If you haven’t heard of this car, it could be due to the fact that just 5 were ever built for the entire world. This is the 1969 Sachsenring P240 Repräsentant, a particularly peculiar vehicle built by VEB Sachsenring, one of very few automotive manufacturers out of East Germany who originally operated from the former Auto Union factory in Zwickau and was named after the Sachsenring motorsport racing circuit (now known as HQM Sachsenring GmbH, a Zwickau-based company that supplies chassis and body parts to the automotive industry). On the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the German Democratic Republic/Deutsche Demokratische Republik, on behalf of the National People’s Army, around 5 P240 vehicles originally developed by VEB Kraftfahrzeugwerk Horch Zwickau were converted into open-top “representation” vehicles for military leaders and officials of the National People’s Army of East Germany to use during parades. Four of the five newly designed Repräsentant parade cars were first put to use in a parade on October 7th of 1969, and only two of them are believed to still be surviving to this day. This car, license plate ‘VA 14-0601’ is currently on display at the August Horch Museum Zwickau, and one further example, with license plate ‘VA 14-0600’ is located at the Dresden Military Museum. The standard Horch P240 or Sachsenring P240 was built in 4-door saloon, 4-door cabrio and 5-door estate variations from 1954 until 1959, each being powered by a 2407 cc Horch 6 engine. Aside from the P240 model, the company was known for their Trabant series, made by VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau, this consisted of the Trabant P50 (1957–1962), the Trabant 600 (1962–1965), the Trabant 601 (1964–1990) and the Trabant 1.1 (1990–1991). Certainly an interesting design for a military parade vehicle, and of course, not a car that was created for typical public use.
How many made? 5 total, with 2 believed to be left in existence
Engine: 2407 cc Horch 6
Debut: a military parade on October 7th of 1969.
Top Speed: n/a
0-60mph: n/a
Photo Credit: @teilix
Research: @rarecarsonly
1969 Sachsenring P240 Repräsentant
03.09.2024
Sachsenring