Eastern Europe is known for three things. Supermodels, Communism, and cars. The ways of the east were completely opposite to the west and things have only started to change in the last two decades when communism collapsed and the USSR ended in 1991.
The East Bloc has created some truly weird machines and has even tried to export them to other European markets and North America. On this list, you will see some of the weirdest, wackiest, craziest cars ever to emerge from the countries beneath the iron curtain. It's crazy that these cars actually existed and some were even bestsellers.
10 Trabant 601
The East German solution to the car and personal transport. It's a huge icon of not only communism but the motoring world. If you thought Germany was all about prestige and luxury, think again. Made from 1961-1990 nearly three million were produced making it one of the most popular cars ever built because it was cheap and economical.
The car was powered by a two-stroke 2-cylinder engine that took low-quality gas and produced 21hp and did a 0-60 in 21 seconds before topping out at 62 mph. The Trabant was noisy, slow, unreliable, and poorly built. The doors were made from recycled cotton and it weighed just over 600kg. It was easy to fix and own but not to buy, as some owners had to wait over 13 years to get their hands on one. It would also spend a lot of time getting repairs so it's similar to some modern German cars.
9 Tatra T603
The Tatra T603 is a luxury Czechoslovakian car made between 1956 and 1962. It was an ultra-luxurious vehicle, something completely against communism. Only factory owners and high-rank government officials were seen in a T603. The Tatra T603 was powered by an air-cooled rear-mounted 2.5 V8 which produced 99hp (103hp on the G model) and no 0-60 time or top speed was reported.
The Tatra did take part in 79 races though, so it has some pedigree. Most exported cars were sold to other communist states such as China, Cuba, and other Eastern Bloc countries. Some though did find homes in North America. Tatra's earlier cars did inspire Ferry Porsche on the Beetle design, and the Beetle inspired the 911 design.
8 ZAZ Zazporozhets 966/968/968M
The ZAZ Zazporozhets 966/968/968M is a small Ukrainian budget family car. Not many people have heard of this in the West, but it's a very unique car. The engine is mounted in the rear (like a 911) and is an unusual V4 which is normally seen in bikes, especially the fast ones. The early 1966 966 produces 33hp but power was increased in 1971 with the introduction of the 968 which produced 40hp and then in 1979 the 968M came out which was a more modern version of the 968.
The ZAZ 966/968/968M was so slow, that 0-60 was never recorded as the person with the stopwatch would probably have grown a full beard by the time this car reached 60. It was a budget car and the 966 and 68 had "ears" (side-air intakes) and the 966 had a fake chrome grille. Over three million Zazporozphets were made.
7 SKODA RAPID 1984
The Skoda Rapid is essentially the poor man's 911 (after all, the cheaper 911s were the best) Under the hood (which is in the rear) was a 4-cylinder engine that produced 54bhp (increased to 62hp later) and cracked a 0-60 time in 16.1 seconds (eventually reduced to 14.9 seconds) before hitting the iceberg at 95mph. The Rapid was a good car to drive as it was rear-wheel drive and rear-engined, so it handles like a 911.
The Rapid was nicknamed "wheelbarrow" and was exported to a few other Western countries such as the UK, where it was one of the cheapest cars on sale. The Rapid really was a unique car, and its sibling the Estelle actually won a few rally races and the RAC Rally championship.
6 Wartburg 353
East Germany is famous for the Trabant. But they also made another car which is relatively unknown, despite its appearance in rallying and exportation to major western markets. The Wartburg was the car you purchased if you didn't want a Trabant. It was bigger but still just as bad. It featured a two-stroke 3-cylinder engine and produced between 49 and 54 hp and it trundled along to 60 at a snail's pace of 13 seconds and flat out would do 81mph.
The 353 was much more durable than the Trabant since it wasn't made from recycled cotton. However, it still only took "low quality" gas meaning you had to mix oil and petrol together in the carburetor. It also was front-wheel drive. It was a decent car for a cash-strapped economy but you had to wait 10-15 years for one.
5 Marussia B2
The Marussia B2 is a menacing supercar from Russia. This beast is from the east and is powered by a 2.8 Turbo V6 or 3.5 V6 both pushing 420hp. The car sprints to 60 in 3.8 seconds before topping out at 193mph. It's a Russian Rocketship and only 500 were built between 2009 and 2014. The name Marussia may sound familiar, they raced in F1 between 2012 and 2014. Unfortunately, both Marussia motors and Marussia F1 are dissolved.
This supercar looks angry and its designs even make some Lamborghini's look dull. It was featured in many video games such as Need For Speed Most Wanted and Driveclub. It's relatively unknown and should be part of the 15 best independent supercars you've never heard of.
4 Yugo
The Yugo is famous in the US for two things. Being dirt-cheap and terrible. It was a budget compact car from Yugoslavia and over 140,000 of these cars were sold in the USA. It was the perfect car for those who hated cars since it was so cheap and economical to run. All Yugos used an underpowered, slow 4-cylinder engine that was cheap on gas considering engine size ranged from 0.9 liters to 1.3 liters. The horsepower numbers were all in the double digits, and so were the top speeds and 0-60.
The Yugo on paper is a good car. In real life it's horrendous. The car was based on a 20-year-old Fiat, meaning it was dated and unreliable. It was poorly built and just a joke to drive. They even made convertible versions of these and used them as police cars in Croatia.
3 Melkus RS1000
Did the SLS and the Miura have a baby? The Melkus RS1000 is East-Germany's only sports car and it doesn't look too bad. It features cool gull-wing doors, a mid-engined layout, and a cool aerodynamic design. The engine though is what lets this car down. Under the hood is a two-stroke 3-cylinder engine from the Wartburg 353, meaning its slow and should be part of the top 10 slowest sportscars.
The RS1000 produces a depressing 68hp, hit 60 in 9.8 seconds, and flat out will do 102mph. It was the quickest car made in East Germany and was the only car than to offer pleasure. It had a 5-speed manual gearbox too and RWD, its also very light.
2 Aurus Senat
A Rolls-Royce or Mercedes S-Class isn't good enough for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Therefore, he decided to create his own luxury beast called the Aurus Senat. This car is the Russian Rolls-Royce and it features a 4.4 hybrid V8 pushing 598 horsepower. This car is insane then, and the engines a good one since Porsche and Bosch engineering have both helped with development.
The Senat looks like a mix between a Bentley Mulsanne and a Rolls-Royce Phantom. One Phantom costs the same as these 15 cars so the Senat at $160,000 is a bargain. It just looks so much like a knock-off Rolls-Royce though would you really want to be seen in it?
1 Velorex Oskar
This is a Velorex Oskar and it's probably the weirdest man-made creation ever made. This car is beyond weird but it was created in good intentions to help disabled people drive. The body is made from leather and it's powered by a one-cylinder two-stroke motorcycle engine pushing a figure so insane that it's best to keep it quiet (9hp). It only weighed 205kg so it's a nippy car to drive.
It also only has three wheels, so it's like a crazy European microcar just a bit wilder. Over 2000 of these cars were sold.