Trabant may make comeback 10:32, September 17, 2009 A vastly updated version of the boxy, exhaust-belching Trabant compact made in East Germany could be in production by 2012 as an electric powered green machine - but only if the company finds the right investor. A concept version of an electric Trabant, dubbed the NT, is on display at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The NT retains the simple shape of the old version, the P 601 Universal Trabant, but will substitute its loud, smoky two-stroke engine with a plug-in electric motor. Solar panels on the roof will power some of the car's functions. The new four-seater's lithium-ion battery will have a charging time of about eight hours and a range of 160 kilometers or 100 miles. The car will have a maximum speed of 130 kilometers per hour, or about 80 mph. It will be sparse, however: there will be "no unnecessary gadgetry" in the car, Trabant said. "Simple, strong, light and practical - for decades, these virtues stood for the Trabant brand," the company said. "It could be on the road by 2012 provided that we are able to find a strong partner. The worldwide known brand 'Trabant' now offers a strong investor the entry into an exciting automobile project with potential for the future." The project is being initiated by a number of companies and organizations led by German model building company Herpa GmbH, and including Indikar, a specialty car body builder, and Depo Engineering GmbH. Nils Poschwatta, once a designer for Volkswagen AG, came up with the form of the new version, and the state development organization Autoland Saxony is also contributing to the project. The original Trabant was made in Zwickau in Germany's Saxony state. East Germany ceased to exist when Germany was reunified in 1990 at the end of the Cold War. "Source:China Daily" .