Elegance from Eisenach - Wartburg sports car coupé
At the Retro Classic in Stuttgart this spring, a Wartburg sports car coupé was up for sale with an asking price of 75,000 euros. The pretty coupé had cost DM 9,000 in 1958 - an impressive increase in value for a vehicle that was once ridiculed in the West because of its two-stroke dang-dang engine.
Yet the convertible coupé looked thoroughly modern and pretty, and in 1957 the car even received an award "For good design". And the car proudly bore the name "Wartburg", as the third vehicle after the 1899 coachbuilt carriage and the 15 hp BMW two-seater from 1930.
The sales brochure of the time praised the simplicity of operation (locking synchronization from 2nd gear) and safety aspects (duplex brakes at the front, simplex brakes at the rear) demonstrated by delicate female hands. The improved heating (thanks to the installation of a fan heater) was also praised. The 900 cm3 three-cylinder engine produced 50 hp, enough to take the car to around 140 km/h. This meant that the driving performance matched the smart exterior of the sports car.
You can read more about the Wartburg in a test report of the time, which we have just published, as well as in other reports, for example in ADAC Motorwelt No. 4/1957 or Automobil Revue No. 18/1957.
The original brochure of the Wartburg sports car from 1958 is of course available in the Zwischengas archive, as is extensive photographic material.
