The Romanian automaker Dacia was interested in designing a city car for people that didn’t need much interior room, thus the Dacia Lastun (or Dacia 500) came to life.
The small vehicle was launched in Timisoara and was sold by 1991 when the last Lastun exited the carmaker’s gates.

Featuring a 499 cc 2-cylinder unit that developed only 22.5 hp, the Lastun did well within the city limits and had a great fuel consumption ranging between 3.3 L/100 km and 4.5 L/100 km.

The small engine was mated with a 4-speed manual transmission, and the gearbox lever was placed on the steering-wheel.

Offering space for 4 occupants, the Dacia 500 weighed only 560 kg and could reach a maximum speed of 70 km/h.

While the idea of a small city car should’ve been successful, the Lastun’s reliability was seriously low. The communist regime compromised the quality of the materials and mechanicals used for the Dacia 500.

With numerous complaints received from the owners indicating major and dangerous issues encountered, the Consumer’s Protection decided to stop production in March 1990.

The factory in Timisoara was closed in 1992.

While the Lastun started as a great idea, it ended up as a total failure.