27,333 views
Wartburg was the trade name of the passenger car series manufactured by the manufacturer IFA at the VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach from 1956 to April 10, 1991. The name is derived from the castle of the same name at the Eisenach production site. In 1976, 19% of the passenger cars registered in the GDR were of the Wartburg type. A significant proportion of Wartburg production was exported. In 1975, the Wartburg production of 54,050 vehicles was distributed as follows: 34,250 for export, 8,941 for the GDR's own population, 7,300 for Genex, 556 for investors, 3,003 for state bodies. The largest buyers were Hungary and Poland. The Wartburg 311 also sold well in the non-socialist economic area: the main markets were Belgium, Finland, Great Britain and the Netherlands, but Denmark, Greece, Iceland and Spain also achieved notable sales figures. The export of up to 1215 units of the Type 311 to the USA in 1960 became well known; there were also advertisements for this in Playboy. These vehicles were offered through the dealer Witkin in Los Angeles at an entry-level price of US$1799 (convertible: $2155, camping: $2195). In Great Britain, the Wartburg 353 was sold as the Wartburg Knight. From 1955, four other companies were involved in production alongside AWE Eisenach: VEB Karosseriewerke Halle (KWH, formerly Ludwig Kathe & Sohn) – Tourist- VEB Karosseriewerk Dresden/Radeberg (KWD, formerly Gläser) – Tourist-Karosserie VEB Automobilwerke Ludwigsfelde – Trans VEB Waggonbau Gotha – chassis for the Wartburg 353 W and 1.3.