several more. How marvelous.

Jonee > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/09/2016 at 19:48

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The Subaru 360 sedan is gravity fed. The fuel tank sits above the motor, so why add complexity? Of course, there’s a vacuum activated shut off valve that annoyingly always fails. So, I tend to add an electric pump to serve that purpose. There are a bunch of other microcars that use gravity as well.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jonee 03/10/2016 at 08:58

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I figured most with that feature would be microcars, but I’m tantalized by the thought of more “practical” cars with the same insanity.

Cé hé sin > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/10/2016 at 10:41

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Yes, it’s a cornucopia of gently decaying East German (and a few other) bikes, vans and cars. DKWs, EMWs, IFAs..

Money pits all of them though!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Cé hé sin 03/10/2016 at 10:45

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No match for the average machine shop, body works, and well-stocked electrical room though, I’d wager.

Cé hé sin > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/10/2016 at 11:51

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And money. That’s all they need!

Jonee > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 03/10/2016 at 13:01

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Yeah, I can’t think of anything “normal sized” except early Model T’s.