A budget car dubbed the ‘worst in history’ is set to make a comeback.
The Yugo, which hailed from the former Yugoslavia, became the butt of many jokes after it was released in the UK and the US in the 1980s.
It cost around £3,000, making it the cheapest vehicle on the market at the time.
But the car was known for its poor quality construction, lack of reliability and safety concerns and after an initial rush of customers, demand quickly fell.
Britain imported the Yugo for just ten years, between 1981 and 1991 and production ceased entirely in 2008.
A book has even been written about the vehicle’s failure, called The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History.
Now a Serbian university professor is hoping to bring the car back to life, and unveiled a 1:5 scale model version at the Car Design Event 2025 in Munich.
Dr Alekasandar Bjelić, who owns the Yugo naming rights and is linked to the German automotive industry, hopes a fully working prototype will be showcased at Belgrade Expo 2027 and on the market soon after.
Designed by fellow Serb, Darko Marčeta, the new Yugo has a retro 80s look but with slim LED lights front and back and large alloy wheels.
Mr Bjelić said the car would initially be sold as an ‘affordable’ two-door model, with potential for ‘different body versions’ in the future.
If plans are given the green light, it will launch with a petrol engine and a choice of manual or automatic gearboxes.
He hopes electric versions would also be possible at some point.
Mr Bjelić has promised a ‘fun-to-drive car’ that ‘meets all relevant safety standards’.
The first Yugo was introduced to the UK market under the name Yugo 45 and offered cheaper alternative to rivals like the Ford Fiesta and Austin Metro.
It came with three petrol options of different capacities, from from 903cc to 1,301cc, with a ‘convertible’ version also available.
Four years after its UK debut, the Yugo was also launched in the US, where it was ‘a punchline’ within a year, according to Jason Vuic’s book on the car.
‘Within a year, it was a staple of late night comedy,’ he wrote.
It’s reputation fell further in 1989 when 31-year-old Leslie Pluhar plunged off the Mackinac suspension bridge in Michigan in her Yugo.
She had lost control of the car after being struck with 48mph winds – although her speeding at the time was said to be a contributing factor.
In total, 794,428 Yugos were manufactured, although a fairly small percentage of those were sold in the UK.
Official registrations show there were only 19 on UK roads by 2018, with reports only nine remain today.
In 1997, one reached a rather strange end to its life when it was catapulted through the air.
Cavalry officer Hew Kennedy and his friend Richard Barr built a replica 13th century catapult and sent the Yugo flying to showcase the equipment’s slinging capacity.
Commenting on the Yugo on Reddit, one previous and not so contented owner said: ‘I owned one. It was cheap, and I thought, how bad can it be?
‘I soon found out, the first time it rained, I found out it leaked badly. Bits of trim were always coming off. It frequently broke down with electrical faults. It is without doubt the worse car I have ever owned.
‘There was a running joke, that the heated rear screen was there to keep your hands warm while pushing it.’
Another wrote: ‘My first car was a brand new 1988 Yugo (purchased in 1990). It was red with a sport stripe.
‘My mom convinced me it was better to get a new car with a warranty, instead of something used. SHE WAS WRONG!!! Holy cow was that car a piece of s**t.’
Not everyone hated their Yugo though it seems.
‘Our Yugo must have been a unicorn, because I loved it,’ wrote a third person.
‘It was definitely the Walmart brand of car, super no-frills and had little … quirks.
‘But it got the job done, it was easy on gas, there was room enough for the family. It finally died, and we couldn’t get parts to repair it, which was a bummer.
‘I’d gladly own one again.
‘BTW, we had so much fun collecting all the joke names: a two-door is an I-Go, 4-door is a We-Go, a station wagon was a We-All-Go, etc. It was a giggle.’
Another car that’s had its fair share of jokes thrown at it is the Lada. We took a closer look at the former Soviet-era vehicle here.
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