Proletariat of the world, unite in celebration! It’s not often that we get to see a car produced in the German Demoractic Republic – better known to you and me as East Germany. When we do see one, it’s often the much loved for being horrible Trabant that steals the limelight. So you know you’ve got something special when the car in question is referred to as “the other car made in the GDR”. It was a stunner, too – with such innovation as windows, wheels and even seats. The seats even had a class system – no socialist bench seating here! By separating the driver into their own separate seat, this progressive automobile showed that it was a world beater. Who said the Communists couldn’t think outside of the box? Speaking of boxes, did I mention that sleek exterior? It was a face only a Yugo’s mother could love, but compared to the Trabant – a car stuck believing 1955 was the future – the Wartburg 353 seemed to be emerging from the jet-age. Pioneering the concept that less moving parts was better, the Wartburg’s 2-stroke 3 cylinder engine was the prototype for the Tesla motor; it took Elon Musk 40 years of research to reduce the Wartburg’s 7 moving engine parts to only one! Rare to see..well, anywhere, check out this car that gave Captialist designers nightmares:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1977 Wartburg 353 on eBay
Year: 1977. Maybe.
Model: 353 “Knight”
Engine: 1.0 liter inline-3
Transmission: 4-speed manual. No automatics for your Capitalist decadence!
Mileage: 66,722 mi
Price: $5,500 Buy It Now
This is the luxury automobile of communist East Germany. In East Germany, they were driven by doctors, lawyers, police officers, etc. It has a 3 cylinder, 2 stroke engine. You have to mix the oil and gas. It is super rare in the US, I would guess that there are less than 50 right now in the USA.
The reason I am selling is because I am currently in the process of restoring my Trabant P50, and need some extra money to complete the restoration. This car is a blast to drive and is sure to get attention driving down the road, or at the car show. This car runs and drives great!
This is the original paint. There are small dents and dings and the occasional paint chip. As far as rust goes, the only rust I can really see is around the bottoms of the doors.
***A couple bits if additional information:
The interior is in great condition. The only flaws there are a couple holes in the side vinyl of the drivers side seat that can be seen in the picture
The front grill of the car indicates that the car is probably newer that a 1977 (probably actually a 1987). My guess is that whoever had this car imported to the US made some “modifications” in Germany before they had it shipped over, to import the car as a classic car and be able to avoid safety and emission regulations. That being said, it has been registered and titled as a 1977 car since it has been in the US.
Wasn’t there a big scandal where some underage East German athletes were competing at the Olympics, claiming older birth dates? Maybe I’m making that up, but I’m going to say that it probably occurred – and it’s nice to see they’re still up to their old tricks. I have to salute the seller; parting ways with such a luxurious piece of history in order to fund a Trabant restoration is a bit like saying you’re selling your house in the Hamptons to fund your double-wide restoration outside of Utica, but to each their own. I mean, there are some nice trailers out there, right? There must be, or at least we can pretend there are. Anyway, this car. Well, you can certainly be unique in it. $5,500 seems like a lot of money for a rusty, slow, ugly, not particularly well built car, and you’d be right! But character is priceless, and this car has some. At least $5,550 worth of priceless. To someone. Probably. Plus, it has fog lights.
-Carter
