The Melkus RS 1000, lovingly nicknamed the "Ferrari of the East," was the only sports car produced in Communist East Germany. Designed by racing-driver-turned-entrepreneur Heinz Melkus between 1969 and 1979, just 101 were ever built—most from components of Wartburg and Trabant models. Sleek, low-slung, and equipped with gull-wing doors, the RS 1000 reached speeds surpassing 180 km/h (~112 mph), making it a legend behind the Iron Curtain. Though production ceased by 1979, around 80 examples survive—and a limited revival by Melkus's descendants in Dresden has brought the icon back to the road.