Dacia 500
| Dacia | |
|---|---|
 Dacia 500
|
|
| 500 | |
| Production period: | 1986-1989 |
| Class : | Microcar |
| Body versions : | Station wagon |
| Engines: |
Otto engine : 0.5 liters (17 kW) |
| Length: | 2950 mm |
| Width: | 1410 mm |
| Height: | 1340 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 1915 mm |
| Empty weight : | 525 kg |
The Dacia 500 is a small car from Dacia , which was manufactured between 1986 and 1989 in Timișoara , Romania . It is popularly called Lăstun , Romanian for swallow .
history
In addition to the Dacia 1300 sedan (from 1969) and the Oltcit small car (from 1981), the Romanian state also wanted to produce an affordable microcar . Under the leadership of the Dacia plant in Piteşti , work began in 1980 to design such a vehicle. In order to achieve a low production cost, as many assemblies as possible from the existing models from the Romanian manufacturers Dacia, ARO and Oltcit were included in the design. In order to further reduce the manufacturing costs and, above all, the curb weight of the vehicle, it was decided to manufacture the body from fiberglass-reinforced polyester. The first prototypes were then tested from 1982. Finally, the production version of the Dacia 500 was presented in 1986. The two-cylinder in-line carburetor engine with 499 cm³ developed 17 kW (22.5 hp). The top speed of the car was 106 km / h. The fuel consumption was a very low 3.4 l / 100 km if you didn't move it faster than 50 km / h.
The manufacturer of the Dacia 500 was the company Întreprinderea de Autoturisme Timișoara ( IAT ), which emerged from the former company Tehnometal on January 1, 1985 and has operated under the name Tehnomet since the end of vehicle production in 1991 . Its factory site at what was then Calea Buziașului was modernized in the mid-1980s in order to be able to manufacture a sufficient number of vehicles intended for broad-based motorization. But the workmanship was poor and the size of the car was too small for a family. So the Dacia 500 was not a great success.
literature
- W.Riedel / W.Eschment / J. Ellwitz: Article Jugend + Technik, popular science-technical youth magazine of the GDR, issue 1 / January 1987 , test report "Dacia 500 in the test"
- Michael Dünnebier, Eberhard Kittler: Passenger cars of socialist countries . transpress VEB Verlag für Verkehrwesen, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-344-00382-8 , pp. 117-118.
