A look at a car with a funny name that made its way to America from East Germany
Sometimes you have to love a car simply for its unusual name, like, say, the Apperson Jackrabbit, or the Gadabout roadster, or the Wartburg, the subject of this column.
The Apperson (1901-1926) was a fairly popular line of early American cars, while the one-off Gadabout was a circa-1945 attempt at an American sports car. The Wartburg, on the other hand, was an East German car that came to these shores during the short period of time when it seemed like any foreign car could find success in the United States. That was a period that roughly ran from 1956 to 1968, an era when Isetta, Jowett, Messerschmidt, Heinkel, Vauxhall, Skoda, Austin, DKW, Humber, Auto Union, Tatra and a whole alphabet soup of other off-brand foreign cars were imported to these shores. Some found short-term success, some lasted quite a while, and a few of them bombed almost from the start. All of them added immeasurably to the fullness of our automotive culture. You can count the unfortunately named Wartburg among the latter. Being a German name, the “W” in Wartburg is pronounced as a “V,” and to say it properly, the name rhymes with “Fartburg.”
Production of Wartburg automobiles began in 1899 in Eisenach, Germany, by a company known as Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach. The Wartburg brand name came from a local attraction, Wartburg Castle, an impressive medieval citadel standing high on a hill overlooking the town. The company’s first car was a one-cylinder, two-passenger machine with a top speed of just 15 mph. The firm soon began racing, and by 1902, had a racer capable of reaching 72 mph — pretty fast going for the times. In 1904, the company introduced the popular Dixi line of small cars. Dixi was a variant of the Austin Seven, and Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach paid a royalty for each one it produced. The company initially assembled the cars from kits, but soon began actually manufacturing them in its plant. Looking to move into the automobile business, BMW bought the company in 1928 and with it, naturally, the rights to build the Dixi car.
The factory was nearly destroyed in World War II, but by October 1946, enough of it had been repaired to resume car production. Motorcycles were added to the production mix to utilize more of the factory’s capacity. In 1953, the company began producing a version of the DKW with front-wheel drive and a three-cylinder, two-stroke engine.
Importation to America began around 1958 with the Wartburg 311 model, which used the DKW three-banger in a car that was longer and featured more conventional styling. The model range included a very handsome two-door convertible plus four-door sedan and station wagon versions with prices starting at $ 1,686 P.O.E. for the sedan. Only a scant 140 Wartburgs were sold in America that first year, and probably most of them were sold to recent immigrants from Germany who, of course, would be familiar with the brand. The importer, by the way, was Wartburg of America, located in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The 311 featured a 96.5-inch wheelbase and was powered by a 37-hp, 900cc (55-cubic-inch) two-stroke, three-cylinder engine hooked to a column-shifted four-speed manual transmission driving the front wheels. The transmission boasted overdrive, and free-wheeling was also included. The engine boasted three ignition coils (one per cylinder). One-shot chassis lubrication was a very nice feature; inside releases for the fuel filler and trunk lid were two more useful conveniences.
Rack-and-pinion steering provided excellent road feel, and the independent front suspension, with a transverse leaf spring and wishbones, gave a firm but comfortable ride. Rear suspension included a transverse leaf spring and rigid axle. Brakes were drums all around, and the body was steel with modern unibody construction.
By 1959, Wartburg had expanded its lineup to include two versions of the four-door sedan (Standard and Deluxe); a neat Camper version of its station wagon; a five-passenger convertible; a coupe; and a very stylish two-passenger sports roadster. U.S. sales that year are estimated to have been about 400 cars.
From mid 1962 to 1966, Wartburg cars for the United States were fitted with 991cc two-stroke engines good for 50 hp. Top speed was said to be about 77 mph, while fuel economy of up to 27 mpg could be expected. Standard equipment included armrests; ashtrays; adjustable fold-down front seats; door pockets; automatic lights for the trunk and engine compartment; padded sun visors featuring a makeup mirror on the passenger side; and windshield washers. A sliding steel sunroof was optional.
A press release proclaimed that the Wartburg was “… built to traditional standards by skilled craftsmen of one of the major automobile manufacturers… in business since 1898. It wasn’t brought over until the makers felt that the Wartburg was ready for America — and that America was ready for the Wartburg.”
For all its many nice features and low price, the Wartburg never sold well here in the United States. However, the slow sales were not surprising. This was during the Cold War, and the vast majority of American’s wouldn’t dream of buying a car from an East German company; after all, they were a satellite of Russia, America’s main enemy. In a postmortem after importation had ceased, one magazine questioned whether the car would have been successful if it had not come from a Communist country. Add to all that baggage the fact that the Wartburg was a small car with a funny name, weird engine and no automatic transmission option, and it was just too much for most Americans to accept.
Although Wartburg was never a large-volume seller, its cars continued in production through 1991. Ironically, its demise was a result of the reunification of Germany in 1990. Until then, East Germans could only purchase East German cars, which gave Wartburg (and Trabant) a small but steady market. After reunification, Wartburg had to compete with a whole range of cars that were generally much better and much more modern. Like the Trabant, the Wartburg brand went out of existence. Too bad.
I haven’t seen a Wartburg for sale in the U.S. in decades, but you know there must be a few out there somewhere. If you’re lucky enough to find one, you’ll have one of the most unique foreign collector cars imaginable. Good luck!
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