Between 1975 and 1978, a strange car was produced at the Dacia factories with which Nicolae Ceaușescu hoped to strike a blow. It was not to be, and legend says that Elena Ceaușescu would have insisted that the production be stopped.
The Dacia D6 Estafette was produced in a limited edition for 4 years in Romania, but it did not have the success that the communists would have expected. Only 642 copies left the gates of the factory in Romania. Manufactured exclusively with imported parts, Dacia D6 Estaffette would not have been to Elena Ceaușescu’s liking, which is why production was abandoned.
The topic was revived on a Facebook group dedicated to fans of old Romanian cars, and the post went viral.
“Pitesti (Mioveni) – 1977”were the only words, accompanied by a photo of the Dacia D6 Estaffette, in the factory.
“I’m 60 years old, but I’ve never seen cars like this on Romania’s roads, they look more like WV transporters, the first types!”someone wrote. “A Dacia model was manufactured in Pitesti, but not in many copies“, explained another. “Not even produced, just assembled, all components came from France”someone corrected him. “Only about 640 were produced”, someone else clarified the issue.
Dacia D6 Estafette on the production line. PHOTO: Facebook / ARO DACIA ROMAN
“Yes, that was the contract on this model with no intention of assimilation into domestic production. In fact, even the Dacia 1300 was not completely assimilated until the 80s (the gearbox), almost 15 years after the first Dacia model”an internet user added.
“Romania exports Dacia all over the globe”, someone wrote.
“I think they were the first vans manufactured in Romania, under license of course“, was another opinion. “They were not manufactured, they were only assembled in Romania”another corrected him.
Elena Ceaușescu did not like them
“In October 1978 I got a job at Dacia (UAP) in the Finishing department and got this model“, wrote one member of the group. “Yes, Estaffette was the name of this car made in Mioveni (then Colibași)”, someone added. “We got few, I think, because I only saw one at the column where I was working. It had a “Nice” emblem and they said the model was for France“, another internet user wrote.
“The Dacia D12 Estafette was only produced in limited numbers. Pharaoh didn’t like them…too bad“, someone intervened in the discussion. “It was a gem, but Leana didn’t like it“, another added.
“They had the engine in the front, but positioned towards the back and the gearbox towards the front, and the gears were reversed like in the Dacia 1300”was another comment. “I don’t think any were exported, there were about 650 pieces manufactured, most of them for the Post Office”, someone added.
According to Brașov.net, there are only a few Dacia D12 Estafettes left in Romania, and Dudi Levente from Brașov owns two of them. The quoted source also states that the model was categorized from the beginning as “different” and a bit eccentric. In fact, the Dacia D6 Estafette was the kind of car dedicated to hippies or those who wanted to live their lives “differently”, and because of this it was not to Elena Ceaușescu’s liking. The dictator’s wife would have ordered that this model no longer be manufactured, and 1978 was the last year when these models left the factory gates.
