Wartburg 353 - catalog and technical specifications

The Wartburg 353 is a mid-size family car produced from 1966 to 1989. It was available as a 4-door sedan, 5-door estate or 2-door coupe. The Wartburg 353 turned out to be the most long-lived model of the GDR. It was equipped with a 1.0-liter 2-stroke 3-cylinder engine producing from 50 to 55 hp. It took almost two decades to finalize this engine. In the end, the unit became quite high-quality (by ... read allthe standards of socialist countries), albeit obsolete almost a couple of years after the launch of the model. In the absence of much choice, the Wartburg 353 was popular in socialist Germany. It was called "Reliable Hans" or "Barrel" due to minimal soundproofing. The car turned out to be durable, simple and extremely cheap, had a huge trunk, and by the end of the cycle even acquired innovative electronic devices.