Gunther Schmidt (Thomas Gottschalk), is a young and eccentric inventor who (like many others) attempts to flee across the East German borderline to the West using his inventions, but constantly meets with failure. Finally, he constructs a gadget which actually works: a modified Trabant ("Trabbi") with a motor running on turnip juice, making it ultimately environmental but still capable of attaining a speed of up to 250 km/h. But by the time his invention is perfected, East and West Germany are reunited, rendering the Trabbi's role as an escape vehicle obsolete.