Not so long ago I started a series of publications about old minibuses, so I am replenishing the collection with another article. This time I want to talk about a "minivan" from the GDR - a now defunct country of the non-existent Eastern Bloc - the Eastern part of Germany, which belonged to the countries of the "socialist camp". It's about the Barkas B1000 car. Why did I put the "minivan" in quotation marks? Yes, because such a concept simply did not exist at that time, although this minibus can be safely attributed to this class.

The Barkas B1000 was released in 1961, replacing the previously produced Framo V901 van at the VEB Barkas-Werke plant in Chemnitz. The car was strikingly different from its predecessor. A fairly modern design - a fresh design, a cabin over the engine, front-wheel drive, independent torsion bar suspension on all wheels made it stand out among the army of light commercial vehicles of that time. Even the 0.9l 3-cylinder two-stroke engine. 43 h.p.,

traced back to the motorcycle manufacturers DKW, was not yet an anachronism, although it was already considered outdated. Using structural elements, components and assemblies of the Wartburg 311 passenger car, German engineers have created a light delivery vehicle with numerous modifications - a passenger minibus, a pickup truck, a closed van, etc. The car has acquired a bright and memorable exterior. From the passenger car Wartburg 311, Barkas also inherited the engine - a three-cylinder petrol two-stroke engine with a volume of 0.9 liters, type AWE 311, with a capacity of 43 hp. and a four-speed gearbox. Later, this engine was replaced by an upgraded AWE 312 with a displacement of 0.992 liters and 46 hp. The maximum speed that the car was able to develop was 110 km / h. Despite the modern appearance of this car at that time, many technical solutions were outdated. For example, the engine did not have its own lubrication system and oil was added directly to gasoline. Instead of the usual CV joints, transmitting torque to the wheels, a cardan transmission was used, and the drive to one of the wheels could be turned off. The braking system on early models was dual-circuit - only for the front wheels and with a mechanical drive. The salon was heated by an autonomous heater. Although this also had its advantages - the car was enough

reliable and easy to repair, and most importantly - cheap to manufacture. Barkas was produced in a wide range of bodies: minibus, van, pickup (flatbed), chassis; as well as special designs: an ambulance car, a small fire engine, an army van. The minibus also enjoyed success outside the GDR, so it can still be found in the vastness of the countries of the former Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact - Poland, the Czech Republic, etc.
But the lack of competition did its dirty deed - barkas was produced without any changes until 1989, and even an attempt at modernization (installation of a 1.3 liter Volkswagen engine) did not save from the inevitable - the car was hopelessly outdated. After the unification of Germany, the Barkas plant was bought by the Volkswagen concern, and the new management curtailed production. In 30 years of production (1961-1991) 175,740 B1000 cars were produced. Many of them are still preserved, they can even be found on our roads.

In East Germany, a light truck Barkas replaced the post-war Framo V901, which was noticeably outdated by the mid-50s. Unlike its predecessor, the new truck had a wagon layout, an all-metal body, front-wheel drive and an independent torsion bar suspension. The appearance of the car was also matched to the innovative design. Many agree that Barkas Is arguably the most attractive example of automotive design in the GDR.

Based on the base van Barkas B1000K minibus produced Barkas B1000KB, cargo van, flatbed truck, recreational vehicle, ambulance and many special versions, such as communal ladder, small fire truck, service car for car racing and other modifications.

Popular in the GDR Barkas and Trabant.

Someone calls Trabant a disgrace of the German auto industry, for someone his appearance causes an attack of "ostalgia". Barkas however, they are generally rated positively for its innovative design and attractive, by the standards of the 50s and 60s, design.

German Barkas and Soviet Sprīdītis.

Cars are "classmates" and, practically, the same age.

Among other things, Barkas favorably distinguished by the presence of an autonomous interior heater. Its ventilation "gills" are visible on the left side behind the driver's door.

Even at the end of the 19th century, a Dane by nationality named Jorgen Skafte Rasmunsen received his engineering education in Germany. He did not return to his historical homeland, but settled in Central Saxony: in the German city of Chemnitz, Rasmunsen opened a small enterprise for the production of valves, and a little later, the production facilities were moved by Jorgen to the city of Zschopau.

The factory belonged to the engineering industry, because it produced steam engines and metal products. After the First World War in Chopau "on the head of the day" a new production was created - a plant for the production of ferry cars under the name DKW, which eventually became under this brand the largest manufacturer of gasoline engines for bicycles, as well as a manufacturer of mopeds and motorcycles. The company was doing so well that by the end of the twenties, DKW had become perhaps the most famous and popular German brand of cars and two-wheeled vehicles.

Rasmunsen, who at that time was a well-known authority in the automotive industry, together with two other industrial engineers opened a new enterprise in the city of Frankenberg - a factory for the production of components for DKW equipment. Initially the company was called Metallwerke Frankenberg, but later it was renamed Frankenberger Motorenwerke - Frankenberg Motor Works. This company is widely known under the abbreviation Framo.

In addition to engines and power system units, Framo began to produce light three-wheeled vans and trucks on the basis of DKW motorcycle units, and a little later, four-wheeled trucks. More than five thousand different vehicles with a carrying capacity from 0.5 to 1.2 tons were produced in Frankenberg a year. Thus, by the end of the thirties, the Saxon company became one of the main manufacturers of light commercial vehicles in Germany.

Alas, the Second World War affected the fate of the factory in the same way as the rest of the German car factories: in the early forties, Framo was redesigned and completely transferred to the production of components for the military industry.

The outcome of the largest confrontation between the USSR and Germany put a fat point in the fate of a huge industrial complex - a significant part of the machine tools and other industrial equipment were dismantled after 1945 and taken to the Soviet Union.

On the remains of the former Framo in the first post-war years in Central Saxony, a simple car repair shop somehow functioned. However, in 1949, the company was nationalized, along the way including it into the large industrial association IFA (Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau). After all, the former legacy of pre-war Germany - the automobile industry - was an important branch of the economy. At the same time, all the countries of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), which included East Germany, collectively gave the go-ahead for the release of this or that type of transport. That is why, for example, in Hungary in the post-war period. The plant, named Werk Framo Hainichen, has been producing a pre-war Framo V501 truck equipped with a two-cylinder two-stroke engine since the early fifties, as well as the more modern Framo V901 truck.

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The automotive industry in the GDR, as well as in the country, underwent a number of different structural changes, as a result of which the former Framo factory was renamed VEB Barkas Verke Hainichen in 1958. The form of ownership of the plant, which received the abbreviation VEB (German: Volkseigener Betrieb - "people's enterprise"), was characteristic of almost all post-war enterprises in the engineering industry of the GDR. As a rule, its small factories were part of larger production associations.

By that time, the Saxon city of Chemnitz was renamed Karl-Marx-Stadt. The former Framo enterprise, which became the socialist-people's "Barkas", was merged with the motor plant and automobile factory located in this city under the long name VEB Barkas-Werke Karl-Marx-Stadt. At the same time, the production facilities remained "at the old address" - that is, in Hainichen.

New time - new van

In the early fifties in the young socialist state, the need arose for light delivery trucks. Initially, the issue was "cleared" by the resumption of production of the pre-war Framo models, but neither they nor the more modern V901 / 2 truck met the requirements of the new era.

The country's leadership instructed the designers of the enterprise from Karl-Marx-Stadt to develop delivery vehicles of a fundamentally new generation. Interestingly, initially, on the same platform, it was planned to produce both all-metal vans and flatbed trucks. Another key difference between a promising development and its predecessors is the progressive design. Cabover wagon layout, independent torsion bar suspension, front-wheel drive, monocoque body - in a word, the project had more than enough innovations. We remind you that we were talking about post-war socialist Germany, which was just getting on its feet after the devastating consequences of the Second World War for this country. However, there is an explanation for everything: the automotive industry in Germany in the pre-war period was at such a high level of development that no shocks could lead to the degradation of the design school.

Without further ado, the new model was named the same as the company itself - Barkas. In order to speed up the process of developing a new model and reduce production costs, the country's leadership made a strategic decision - to unify the new van with "passenger" products from other GDR factories. That is why Barkas received a three-cylinder two-stroke engine from a passenger car Wartburg 311. A compact two-stroke with a volume of 966 "cubes" developed about 37 horsepower - not God knows what, but for a light delivery truck with a carrying capacity of 1 ton such "power equipment" should have been enough.

Already in 1956, the first prototypes of the all-metal van were manufactured, which were soon supplemented with minibuses of various configurations and purposes. After all, Barkas had to take on the whole heap of tasks for the transportation of small goods and passengers, including such a specific area as ambulance and fire service.

In a couple of years, almost four dozen different prototypes were manufactured, which, until 1961, passed various tests, having wound over a million kilometers on their pre-production wheels. During this time, various design flaws were identified and eliminated, and the future Barkas finally got its usual look.

The exterior of the German van deserves a detailed description. It would seem that a utilitarian "carriage", and even a cabover layout - well, what emotions can such a "refrigerator" evoke? However, thanks to the efforts of German artists, the Barkas turned out to be an extremely harmonious outwardly car with "clean" lines and correct proportions.

The modest, harmonious and laconic design of Barkas turned out to be so integral that fleeting trends and trends in automotive fashion did not affect the appearance of the car in any way. At the same time, all the years of its release, the original Barkas did not look outdated - it was just a perfect product of its era.

The reverse side of the coin is the complete immunity of the exterior to modifications and "modernization" with the help of primitive cosmetic techniques.

If even now the touchingly round-head "Barkasik" with its plump forms does not cause rejection, then in the early sixties it looked not only attractive, but also very modern even against the background of the "capitalist" minibus VW T1. In fairness, we note that the East German cabover looked, perhaps, even more perfect than its western counterpart.

The shuttle of socialism

In the summer of 1961, the serial production of Barkas was launched, and the bodies of monophonic vans called Barkas B1000 were manufactured in Karl-Marx-Stadt, and the final marketable appearance of the cars took on all the same Heinichen. As you might guess, the digital index of Barkas indicated its maximum carrying capacity.

At the very beginning of its conveyor path, Barkas received a "new heart" - the AWE-312 engine, the working volume of which increased by several dozen "cubes", and the power, accordingly, increased to 42 "horses". However, this figure, taking into account the cargo-passenger capabilities of the car, looked more than modest, but at that time the GDR automobile industry simply did not have an alternative.

Like other cars of Eastern European production, "Barkasiks" cheerfully chirped with their two-strokes, delivering cargo and passengers in various cities of the democratic republic.

The model also received a very flattering assessment from professionals, because a modest-looking machine with its own weight of 1,200 kg could carry almost the same amount of baggage by weight, and in an all-metal body, due to the rationality of the cabover layout and front-wheel drive, about six cubic meters of cargo could be placed. The absence of a propeller shaft and torsion bar suspension favorably influenced the height of the floor, which in addition turned out to be completely flat.

In addition to the van itself, in the mid-sixties, other modifications appeared in the Barkas lineup - a truck with an onboard platform on a spar frame and an eight-seater minibus. In addition, over time, the car has become a little better technically, having received a dual-circuit brake system and an electric windshield washer. For comparison: the first Soviet ones used a primitive rubber "bulb" with a mechanical washer drive.

Excursion road train based on Barkas B1000

To ensure an acceptable level of comfort in the cold season, the designers had to install an autonomous interior heater on the passenger versions of minibuses, which externally was given out only by an additional door with slots on the left side. And in the hot period, the life of the inhabitants of the cabin was facilitated by the presence of an opening sunroof. However, the problems associated with the summer heat arose not only among passengers, but also in the power unit, which is why the cooling system of the minibus was repeatedly modernized.

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In 1972, the "ageless" Barkas finally got a new "heart" -. In the same decade, the Barkasy underwent a series of modernizations and design changes, the purpose of which was to meet the car's new international safety requirements and car exhaust standards. In the course of improvements, minibuses, vans and trucks received seat belts for the driver and front passenger, new optics, alternator, cable clutch instead of hydraulic, more modern steering and power system ...

Thus, by the beginning of the eighties, the technical part of the car became noticeably more modern and more perfect, and in 1983 the Barkas B1000 was finally updated externally. However, the models with the code name "83" and "84" will be immediately distinguished from their predecessors only by a big fan of these minibuses, since all the changes in the exterior were reduced to the installation of other bumpers with a rubber strip and front foglights. The interior of the upgraded version has a new dashboard. Late Barkasy can also be distinguished by the type of side door - since 1988 it has become sliding instead of the usual swing door.

Up to 8,000 longboats were assembled in Hainichen per year, with the production peak in the mid-seventies. In 1980, a car with serial number 100,000 rolled off the assembly line, and by 1987, 150,000 minibuses, trucks and vans Barkas B1000 had already been manufactured.

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As in the case of the Wartburg and Trabi, changes in the state system favorably influenced the construction of the Barkas, but did not affect its fate in the best way. In other words, commercial vehicles were also transferred to Volkswagen traction, because in 1989, licensed Volkswagen Golf engines were already produced in the GDR. Like the car from Eisenach, Barkas received another "heart" - a 1.3-liter petrol engine with a capacity of 58 liters. with. The four-cylinder four-stroke engine was quite modern by the standards of the eighties, structurally being an analogue of the Soviet G8 unit.

Similar to the debut of the first Barkas in 1962, the updated Barkas B1000-1 was shown at the Leipzig Fair in 1989, and since 1990, the serial production of the modernized Barkasiks began.

Alas, the "bolivar of capitalism could not stand these three": like Wartburg and Trabant, even with a new power unit, the hopelessly outdated minibus was simply not in demand by the market in the new conditions. After all, a huge stream of used equipment from Germany poured into the former socialist republic - including commercial vans and vans like the VW T2. Of course, the "specter of socialism", even if it had lost its primitive two-stroke, looked pale in comparison with the "bourgeoisie". In addition, over the course of several decades, the East Germans had already, as they say, “gorged” on Barkasov, and the Western consumer was not interested in such a product at the conceptual level.

That is why the life path of the Barkas B1000-1 turned out to be very short - until 1991, less than 2,000 updated cars were produced, and in just thirty years of assembly line experience in Hainichen, more than 177,000 round-to-the-cute Barkas were assembled.

In the early nineties, in parallel with such native Zhiguli, our compatriots began to buy second-hand Barkasy in the GDR - fortunately, the East Germans offered their equipment at a reasonable price. Quite a few minibuses served as a kind of "carriers" of the property of Soviet officers who moved to their historical homeland with their families and goods acquired in the GDR.

Even with an archaic two-stroke, Barkas aroused great interest among the residents of the Soviet Union, because it was simply impossible to get a car of this class and purpose for personal use before! In addition, it turned out that the German car, even in its "used" form, is quite unpretentious and reliable, and in practice the Barkasov proved to be in order with efficiency.

In the spirit of the times in the early nineties, a crazy "project" was born in Russia: the equipment for the production of minibuses and vans, which had become unnecessary for the Germans, decided to acquire the Kirov plant, which had previously produced products for the "defense industry".

The business idea was to buy “cheap” free production facilities for the production of Barkas and to localize production as much as possible at the regional level in the Leningrad Region. Engines, of course, planned to use domestic - from the classic Zhiguli.

Alas or fortunately, something went wrong: in 1993, the German side meticulously prepared the equipment for shipment to Sosnovy Bor, located 70 kilometers from St. Petersburg, but ... Most likely, for financial reasons, the German-Russian project never took place. A year later, the machines and dies in Hainichen were simply disposed of, turning this page of its history forever.

The history of the creation of Barkas B1000

"Rafik" from the GDR, or the history of the creation of Barkas B1000

What do we know about automotive Germany during socialism? Most motorists will remember the world-famous Trabant and Wartburg, which really were the symbol of the GDR. But it would be wrong to forget one more car. Or rather, the Barkas minibus, which for many years has become a kind of German "Rafik".

If you look very deeply, it turns out that Barkas owes its appearance to the Dane Jorgen Skafta Rasmunsen, who, having received an engineering education, settled in Germany at the end of the 19th century. Having opened a small business in the town of Chemnitz, specializing in the production of valves, Rasmunsen soon achieved his first successes, after which the production was transferred to the town of Chopau. Gradually, other metal products came to replace the ingenuous fittings, and after the First World War, ferry cars began to be produced at the Chopau plant.

Over time, the latter acquired their own name DKW, and at the end of the 20s, Rasmunsen's company mastered the production of mopeds, motorcycles and gasoline engines for them. By this time, the talented Dane had become so authoritative in the automotive industry that he created another production facility, together with other industrialists, without much difficulty. The new factory specializing in the production of components for DKW equipment, after several renames, became known as Framo.

By the 1930s, DKW had become one of the largest German manufacturers of light commercial vehicles. First, at the Framo plant, on the basis of DKW motorcycles, they began to produce small three-wheeled vans, and after a couple of years, the production of four-wheeled vehicles was mastered. All in all, in Frankenberg, where the Framo factory was located, about 5 thousand units of a wide variety of equipment were produced annually. Surely, production would have developed rapidly further, but the Second World War made its own adjustments.

Like most other German enterprises, the Framo plant was redesigned for the needs of the military industry, and after the defeat of Germany, most of the equipment was transferred to the Soviet Union. From the Framo, once known throughout Western Europe, there is a small auto repair shop. The story could have ended on this, but the enterprise was saved by nationalization. In 1949, it was incorporated into the largest industrial association Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau, after which the plant received a new name - Werk Framo Hainichen.

Having received the "go" from the countries of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, which included East Germany, WFH began production of several models at once: the pre-war Framo V501 truck and the more modern Framo V901. Once again, the plant changed its name only in 1958. This time it was decided to abandon Framo's name altogether, and instead the "people's enterprise" was named Barkas Verke Hainichen. The Saxon city of Chemnitz, from which it all began, has gone down in history. The newly-minted Karl-Marx-Stadt became the birthplace of the newly-minted "Barkas".

Like the Soviet Union, young East Germany was in dire need of a large number of delivery vans and small trucks. It is not surprising that the country's leadership very soon asked the designers from Karl-Marx-Stadt to throw all their efforts into developing a new generation car. Considering the huge pre-war engineering potential and the accumulated experience of German specialists, the result was not long in coming. It was assumed that the new generation van will have a wagon layout, front-wheel drive, monocoque body and independent torsion bar suspension. At that time - the design is very innovative. Only with the name of the future car they decided not to bother. The van received the same name as the company - Barkas.

Specifications Barkas B1000

Trying to reduce costs, even at the design stage, Barkas was largely unified with the Wartburg-311. For example, he borrowed a three-cylinder engine. With a volume of 966 "cubes", its power was 37 horsepower, which was more or less enough for a light van. In 1956, the first prototypes saw the light, and a year later, minibuses with a different layout and purpose joined the version with an all-metal body. Like the Soviet RAF, the German Barkas was to become an ambulance, a fire department, and just a delivery van.

By 1961, several dozen prototypes had covered over a million test kilometers. After eliminating the identified shortcomings, Barkas was put into mass production. It is noteworthy that the B1000 version (the figure shows the carrying capacity of the van) was manufactured in Karl-Marx-Stadt, after which the car was reassembled in Hainichen. The 37-horsepower engine, which was installed on the prototypes, was abandoned almost immediately after the start of production. Not to say that the new 42 horsepower AWE-312 power unit significantly improved the dynamic capabilities of the car, but in any case it was a step forward.

The modest Barkas is loved not only by ordinary motorists, but also by professionals. The latter did not fail to note that the van weighing 1200 kilograms can take away almost the same amount. And thanks to the absence of a propeller shaft and an all-metal body, the van could accommodate up to six "cubes" of cargo. By the mid-60s, an eight-seater minibus and a flatbed truck were added to the existing versions. In parallel, engineers have improved the design of the car itself. The drivers, who often had to spend days at the wheel of Barkas, were not forgotten either. So, for example, an opening hatch was provided for cooling the cabin on the roof. In winter, on the other hand, the heater installed on the passenger versions of Barkas saved the day.

In 1972, Barkas received a new engine from the Wartburg-353. And in the same year, all versions of the car were significantly improved, which allowed them to comply with international requirements regarding emission and safety standards. Barkas has got improved steering, seat belts, clutch cable, new power system. But the appearance

Barkas was changed only in 1983. Although, given that it initially turned out "timeless" and caused extremely positive emotions, it all came down to the installation of other bumpers and "foglights".

In 1988, another small modernization took place: the side hinged door gave way to a sliding door. By this time, the company in Hainichen had already produced more than 150 Launches.

Trucks, minibuses and vans, which are in demand in poor socialist countries, could well have been produced for another dozen years, but history has decided otherwise. After socialist Germany got the opportunity to use technology from the capitalist FRG, the fate of Barkas was sealed. A car produced since 1962, even with a modern "Volkswagen" 1.3-liter engine, could not compete on equal terms with much more advanced commercial equipment from the same Volkswagen. Like Trabant and Wartburg, Barkas was eaten by the "sharks of capitalism".

Surprisingly, Barkas almost got a second life in Russia. The idea was to buy cheap equipment to make a car, and then localize its assembly. The pedantic Germans agreed to the deal and even practically sent the equipment, but at the last moment the Russian side backed down. A year later, it was decided to dispose of the machines and stamps that no one needed. In the glorious history of Barkas, a fat point was put.

50 years ago, on June 14, 1961 in the city of Karl-Marx-Stadt, a pilot series of the Barkas B1000 delivery vehicle rolled off the assembly line.

Actually, both in German and in Russian, the name of the car means the same thing - launch. In Dahl's dictionary "barkas", it is "the largest rowing ship, a laborer, for the delivery of an anchor and the transport of people and weights ..." The word is of French origin, barcasse. It is understandable why the designers of the VEB Zentrale Entwicklung und Konstruktion für den Kraftfahrzeugbau (VEB ZEK) design bureau, located in the city of Karl-Marx-Stadt, decided to name the new car. According to the order issued by the party, it was supposed to create a multi-purpose truck with a carrying capacity of 1 ton, capable of a speed of 100 km / h. Such machines in Germany were called Schnell-Laster, that is, a high-speed truck. Work on its design began in 1950, but in the young democratic Germany in those years everything changed so quickly that five years later VEB ZEK completely revised the concept of the machine. In particular, the strict limits on the metal obtained from the USSR forced a more careful approach to the mass-dimensional parameters of the machine. In addition to the fact that it was supposed to be a front-wheel drive truck, now they decided to equip it with a monocoque body.

The wagon layout, bearing an all-metal body, independent torsion bar suspension, front-wheel drive - the prototype of the van, conventionally called the L1, was ready in 1956. The next year, prototypes of a cargo-passenger model and a minibus were added to it.

The car was to be produced by the national enterprise VEB Kraftfahrzeugwerk FRAMO Hainichen in the city of Hainichen. It was the former Framo factory, founded by Jorge Skafte Rasmussen (he also created the famous production of motorcycles and cars DKW) For German soldiers during World War II, the standard Framo nurse was a symbol of getting rid of front-line horror. Naturally, the authorities of the GDR did not want such associations, and therefore in 1957 the plant was renamed. And in 1958, on the basis of a cluster of enterprises, the VEB Barkas-Werke Karl-Marx-Stadt combine was created. It includes the former Framo plant in Hainichen, and the engine and assembly plant in Karl-Marx-Stadt itself, as well as the fuel equipment plant in Wolfpfütz.

In 1958, the car, still bearing the L1 designation, takes on its final shape and is sent for certification tests. In the period from 1956 to 1961, prototypes have time to run over a million kilometers.

The first car to come off the assembly line had chassis number 40009. In total, the zero series consisted of 39 vehicles, including an ambulance, two cargo-passenger and two 11-seater minibuses.

The Germans demonstrated that despite the dismantling of equipment in 1945, the flight of many specialists to the West, despite all the limits and prohibitions imposed by the USSR, they know how to create decent cars. Let the Barkas B1000 be equipped with an outdated power unit that worked at the limit of its capabilities - in terms of such parameters as capacity, specific load capacity, design, ergonomics, its comparison with the Soviet RAF Latvia or UAZ-451 was not in favor of the latter. Barkas also stood out significantly against the background of its European counterparts. In 1962, visitors to the Leipzig Fair could be convinced of this, where the official international debut of the novelty took place. Alas, the socialist system prepared for such projects a long life and, whatever the advantages, they gradually dried up.

Repeated attempts to improve the design were limited only to changes, without which the car could not be sold in foreign markets. The car acquired dual-circuit diagonal brakes, oversized lighting equipment. The 900 cc three-cylinder two-stroke engine AWE-311 from the passenger car model Wartburg-311 in 1962 was bored to 991 "cubes" (AWE-312), and instead of a pitiful 28 it began to produce no less humiliating 42 hp. In 1969, an additional cooling system had to be introduced into the design so that the engine did not overheat. In 1972, the strength increased as much as three. The question of replacing the engine with a four-stroke, which was repeatedly raised, was constantly postponed. On May 15, 1969, a prototype Barkas B1100 with a Moskvich-412 engine was built at the plant, counting on cooperation within the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). However, the USSR did not single out the motors - at that time, the "412" was a hot export product.

I had to be content with what was available. Barkas, however, was in demand outside the GDR. On February 22, 1980, the 100,000th B-1000 rolled off the assembly line.

Attempts at the end of the 1960s to install a diesel engine, disc brakes on Barkas, and create a modification with a carrying capacity of up to 1.3 tons failed. What did change in the car? On August 9, 1977, the hydraulic clutch was abandoned. On October 31, 1979, the worm steering gear was replaced with a more modern rolling ball screw nut. In 1985, a diaphragm clutch was installed on Barkas. The maximum change that befell the car was the sliding side door in June 1987.

In 1989, when the unification of the two Germany dawned, a four-stroke engine was finally installed on the Barkas, under license from Volkswagen - the car received the designation B1000-1. This innovation played, rather, a psychological role: the "Aussies", as the East Germans called the inhabitants of the FRG, did not look so backward in their eyes. Nevertheless, the fate of Barkas and the Heinehen plant was sealed. The assembly was carried out by primitive methods, "on the knee", the car did not have disc brakes. On April 10, 1991, the last Barkas rolled off the assembly line. He was seen off with genuine sadness - over the years, several generations of Germans managed to take a liking to the pretty car. In total, the company produced 175,740 Barkas B1000 vehicles. The plant's equipment was dismantled, its traces were lost either in St. Petersburg or in Kazan.