Buy Classic Melkus Cars

History & Heritage

Heinz Melkus founded his Dresden concern in 1959 as a racing-car constructor. Formula Junior and Formula 3 single-seaters came before the road-going RS 1000, so a Melkus make page is about a racing workshop rather than a conventional volume manufacturer. The 1969 RS 1000 used a reworked Wartburg 353 basis, a mid-mounted three-cylinder two-stroke and a fibreglass body. Only 101 were completed by 1979. A 15-car commemorative reconstruction programme and the 2009–12 RS 2000 revival are related chapters, but neither should be represented as an original DDR production car.

Highlights & Features

The RS 1000’s upward-opening doors, low roof and rear access panel give it a presence no Wartburg donor could suggest. Its important quality is resourceful engineering: a modified frame, Wartburg-derived running gear, triple carburettors and a five-speed transmission made from available components. Formula cars and the PT 73 Spider show the wider competition-led character of the marque. Hand-built detail varies, making period photographs and chassis-specific evidence especially valuable.

Technical Data

The RS 1000 measures 4,000 by 1,700 by 1,070mm, has a 2,450mm wheelbase and is quoted between 690 and 850kg according to specification. Period road figures are about 158–165km/h and 0–100km/h in 13.4 seconds.

Market Overview & Buying Tips

Supply is continental and a British buyer should budget for collection, shipping, NOVA notification, registration and an LHD driving reality; there is no UK club network equivalent to the German DDR-specialist scene. A fully restored 1980 RS 1000 was advertised through Classic Driver/MyCarmunity in 2023 at €89,000–109,000, while a Classic Trader past listing showed €109,500. Those are evidence points, not a price guide: a project, a race conversion and an authentically documented road car are different purchases.

Inspect the chassis tube/frame and steel door structure for corrosion, accident repair and unstated replacements. Fibreglass can hide poor repairs; look inside the nose, rear section, sills and hinge mountings. Check that both gullwing doors latch without forcing. Confirm chassis number, DDR papers, ownership chain and restoration photographs. The Wartburg engine is not automatically inexpensive to rebuild once its triple-carburettor set-up, crankshaft, cooling and correct exhaust are involved. Test cooling, mixture, clutch, five-speed selection and drum-brake performance; a road car altered to race trim needs a clear legal and historic identity.

Driving Feel

A healthy RS 1000 is mechanical rather than polished. The light body and central engine make it feel alert, while the two-stroke’s smell, pulse and noise are inseparable from the experience. It rewards warm-up discipline and deliberate gearchanges, not modern-supercar expectations.

Design & Coachwork

Developed with Dresden engineers and designers, the body is a convincing 1960s sports-car statement made under DDR constraints. Fibreglass front and rear sections, aluminium roof and doors, flat side glazing and the functional rear opening create a design whose handmade irregularities can be evidence of authenticity rather than a defect.

Summary

Buy a classic Melkus for its documented Dresden motorsport story and unusual engineering. The best car is complete, correctly identified and honestly restored; apparent rarity cannot compensate for compromised structure or invented provenance.