Dacia · 1988–1991
Dacia Lăstun
The Dacia 500 Lăstun (Romanian pronunciation: [ləsˈtun]) is a small city car manufactured by Tehnometal, Timișoara, under the auto marque Dacia. The name derives from the Romanian word for house martin, a small bird related to swallows.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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History
The Lăstun is a low-cost Romanian car made for urban transport, and it was built between 1988 and 1991, featuring a two-cylinder air-cooled engine of 499 cc, producing 22.5 PS (16.5 kW), fuel consumption of 3.3 L/100 km (86 mpg‑imp; 71 mpg‑US), a maximum speed 106 km/h (66 mph) and fiberglass bodywork, with a design sharing some similarity to the Lancia Y10. A stretched bodywork prototype 500 Lăstun was exhibited at the 1989 Bucharest trade fair. Another prototype from the early 1990s featured hubcaps, body-coloured bumpers, and head restraints. The Lăstun was marketed with the advertising slogan: "Un Autoturism de Actualitate" (A Contemporary Vehicle). Production continued until 1991. Due to its size, the Lăstun was primarily a city car, and was suitable for use as a second car. In 1989, the Lăstun received side lights, and in 1991, the Lăstun was lightly restyled to the front, with the only modification being a new bonnet with a one-piece grille. Also, the small 0.5L engine had some carburateur break-downs, which brought the average petrol consumption to almost 9 L/100 km (31 mpg‑imp; 26 mpg‑US), making the car less economical than the long running Dacia 1300 series. Tehnometal manufactured a total of 6,532 vehicles.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.
Specifications
- name
- Dacia 500 Lăstun
- Manufacturer
- Tehnometal Plant (Dacia)
- Production
- 1988–1991
- Assembly
- Romania: Timișoara
- Class
- City car (A)
- Body style
- 3-door hatchback
- Layout
- FF layout
- Engine
- 0.5 L I2
- Transmission
- 4-speed manual
- Wheelbase
- 1915 mm
- Length
- 2950 mm
- Width
- 1410 mm
- Height
- 1352 mm
- Kerb weight
- 590 kg
- Top speed
- 106 km/h
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.
More photos
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q597073CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacia_L%C4%83stunCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1368560330 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dacia_500.jpgCC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: Simiprof · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.