Barkas
Encyclopedia
Barkas was the East German manufacturer of small delivery van
s and minibus
es named the B1000.
The van was built in a new factory on the site of the former plant of the Framo (car)
company in Karl-Marx-Stadt, the old factory having been crated up and shipped to the Soviet Union
as part of a larger war reparations package in the late 1940s. The business had subsequently been nationalized by the GDR government. Karl-Marx-Stadt, named in 1953, recovered its former name, Chemnitz
, only in 1990, following German reunification
.
B1000 production started in 1961 and continued until 1991. Originally the B1000 was powered by the 45 PS three cylinder, two stroke DKW
derived engine found also in contemporary Wartburgs. Shortly before production ceased, model designation was changed to B1000/1, and the old engine was replaced by a 1.3 four-stroke engine manufactured under licence from Volkswagen
. The B1000 was a remarkable van at the time; the unusually high loading capacity, two-stroke engine, front wheel drive, and semi trailing arms suspension differed from the more traditionally constructed vans in the West.
Comparisons with the Volkswagen van of the early 1960s were inevitable. Its front-mounted engine made the Barkas easier to load and more variable in its configuration, with space for up to 8 passenger seats. The vehicles were mostly produced for public service applications, with private customer delivery times in the 1960s stretching to heroic levels commonly associated with Trabant
s, of between ten and fourteen years.
Being the only commercially available van in the GDR the factory offered many body styles; a flatbed, a panel van, a people carrier, a box van and an ambulance were all available.
Altogether 175,740 B1000s and 1,961 B1000/1s were built.
Van
A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...
s and minibus
Minibus
A minibus or minicoach is a passenger carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is used to describe any full-sized passenger carrying van. Minibuses have a...
es named the B1000.
The van was built in a new factory on the site of the former plant of the Framo (car)
Framo (car)
Framo was a minivan, motor tricycle and car manufacturer in Saxony, Germany. It was established by Danish engineer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen, the founder of DKW, in 1923...
company in Karl-Marx-Stadt, the old factory having been crated up and shipped to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
as part of a larger war reparations package in the late 1940s. The business had subsequently been nationalized by the GDR government. Karl-Marx-Stadt, named in 1953, recovered its former name, Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
, only in 1990, following German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
.
B1000 production started in 1961 and continued until 1991. Originally the B1000 was powered by the 45 PS three cylinder, two stroke DKW
DKW
DKW is a historic German car and motorcycle marque. The name derives from Dampf-Kraft-Wagen .In 1916, the Danish engineer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen founded a factory in Zschopau, Saxony, Germany, to produce steam fittings. In the same year, he attempted to produce a steam-driven car, called the DKW...
derived engine found also in contemporary Wartburgs. Shortly before production ceased, model designation was changed to B1000/1, and the old engine was replaced by a 1.3 four-stroke engine manufactured under licence from Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
. The B1000 was a remarkable van at the time; the unusually high loading capacity, two-stroke engine, front wheel drive, and semi trailing arms suspension differed from the more traditionally constructed vans in the West.
Comparisons with the Volkswagen van of the early 1960s were inevitable. Its front-mounted engine made the Barkas easier to load and more variable in its configuration, with space for up to 8 passenger seats. The vehicles were mostly produced for public service applications, with private customer delivery times in the 1960s stretching to heroic levels commonly associated with Trabant
Trabant
The Trabant is a car that was produced by former East German auto maker VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau in Zwickau, Sachsen. It was the most common vehicle in East Germany, and was also exported to countries both inside and outside the communist bloc...
s, of between ten and fourteen years.
Being the only commercially available van in the GDR the factory offered many body styles; a flatbed, a panel van, a people carrier, a box van and an ambulance were all available.
Altogether 175,740 B1000s and 1,961 B1000/1s were built.
External links
- www.barkas.de
- Website zum 4-Takt-Barkas B1000-1
- Fire Museum Frankenberg
- Barkas B1000
- Barkas B1000
- http://home.clara.net/peterfrost/barkas.html Alternative Autos