IWL - Pitty: East German IWL scooter with unique design and history
The IWL Pitty was an East German scooter, produced from 1955 onwards. With its distinctive design, robust construction and MZ engine, it offered a unique riding experience, despite some performance limitations and comfort challenges.
Pitty VEB
Germany
1955
Industriewerke Ludwigsfelde (IWL) was a major scooter manufacturer in the former GDR, based in Ludwigsfelde, just south of Berlin.
Motor scooters were extremely popular in Italy and in West Germany after 1950. Even in East Germany, people were aware of this trend. However, scooters produced in Italy or West Germany were difficult or even impossible to obtain in East Germany. Earlier, state and party leaders rejected the idea of producing East German motor scooters. But after the 1953 Uprising, they finally decided to support it anyway.
In 1955, the state-owned VEB Industriewerke Ludwigsfelde introduced its first production model, the Pitty, which sold for 2,300 Marks. The Pitty had an innovative design with leading link front suspension and a hydraulically damped swingarm suspension, on which the engine and gearbox were mounted. The prow and flat floorboard look suspiciously like the Bastert einspur car (perhaps from the defunct prototype but the latter has not been proven). Unlike popular Italian scooters, such as Vespa, the engine on the Pitty was placed in front of the rear wheel, resulting in a longer wheelbase and more stable handling.
To keep the air-cooled MZ engine at the right temperature, a cooling fan was added, but this further limited the already modest power of 5 hp. In addition, the large fairing, added weight. At 139 kilograms, the Pitty was relatively heavy for its class, which did not help its performance. Although IWL claimed a top speed of 70 km/h, this was rarely achieved in practice.
Upon its introduction, the Pitty was tested by the East German magazine Der deutsche Straßenverkehr, which provided IWL with extensive feedback. Customers also criticised several aspects, such as the hard two-seater seat and the lack of a steering lock. The only theft protection was a lockable valve at the fuel tap, which was considered inadequate.
IWL took the criticism seriously and soon started developing a successor. As a result, the Pitty remained in production for only a little over a year. In that short time, a total of 11,293 units were produced. Despite its limitations, the Pitty was an important step in the development of East German scooters and laid the foundation for later models.