Wartburg · 1966–1988

Wartburg 353

The Wartburg 353, known in some export markets as the Wartburg Knight, is a medium-sized family car produced by the East German car manufacturer AWE for their Wartburg brand. It was the successor of the Wartburg 311 and was itself succeeded by the Wartburg 1.3. The Wartburg 353 was produced from 1966 to 1988, becoming the Wartburg with the longest production run. During its lifetime, it saw several changes and improvements, the most recognizable of which came in 1985 with a front facelift (as pictured here), a slightly different layout around the engine block, and a new carburettor.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Wartburg 311 · Successor: Wartburg 1.3

All Wartburg 353 data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

Design

First introduced in June 1966, the Wartburg 353 was the creation of the former German BMW production facilities (called EMW under Soviet occupation). Its origins were ultimately derived from a 1938 DKW design and powered by a two-stroke engine with only seven major moving parts: three pistons, three connecting rods and a crankshaft. This led to a common aphorism among Wartburg owners, which is that "one drives a car, but only has to maintain a motorcycle." The engine was almost identical to the DKW- derived two-stroke unit used in the SAAB 93,95 and 96. Domestically, it was used for all government transportation, sometimes as a Volkspolizei police car. However, due to the nature of the planned economy, deliveries to private owners could take ten to fifteen years. Like other Eastern Europe cars, it was known for its low price in export markets. Because of its forward centre of gravity and front-wheel drive, the car had typical front-wheel-drive road handling characteristics, displaying significant understeer, especially in wet conditions. Wartburgs were exported to most European markets and South Africa.

Engine and transmission

The Wartburg 353 was powered by a 1-litre displacement, 3-cylinder unit that took almost two decades to refine. While developing about 50 to 55 PS (37 to 40 kW) (depending on the carburetor type), its two-stroke engine design provided more than 100 N⋅m of torque (106 N⋅m in the last version), which was a typical figure for many larger four-stroke engines at that time. The three cylinder two-stroke design made for a very smooth drive, described as being as smooth as a six-cylinder four stroke by owners. The transmission was equipped with a freewheel, obviating the need to use the clutch between gears. Designed as a fuel efficiency measure and as a means of protecting the engine from oil starvation due to the petroil-fuelled nature of 2-strokes, the device disabled engine braking; the car could coast whenever the throttle was released. Drivers could turn the freewheel off through a switch under the steering column to benefit from engine braking, which was useful since the front brakes were prone to overheating and fading. However, most drivers never disabled the freewheel because it made shifting gears significantly easier and smoother, though not quicker. It also allowed clutchless though slow gear changes to be made. Earlier models had the gear stick on the steering column, although later versions had it on the floor. Inherited from its DKW origins, the ignition system featured no distributor but three coils and contact breakers, one for each cylinder. Today, 353s are customized for reaching speeds well about 200 km/h (125 mph), whereas the original design called for critical speed of 150–155 km/h (93–96 mph) and 12 seconds to accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph), which was dealt with in second gear due to the smooth high-revving engine. It was available with four- and five

Popularity

The 353 was a reasonable success throughout the Eastern bloc, with front-wheel drive. Its negatives were due to its outmoded two-stroke engine. However, in the Western European markets, the Wartburg was quite competitive especially because of its relatively high maximum power of 58 hp at 5400rpm and top speed of 170 km/h which was uncommon for passenger cars of this engine size, owing to its refined two-stroke engine design. The last modernisation of Wartburg took place in 1988 when the car got the new designation "1.3" and a four-stroke VW-designed engine with a 1.3-liter displacement. In 1991, Opel bought the plant and Wartburg production ceased. Although the low price militated against the owners taking care of the car. Resale values were extremely low, and in Finland, official figures on removals from the car register gave Wartburg the shortest average life span of all listed manufacturers, this due to German reunification, at nine years and three months. The Wartburg 353 was commonly nicknamed "Trustworthy Hans" or "Farty Hans" by owners due to its durability and copious exhaust emissions, especially when cold and/or overoiled. Noteworthy characteristics of the model are simple design, spacious interior with flat floor between driver and front passenger, smooth engine, dependability, occasional and cheap maintenance, strong chassis-based car frame, front-wheel drive handling, rear-wheel ABS regulator, a 525-litre trunk, and innovative electronic gauges fitted after 1983. Disadvantages in terms of passengers' comfort are well known too: lack of any sound dampening led to significant engine feedback through the body panels, whose boomy reverberation led to another nickname, "The barrel". The suspension provided sensibly different handling and comfort when the car was

Production

Over a million Wartburg 353s were produced overall. Production figures (1966–1988) 1966–1975 Wartburg 353: 356,330 built 1975–1988 Wartburg 353 W: 868,860 built

Model development

The transition model Wartburg 312, with the body of the Wartburg 311 and the underpinnings of the later Wartburg 353, appeared on September 1, 1965, with chassis number 65,533. From June 1, 1966, vehicles from VIN 1:30 001 received the new body, associated with a change in the type designation of "1000" to "353". A new transmission was received on July 1, 1966, all vehicles from chassis number 001 02:14. The car entered the British market as the Wartburg Knight in early 1967, and a year later, the estate "Tourist" model followed. The introduction of the estate version Wartburg Tourist with the VEB Karosseriewerke Halle (Saale) made body was carried in 1968. tailgate and rear fenders were made of glass fiber-reinforced plastic. First, the Tourist was manufactured with a smooth C-pillar, in 1970 a forced ventilation system with air outlets in the C-pillar was introduced. From chassis number 04.10 474, on 6 May 1969, the new Type 353-1 engine with 36.8 kW (50 PS) was introduced. In 1970 ( exactly on 18 June 1969- according to Mr. Horst Ihling's publication "Wartburg - Help Yourself" ), round instruments replaced the earlier "bathroom scale" type, and in 1972 bucket seats replaced the earlier types. Also in 1972, an optional floor shifter was introduced, but it did not function very well and saw limited sales. and Since 3 March 3, 1975 (from chassis number 10.06 948) the vehicle became the Wartburg 353 W. The W stood for Weiterentwicklung, German for "development". First shown in 1974, the 353 W received front disc brakes (of Czech manufacture) and many other safety changes such as rollbelts, a collapsible steering column, and dual circuit hydraulic brakes. The body remained unchanged. From chassis number 17:20 932, on vehicles produced after 14 June 1982, the carburetor wa

Competition

The 353 was campaigned extensively, mostly as a rally car. For instance, a 353 driven by Niebergall and Froman finished tenth overall in the 1976 Acropolis Rally. Its best world championship rallying result was a second place in the 1973 Polish Rally, three hours behind the winner. Only one more car reached the finish. In 1978 during November's RAC Rally, the final round of the World Rally Championship, all four Works Team Wartburg 353W entries of Heimburger/Weitz, Hartwich/Wilss, Heitzmann/Fromman & Seltmann/Hoffmann completed the 715 km course over 3 days and nights. The course consisted of narrow, snowy and icy gravel forest tracks of the Scottish Border country; the Kielder Forest; and the Lake District, North Yorkshire. Seeded and numbered 80, 81, 105, and 104 of the entrants, the cars finished 37th, 44th, 53rd and 54th of 61 finishers; 107 entries of other marques had suffered mechanical failure, crashed or retired. Second only in speed to Skoda of the "Eastern Bloc" entries, the Wartburgs proved formidably durable and reliable vehicles. The 353's last World Rally Championship result was at the 1993 1000 Lakes Rally, where Alpo Saastamoinen finished 53rd overall and fifth in class (A/5).

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name: Wartburg 353
aka: Wartburg Knight (export markets)
Manufacturer: VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach (AWE)
Assembly: East Germany: Eisenach
Production: June 1966 – October 1988
Predecessor: Wartburg 311
Successor: Wartburg 1.3
Body style: 4-door saloon, 5-door estate, 2-door coupe utility (pickup)
Engine: 993 cc two-stroke I3
Layout: FF layout
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Length: 4220 mm
Width: 1640 mm
Height: 1490 mm
Kerb weight: 920 kg
Wheelbase: 2450 mm
Designer: Hans Fleischer, in cooperation with Clauss Dietel and Lutz Rudolph
Top speed: 135 km/h