They called it the “Ferrari of the East”: The Melkus RS 1000 was East Germany’s only sports car, “powered” by a mid-mounted Wartburg 3-cylinder 2-stroke engine. Most cars had 1 liter engine, a few were 1.2 liter mills. Fitted with gullwing doors, it looked fast. 101 cars were made between 1969 and 1979 in the Dresden factory, to buy one, you had to race it. In 2009, Sepp Melkus, grand child of founder Heinz Melkus, resurrected the company and started building the Melkus RS 2000. No more, the company is bankrupt.
Sales of the 122,000 euro sports car, powered by a 2 liter engine, were not enough, says Automobilwoche [sub]. Yesterday, insolvency was declared at a Dresden court. Never say die: There is interest by investors who may want to buy the assets.
Shame, nice looking car. Like a prettier Elise.
was the 2 liter engine also a 2-stroker?
No. Since a 4 stroke was also too expensive they decided to further cut costs with the little known one stroke engine.
Quite attractive. Where is Malcolm Bricklin when you need him?
Nobody did the math when conceiving the 2000. 61,000 euro/ liter. Doomed before it started.
It is a shame. I loved the design, even if it was just a prettied Exige.
I also think it shows that most of the people buying fast cars *want* a bit of bloat. Everyone was harping on Lotus, but the truth is that most of the folks buying something in this price range want something coddling that’s easy for the ladies to get into, not purebread sports cars.
Variety is always nice and some of the little German constructors produce some interesting cars, in spite of the tough administrative rules. But the Melkus was probably not very competitive compared to a Porsche Cayman or, for a more distinctive car, the gorgeous Artega GT which uses a 3.6 l V6 sourced from VW and is priced around 75-90,000 Euros. Of course, I am saving my money for a Wiesmann GT MF4, which has build quality that is so high your jaw drops when you look at it.
Any truth to the rumor that Melkus will be building the cop car for Carbon Motors next?
nuk nuk nuk…
Too expensive one for a liter.Need to think for the manufacturer.
http://www.germanimportservices.com/services.htm