Herpa Trabant nT electric car to be unveiled at 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show

Herpa Miniaturmodelle GmbH will unveil an electric version of the iconic Trabant, called the Trabant nT, at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Photo: Herpa Trabant nT rendering via autoblog

The Trabant went out of production nearly twenty years ago. The small car was manufactured by VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau between 1957 and 1991, in communist Germany.

The East German car was powered by a 500 cc, two-cylinder, two-stroke engine, that was noisy. Overall the car was the subject of many a joke for delays in production and delivery, quality, and boring design.

Though, the fume-belching original Trabant did have some green credentials. Its exterior body panels were built from an epoxy resin reinforced by waste cotton making it the first production vehicle ever to use recycled organic materials.

The electric Trabant nT car will retain the retro look of the original Trabant car, but will have four doors and a larger cargo area.

The New Trabi will be a stylish car with a history. It will be electrically powered because that is the trend,” Herpa Miniaturmodelle GmbH spokesman Daniel Stiegler ws quoted as saying.

The Herpa Trabart nT will have solar panels on the roof for extra power, modern EV technology, and a petrol engine for emergencies. The car will have a range of over 240 kms.

The company has not revealed any details about the charging time and maximum speed of the car.

Herpa is looking for investment of about $197.3 million to get the Trabant inT nto production by 2012, at the original carmaker’s facility in Zwickau.

Speciality car maker IndiKar and IAV Automotive Engineering of Berlin assisted in building the prototype of the electric Trabant nT.

While IndiKar helped in constructing the concept, IAV Automotive Engineering of Berlin provided the electric powertrain, Herpa has said.

Herpa Miniaturmodelle GmbH, that bought the rights to the Trabant, has been building 1/87 scale models of the Trabant, since 1990.