Spotted: a 1972 Wartburg 353S

Anyone who regularly attends a car event will recognize it: there is almost as much interesting stuff to see in the parking lot as there is at the event itself. The same goes for the North Holland Oldtimer Festival in Hem, which again traditionally took place last Easter weekend. Many special and rare classics and youngtimers were on display in the event halls (including motorcycles and trucks), but we also feasted our eyes in the visitor parking lot. Over the next few weeks, we’ll pick in
Spotted
some favorites. This time: a Wartburg 353.

Wartburg 353 as a GDR icon

When you think of cars from the GDR, you quickly think of the iconic Trabant, but there is another model that has pretty much become a symbol of the car industry in GDR: the Wartburg 353. The 353 entered the market in 1966 as the successor to the 1956-built 311. In terms of design, the 353 was a very modern car at its introduction. The model was available as a four-door sedan, a five-door station wagon (Tourist) and a two-door pickup.

The model was soon used by various government agencies, including the Volkspolizei and emergency services. Ordinary people could also buy the car, but you got on a waiting list. Then it was a matter of patience. Lots of patience. It could take ten to fifteen years for your Wartburg to be delivered. The current long delivery times of new cars are nothing compared to that.

Motorcycle with four wheels

The car may have looked modern, but as with most GDR cars, the technology was not. Under the hood was a simple 993 cc three-cylinder two-stroke engine with 37 to 40 kW (50 to 55 hp) and yet decent torque of 100 to 106 Nm. That simple technique did favor the owner. ‘A full-size car, with only the maintenance of a motorcycle,’ seems to have been the saying among Wartburg riders. The engine managed to get the Wartburg 353 to 100 km/h in 12 seconds, with a top speed of 155 km/h.

What was special was that the transmission (four-speed manual) was equipped with a freewheel. On throttle release, the engine disconnected. That way you could shift gears without having to use the clutch. The freewheel was also disengageable, so it was also possible to brake on the engine. Not an unnecessary luxury, as the front brakes in particular quickly overheated.

Continued development of Wartburg 353

There was little to no competition in the GDR, yet the Wartburg 353 underwent occasional updates or even a real facelift. In 1970, for example, the car received a new instrument cluster and different seats. Also, the chrome grille was now black plastic. A true facelift was implemented in 1985, with fully body-colored front end. Some smaller updates were made in the surrounding years.

Projects for a successor to the 353 had been underway since the early 1970s, but they came to nothing for various reasons. Instead, production of the 353 continued through 1988. It wasn’t actually over then, as a further facelifted version of the car appeared that year. It was positioned as a Wartburg 1.3 as a completely new model and lasted until 1991. Over a million of the 353 were eventually produced. The 1.3 added over 150,000 units in those few years.

The spotted specimen

The one spotted is a 1972 Wartburg 353S, from the looks of it from just after the first update. This copy is original Dutch. In fact, the model was also delivered in a number of countries outside the GDR, although the 353 was not nearly as successful there. This one still looks very good and is dressed up with some period accessories. The alloy wheels seem too new for the car, yet we do see more 353s with these rims on the digital highway. Perhaps the wheels on the spotted Wartburg are from one of the later examples.