Wartburg manufactured in East Germany

The name "Wartburg" derives from Wartburg Castle on one of the hills overlooking the town of Eisenach where the cars were manufactured.

From the 1950s, Wartburgs had a three-cylinder two-stroke engine with only seven moving parts (three pistons, three connecting rods and one crankshaft).

First usage of name
1898 Wartburg

The marque dates back to 1898 when a car made by Automobilwerk Eisenach was named the Wartburgwagen. It consisted of a two-seating cane chair, four mudgards, two headlamps, and a two-cylinder, 765-cc engine. Its top speed was 25 mph. It was quite the flimsy contraption, but nevertheless it sold perfectly fine in Germany.[citation needed] The name was dropped in 1904 when the company changed hands but re-appeared briefly in the early 1930s on the BMW 3/15 DA-3 Wartburg, which was BMW's first sports car.[1][2]
[edit] Main usage of name

The name was revived in 1956 by VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach and given to an updated version of their IFA F9 car which had been in production since 1950. The new car had a more powerful version of the three-cylinder two-stroke engine driving the front wheels and a completely new body.

Exports to West Germany started in 1958, and by the early 1960s the car was exported to many other countries, including the United Kingdom and United States. Right hand drive models were first made in 1963 and exported to Cyprus, with British buyers being introduced to the car in 1964. However, just 550 examples (450 saloons and 100 estates) were sold in the UK.

The 311 model was manufactured in a number of variations, including pickup, estate, and two-seater roadster.

The engine was enlarged to 992 cc in 1962 and a completely new body was manufactured after 1966. This version was sold as the Wartburg Knight in several countries, including the UK, where the estate model was sold as the Tourist. It remained on sale until 1976, by which time nearly 20,000 had been sold. This marked the end of right-hand drive Wartburgs, but left-hand drive versions continued to be imported to the UK and at least one model was converted to right-hand drive.

Also in 1966 the gearbox gained synchromesh on all speeds and was designed to freewheel as an engine protection measure, which had the unfortunate side-effect that the car did not benefit from engine braking. Due to the fact that the engine was a two stroke unit, it relied on the passage of the petrol mixture (A mixture of special two stroke oil and petrol, at a ratio of 1:50) to lubricate the engine. Without the freewheel device, on long down-hill runs the engine could be starved of lubricant and seize.

The new car, the 353, was known in some export markets as the Wartburg Knight. There are four editions of Wartburg 353:

-Wartburg 353 from 1966

-Wartburg 353W from 1977

-Wartburg 353W from 1983

-Wartburg 353 from 1986

There are three models of Wartburg 353 - Limousine(Sedan), Tourist(combi) and Trans(pickup). Two modifications of equipment: 353W (standard) and 353S (De Luxe). The De luxe version has electronic igniton, 5 speed gearbox, front and back fog lights, alarm system and central lock door. The engine of the car is two stroke with 55-57 horsepower(depending of the carburettor type). Usually this model can reach around 150-160 km/h but some modified versions can reach over 200 km/h In 1988 the new model Wartburg 1.3 replaced the old model 353W, featuring the reliable engine from the Volkswagen Golf.

The new model has four stroke modified engine from Volkswagen with 58 horsepower. The final nail in its coffin was the introduction of the Deutschmark (DM), as the cost of producing a car reached 20,000 DM. Production ended in 1991, as German reunification spelled its end. The factory was acquired by Opel in 1991.

 There are still many cars in drivable condition and Wartburg owners' clubs exist throughout Europe. Many Wartburgs are still used as rally racing cars.

Wartburg 353

The Wartburg 353, known in some export markets as the Wartburg Knight, is a medium-sized family car, produced by East German car producer Wartburg. It was the successor of the Wartburg 311 and was itself succeeded by the Wartburg 1.3.

The Wartburg 353 was produced from 1965 to 1988, becoming the Wartburg model with the longest ever production run. During its lifetime it saw several changes and improvements, the most notable of these coming in 1985 with a slight front facelift and a new one-step carburetor.

The Wartburg 353 was the creation of the former German BMW production facilities (called EMW under Soviet occupation). It was based on a 1938 chassis and powertrain, and used a two-stroke engine with very few moving parts.

Internally it was used for government transportation, sometimes as a police car; consumer builds often taking ten to fifteen years to deliver.

As an export it was popular in the United Kingdom (UK) in the 1960s: like other Eastern European cars it was known for its cheap price and comparatively well-equipped design and mid-rank size. The Wartburg had an unusual approach to road handling, often displaying understeering in the clear, and a disarming disinclination to make turns in the wet.[citation needed] Wartburgs were exported to the UK, Cyprus, Malta, and South Africa (possible partly because right-hand drive models were already in production for the UK.)

It had an agile two-stroke engine. Most of the 353s were equipped with a 993 cc displacement 3-cylinder unit yelding about 50, 55 or 57 bhp, capable of decent acceleration, even by modern standards. Transmission was equipped with a freewheel device, removing the need to use the clutch between gears. That was designed as a fuel efficiency measure, although it had the adverse effect of disabling engine braking; effectively, the car was coasting whenever the driver released the throttle. It is notable that even now these cars are capable of, and are being tuned for, speeds of well over 190 km/h (120 mph) whereas their original design was envisaged for no more than 150-155 km/h and it need around 14 second to reach from 0-100km/h

It was an immediate success throughout the Eastern bloc, and for a good reason; for approximately the same price it significantly outperformed Soviet vehicles of its class in almost every aspect: safety, drag, acceleration and top speed, fuel efficiency, ergonomics, handling, ease of use and maintenance, trunk and inner space, reliability, and even dynamics, despite its less powerful engine. A good proof of the latter is that it scored multiple wins in rally races for decades, whereas the more powerful Ladas and Moskviches usually failed to achieve any success.


It was commonly nicknamed "Trustworthy Hans" or "Farty Hans" by its owners on account of its durability and its copious exhaust emissions when cold and/or overoiled. Noteworthy characteristics of the model were its simple design, dependability, chassis-based build, front wheel drive, rear ABS and its front-mounted two-stroke engine; also the vast 525-litre trunk and innovative electronic gauges after 1983.

Over one million Wartburg 353s were produced overall.

Wartburg oli auto marque valmistetaan Itä-Saksassa.
Wartburg Knight, Wartburg 353

Wartburg war ein Auto Marke in Ost-Deutschland hergestellt.
Wartburg Ritter, Wartburg 353

Wartburg était une marque de voitures fabriquées en Allemagne de l'Est.
Knight Wartburg, Wartburg 353

Pročitajte fonetski

Prijevod (engleski > češki)

Wartburg byl vůz značky vyrobené v NDR.
Wartburg Knight, Wartburg 353
 
Вартбург быў аўтамабіль маркі вырабляюцца ў Усходняй Германіі.
Вартбург Найт, Wartburg 353
 
Wartburg a fost o marcă de automobil fabricat în Germania de Est.
Wartburg Knight, Wartburg 353
 
Вартбург был автомобиль марки производятся в Восточной Германии.
Вартбург Найт, Wartburg 353  

 

  وكان ارتبرج إذنا سيارة صنعت في ألمانيا الشرقية.
ارتبرج نايت، ارتبرج 353