Historic Car Brands
Trabant – Wartburg
We grouped these two former East German car brands, because both were built by the VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke and both were powered by DKW-designed two-stroke engines.
Trabant
1959 Trabant P50 – PCfish
More than three million Trabant small cars were produced between 1957 and 1991 at the former Auto Union/DKW factory in Zwickau, by East German car manufacturer, VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke. Four models were made: Trabant 500, 600, 601 and the short-lived, VW-powered, four-stroke Trabant 1.1.
The Trabant 500 was a relatively modern car when it was introduced, featuring a galvanised steel unibody chassis, front-wheel drive, transverse two-stroke engine and all-independent suspension
It featured detachable duroplast body panels for the roof, boot lid, bonnet, wings and doors. This hard plastic material was made from recycled cotton waste from the Soviet Union and phenol resins from the East German dye industry.
The Trabant 500 was the second East German production car with a body made of recycled material: the first being the AWZ P70 Zwickau, produced from 1955 to 1959. The material was durable and the average lifespan of Trabant bodywork was 28 years.
Trabant means satellite, so the car’s name was inspired by the 1956 Soviet Sputnik satellite. Trabants soon earned the nickname Trabi.
Trabant 601- Ignis
Its design remained essentially unchanged from its introduction in the late 1950s, until the last model was introduced in 1990. Even in the 1980s the Trabi had no tachometer, no indicator for either the headlights or turn signals, no fuel gauge, no rear seat belts and no external fuel door: a mix of gasoline and oil went into a tank under the bonnet.
Trabant 600 Kombi – Burts
The 500cc, 17bhp (13kW) P50 evolved into a 20bhp (15kW) version with a fully-synchronised gearbox in 1960; then a 23bhp (17kW), 600cc engine in 1962.
Trabant engine – Asterion
The P601 was introduced in 1964 and was essentially a facelift, with different fascia, bonnet, roof and rear panels, but still the original P50 underpinnings. The final late-1980s upgrades included 12V electricals, rear coil springs and an updated dashboard.
Trabant 601 interior – Arldo Ardetti
However, even the upgrades couldn’t mask what was a dated design that had high noise and pollution levels, sluggish performance – 21 seconds for 0-100km/h – and very poor manufacturing quality. Also, production volumes never came close to satisfying customer demand, with typical wait-list delays of more than 10 years.
Trabant 601 Kubelwagen – Thomas Doerfer
The Trabi became a symbol of Iron Curtain economic failure and corruption.
Trabant 1.1 – Asterion
A trade deal between the then East and West Germanys saw a VW Polo 45bhp (33k) four-cylinder, four-stroke engine adopted in 1989. However, Trabant 1.1 production survived the collapse of East Germany for only one year, when the Zwickau factory was sold to Volkswagen AG.
Weirdly, the dull Trabi has become something of a collector’s item in recent years.
Trabi World Berlin-Mitte – Lotse
Wartburg
Wartburgs were also manufactured by VEB Automobilwerk, but at the Eisenach plant, from 1956 to 1991. It was the second best-selling car brand in East Germany after Trabant, with around 1.6 million vehicles produced in Eisenach.
(Incidentally, Eisenach is one of the most interesting restored towns in Germany: the birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach and is sited at the base of the castle where an excommunicated Martin Luther translated the Latin Bible into German.)
1898 Wartburg – Softeis
The Wartburg brand’s origins date back to 1898, with the release of the Wartburgwagen small car that was powered by a two-cylinder, 765cc engine. It was a licence-built French Deceauville vehicle.
The brand 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 – BMW’s first sports car.
Wartburg 312 – FaceMePLS
The name was revived in 1956 by VEB Automobilwerk and given to an updated version of its IFA (DKW) F9 car, which had been in production since 1950.
Wartburgs were East Germany’s middle class car that was even harder to get than the Trabi, but some production was received for export to Western countries.
Wartburg 311 – Matti Blume
Where the Trabi had only two-cylinder DKW-derived power, the Wartburg received the DKW-developed, 910cc, three-cylinder, two stroke engine, initially giving 28bhp (21kW). Post-1962 models had the upsized 991cc engine, with outputs that varied – 50bhp (37kW), 55bhp (40kW) or 57bhp (42kW) – depending on type of carburettor fitted.
Wartburg 313 Sport Coupe – Klaus Nahr
Exports to West Germany began in 1958 and by the early 1960s the car was exported to other countries, including the United Kingdom and the USA.
The Wartburg 311 was produced from 1956 to 1965, in variations that included pickup, sedan, limousine, coupé and two-seat roadster. An interim model, the 312, had the chassis developed for the succeeding 353 and was built from 1965 until 1967.
1988 Wartburg 353 Knight – Torsten Maue
In 1966 came new bodywork and there were four main variants of the new Wartburg: 353 from 1966; 353W from 1975 (W for Weiterentwicklung, development); 353W from 1983 (facelift) and 353S from 1985.
There were three bodystyles of the Wartburg 353: Limousine (sedan), Tourist (combi) and Trans (pickup).
Also, in 1966, the gearbox gained synchromesh on all speeds and was designed to freewheel as fuel efficiency and engine protection measures.
1988 Wartburg 353 993cc – Asterion
Moreover, the radiator was moved from behind the engine (353, 353W) to behind the grille.
The 353S modification featured rectangular headlights integrated into a new grille. In the De Luxe version, electronic ignition, five-speed gearbox, front and rear fog lights, an alarm system and central locking were available.
Wartburg 1.3 motor – ESPN
The Wartburg 1.3 featured a four-stroke, four-cylinder engine licensed from Volkswagen, from 1989 to only 1991.
Wartburg production ended when VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach was dissolved in April 1991 after German reunification and the Eisenach factory was acquired by Opel.
Wartburg 311 – Vladimir Kupka
As with the iconic Trabi there are Wartburg owners’ clubs around the world and some Wartburgs are still used as rally cars.
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