Former Bath Mayor and Heritage Champion, Bryan Chalker’s rare 1973 East German Trabant 2-stroke car has just undergone a major mechanical and body re-build and complete re-spray at Larkhall Garage and Spraytec.
The overall results are stunning and the little time-warp car now looks set for another 45 years of life.
Purchased for just £1.50 in 2006, ‘Hermann’ has been Bryan’s daily transport until the crankshaft disintegrated last year and a total mechanical make-over was called for, with all parts sourced from German companies specialising in vintage Trabants.
Larkhall Garage has looked after the car since 2006 but recommended Spraytec Bath Ltd. to undertake the complicated body restoration and re-spray.
The little car has been off the road since November 2016 but makes its triumphant return now as a motoring icon and relic of the Cold War years.
Contrary to popular belief, the Trabant is not made from cardboard but Duraplast, a type of bakelite, and steel and, in Bryan’s words, “built like a tank”!
