The Syrena Strikes Back: Classic Communist-Era Car Back in Production
A cult Polish car will soon be back on the roads with a bang. The Syrena, produced originally during the communist period, is due to ride again in the first half of next year.
In the 1950s, the Central Committee of the Polish Communist Party declared that “a popular means of transport has to be created which will save time during business and leisure and will be meant for rationalisers, shock workers, activists, scientists and leading representatives of the intelligentsia”. Designers took this resolution under careful consideration and it resulted in the creation of the Syrena.
This small two-door car presenting state-of-the-art design, was manufactured between 1957 and 1983. Over 500,000 cars in total were produced, but now a brand-new model of the vehicle will have its own production line in Kutno. The plant in Kutno up to now has been known for its famous military vehicles “tur”, “żubr” and “dzik” (ie. “aurochs”, “bison” and “boar”).
A crew has been working on the new Syrena model since 2012, giving it a modern style yet preserving the traditional shape of the car. Hopefully we will get the chance to see the so-called Syrena Ligea on roads as soon as 2016.
Although car lovers are euphoric about the news, unfortunately not all of them will get the chance to drive one. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Development has decided that the car will not be mass produced – only 50 cars will come out next year, then 100, and in three years there will be 300 new Syrenas manufactured annually.
If many people turn out to be interested in buying a Syrena, only then will the Ministry open an additional production line devoted to this one model. The venture is currently seen as an experiment, seeing as the new Syrena will be an ecologic car with either an electric motor or low-carbon engine.
The new car’s production is being made possible thanks to the support of the EU. An operational program called Innovative Economy is giving 4.5 million zloty to the project. The full budget is around 7.44 million.
Sources: Ministry of Infrastructure and Development, Culture.pl, written by ND, 7 Oct 2015
[{"nid":"5688","uuid":"6aa9e079-0240-4dcb-9929-0d1cf55e03a5","type":"article","langcode":"en","field_event_date":"","title":"Challenges for Polish Prose in the Nineties","field_introduction":"Content: Depict the world, oneself and the form | The Mimetic Challenge: seeking the truth, destroying and creating myths | Seeking the Truth about the World | Destruction of the Heroic Emigrant Myth | Destruction of the Polish Patriot Myth | Destruction of the Flawless Democracy Myth | Creation of Myths | Biographical challenge | Challenges of genre | Summary\r\n","field_summary":"Content: Depict the world, oneself and the form | The Mimetic Challenge: seeking the truth, destroying and creating myths | Seeking the Truth about the World | Destruction of the Heroic Emigrant Myth | Destruction of the Polish Patriot Myth | Destruction of the Flawless Democracy Myth | Creation of Myths | Biographical challenge | Challenges of genre | Summary","topics_data":"a:2:{i:0;a:3:{s:3:\u0022tid\u0022;s:5:\u002259609\u0022;s:4:\u0022name\u0022;s:26:\u0022#language \u0026amp; literature\u0022;s:4:\u0022path\u0022;a:2:{s:5:\u0022alias\u0022;s:27:\u0022\/topics\/language-literature\u0022;s:8:\u0022langcode\u0022;s:2:\u0022en\u0022;}}i:1;a:3:{s:3:\u0022tid\u0022;s:5:\u002259644\u0022;s:4:\u0022name\u0022;s:8:\u0022#culture\u0022;s:4:\u0022path\u0022;a:2:{s:5:\u0022alias\u0022;s:14:\u0022\/topic\/culture\u0022;s:8:\u0022langcode\u0022;s:2:\u0022en\u0022;}}}","field_cover_display":"default","image_title":"","image_alt":"","image_360_auto":"\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/360_auto\/public\/2018-04\/jozef_mroszczak_forum.jpg?itok=ZsoNNVXJ","image_260_auto":"\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/260_auto_cover\/public\/2018-04\/jozef_mroszczak_forum.jpg?itok=pLlgriOu","image_560_auto":"\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/560_auto\/public\/2018-04\/jozef_mroszczak_forum.jpg?itok=0n3ZgoL3","image_860_auto":"\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/860_auto\/public\/2018-04\/jozef_mroszczak_forum.jpg?itok=ELffe8-z","image_1160_auto":"\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/1160_auto\/public\/2018-04\/jozef_mroszczak_forum.jpg?itok=XazO3DM5","field_video_media":"","field_media_video_file":"","field_media_video_embed":"","field_gallery_pictures":"","field_duration":"","cover_height":"991","cover_width":"1000","cover_ratio_percent":"99.1","path":"en\/node\/5688","path_node":"\/en\/node\/5688"}]