History
Melkus RS 1000
Created by racing driver Heinz Melkus in Dresden, the RS 1000 was an extraordinary achievement in East Germany's restrictive automotive environment. The mid-engined sports car featured a highly-tuned 992cc three-cylinder two-stroke engine from the Wartburg 353, producing 70 hp through aggressive tuning and modifications. Its fiberglass body on a tubular steel frame weighed just 650 kg, providing excellent power-to-weight ratio. Only 101 examples were hand-built between 1969 and 1979, primarily for motorsport use, making it the rarest and most desirable East German automobile ever produced.