Cars of Coolhaven

Considering the car industry, I can really appreciate the fact that no matter how crappy looking, how poorly performing or how badly built a car is, it almost always has a (small) group of enthusiasts who keep the little bastards alive and running. Just look at this Wartburg, it has a crude finishing, it looks like a Lada gone bad, and I don’t even wanna know how it drives… But it has to have a loving, caring owner, otherwise it would not be here! Then again, if you want a special BMW that nobody drives, this is obviously your car!

The Wartburg 353 was a large family car, produced by East German car producer Wartburg. It was the successor of the Wartburg 311 and the predecessor of the Wartburg 1.3. The Wartburg 353 eschewed the duotone paint and chrome of its predecessor in favour of minimalist cuboid styling inherited from the Warszawa 210, an abandoned Polish prototype of the early 1960s. As an example of Eastern Bloc automotive collaboration, the result was not unpleasing, as the 353′s crisp lines made it look not unlike the BMW 1800′s small cousin.

The Wartburg 353 was produced from 1965 to 1988, becoming the longest produced Wartburg model ever. During its lifetime it saw several changes and improvements, the most notable marking the changes in 1985 with a slightly modified front.

The Wartburg 353 was the successful creation of the East German BMW production facilities (called EMW under soviet occupation). It was based on a 1938 (pre war) chassis and powertrain, and used a two stroke engine. However, for all of the 353′s apparent modernity – independent suspension with telescopic torsion bars and a floor-mounted gear lever, no less – its chassis was still reassuringly pre-war, its transmission initially remained three-speed, and its engine was still guaranteed to belch out clouds of blue smoke in time-honoured two-stroke fashion. Internally it was used for government transportation, sometimes as a police car (chasing Trabants was its limit), and a consumer product often taking 10 to fifteen years to deliver. As an export it was popular in the UK in the 1960′s for its cheap prices, and, by comparison, well equipped design, and mid-rank size. The Wartburg had an unusual approach to road handling, often displaying a stolid sort of progress in clear, and a disarming disinclination to make turns in the wet. Wartburgs were seen in the UK, Cyprus, Malta and some were even sent to South Africa (as right hand drive models). Over one million were produced.