Vogel became somewhat of a "Petrol Head" turning against East German manufactured automobiles for West German cars. Between 1964 and 1968 , VEB the manufacturer of the Trabant were tasked with a possible modern replacement for the Trabant 601. This would have been the Trabant P603 and looked similar to what the Volkswagen would look like, when later released in the West a couple of years later. The 9 prototypes of the Trabant P603 were fitted with different engines, including the regular 2 stroke 601 engine, a wankel rotary engine, and a 4 cylinder engine supplied by Skoda, The production would have cost 7.7 Billion Ost Marks.
The project was cancelled by SED minister for Industry and production / Economic Management and planning, Gunter Mittag. He claimed that there was no need for a replacement for the 601. The DDR needed money rather than a new car. There are serious suggestions that the plans were sold to VW, from which they developed the VW Golf 1. One of the most successful cars ever built in the World. The reason of the plans going to VW was the the SED needed the Western Cash. Gunter Mittag was diabetic , and in 1984 lost the lower part of a leg, In 1989 he lost the other leg. The amputations were one reason that the DDR imported several Range Rovers, as Mittag and Honecker were keen hunters, and the modified Range Rover was easy for Mittag to access. After the fall of the wall, In 1991 he was accused of using government funds for a private home.
Lance Shippey