(VIDEO) The unknown story of the Melkus RS 1000, the eastern bloc Lamborghini with a 2-Stroke engine

The cars once built in the Eastern bloc were mainly oriented towards accessibility and practicality, because when a family could dream of a single car that would do it all, there was not much room left for exotic cars. There were also technical limitations, East Germany, for example, betting a lot of time only on two-stroke engines. And in this context, it's almost unbelievable that there could be a car with a design inspired by Lamborghini, with scissor opening doors and a mid-mounted engine, like a real supercar! Except that this car, called Melkus RS 1000, being built in East Germany once upon a time, also had a two-stroke engine mounted there!

And the name RS 1000 is, in fact, a suggestion about the cylinder capacity of this car, which is only 1,000 cubic cm. Actually, to be more precise, the engine was 992 cubic cm, in 3 cylinders. Some may already guess which engine it is. It's the same engine that was used on the Wartburg 353 , one of the most widespread models from the former Eastern bloc.

The car was created by Heinz Melkus, a car enthusiast from the city of Dresden, who dreamed of becoming a racing driver as a child. After the Second World War, he managed to save a truck from his father's small business and worked for a while as a driver on that truck, later becoming a driving instructor and founding his own school. In 1951, he built his first racing car with his own hands and began competing in competitions in East Germany. Formula 3 and Formula Junior cars followed, built by him in the workshop next to the driving school where he worked.

Photo: Competition car, built by Melkus in 1959

The idea to build his own car approved for public roads came to him in 1963, after he noticed a Lotus on a circuit in a sports competition. But, in a communist country, he could not simply build a car that would be homologated for him, so he needed the support of those from the motorsport association ADMV, who submitted a request to committees and ministries, motivating the intention with the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the founding of East Germany. In 1968, the authorities delegated to him a whole team from technical universities and from the factory in Eisenach to participate in this project.

Meanwhile, in 1966, the Lamborghini Miura appeared, a car with a sensational design, which caused a sensation thanks to its mid-engine placement. And it wouldn't be wrong to say that the Melkus RS 1000 was a little inspired by that Lamborghini, otherwise it wouldn't have won the nickname of the Lamborghini of the Eastern Bloc. But, elements of inspiration can also be seen from the Ford GT40 or the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS.

Finally, in 1969, the car was ready. At its base was a modified Wartburg 353 chassis, the original frame construction being reinforced to have better torsional rigidity. The rear suspension remained identical to the one on the Wartburg, but the front one was replaced by a double wishbone. Brakes were initially left with drums, but were soon replaced by discs from the Polski-Fiat 125p, and then by disc brakes that had already become available on the Wartburg 353.

The Wartburg engine received three carburetors and a different exhaust system. As a result, the Wartburg engine, which in 1969 already developed 50 HP on the sedan known to everyone, reached 70 HP and 117.7 Nm on the Melkus RS 1000. The gearbox had 5 gears, being substantially modified based on the one from Wartburg. The engine, by the way, was installed longitudinally in front of the rear axle.

The car was relatively light, 850 kg, having a body made of reinforced plastic fiber. Acceleration, however, was over 13 seconds to the first hundred, or the 1.0-liter engine, with all the adjustments made, could not produce more power.

So Melkus resorted to increasing the displacement to 1,119 cubic cm, which increased the torque by 10 Nm, but left the power unchanged. There was also a racing version, however, with increased displacement, which had been brought to 90 HP and which was about 100 kg lighter, thanks to magnesium alloy wheels and other lightweight construction elements. That racing car could already reach 200 km/h with its 3-cylinder, 2-stroke engine.

Melkus produced the cars in small numbers, because the modifications he made meant a lot of specific parts and manual assembly. From 1969 to 1979, it produced only 101 examples.

Heinz Melkus continued to design cars during the 80s, but all in motorsport versions. In December 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Melkus signed a contract with BMW to establish the first BMW dealer in Dresden. The company was managed by his sons in the 2000s, after which it was sold in 2006, but continues to exist today under the name of BMW Melkus.

Peter Melkus, one of the sons, created a successor to the RS 1000 in 2009, called the RS 2000, based on a Lotus, but the project was closed shortly after. Thus, the Melkus RS 1000, from the 60s-70s, remained the only model of major importance of this company and was also the only sports model, with a supercar silhouette, from the entire former Eastern Bloc.

Today, few of the 101 cars produced still exist, but at the last meetings of the enthusiasts, initiated by the Melkus brothers, about 50 examples came. These are rarely traded, but when they appear for sale, the prices are usually over 90-100 thousand euros, given how rare they are.

See below also a video from a last such meeting, where Melkus specimens can be seen and heard in contemporary times. You can include subtitles with automatic translations in the desired language from the player controls.