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Native name | Melkus Sportwagen GmbH |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1959; 66 years ago (1959) inDresden,East Germany |
| Founder | Heinz Melkus |
| Defunct | 2012 (2012) |
| Fate | original company defunct in 1986, revival founded 2006, defunct 2012 |
| Website | melkus-motorsport |
Melkus (formerlyHeinz Melkus KG andMelkus Sportwagen GmbH) was anEast Germanmarque of single seatracing cars andsport cars founded by the race driverHeinz Melkus inDresden inEast Germany.
The company existed from 1959 to 1986, and then from 2009 to 2012. The cars originally used engines fromWartburgs and many of the other parts came from Wartburgs andTrabants. The racing cars competed inFormula 3,Formula Junior andFormula Ford. The 2009 to 2012 models used engines fromToyota andVolkswagen.
The only road car the company produced from 1959 to 1986 was theMelkus RS 1000. It was a sleek sports car powered by a tuned mid-mounted Wartburg 3-cylinder 2-stroke engine. Most of the cars used the 992 cc version, but some of the later cars had the 1200 cc version. It hadgullwing doors. 101 cars were made.
The company stopped making cars in 1986. In the early 1990s, Heinz Melkus and his family started running aBMW dealership in Dresden.
In December 2006, Melkus Engineering--a German company owned by Peter Melkus, son of Heinz Melkus--announced it would re-launch the RS 1000[1] sports car. A new model, the Melkus RS 2000 was produced from 2009 to 2012. It was originally to be powered by either anOpel orturbocharged 150–200 hp (110–150 kW; 150–200 PS) Volkswagen engine.[2] There was also talk about a GT model with 300 hp (220 kW; 300 PS).[3]
The new RS 2000 premiered at theFrankfurt International Motor Show in 2009.[4]
The car manufacturing arm of Melkus filed for bankruptcy in August 2012.[5]
