Wartburg

The Wartburg was a car marque known for its East German manufactured models, but has its origins dating to 1898. The name derives from Wartburg Castle on one of the hills overlooking the town of Eisenach where the cars were made. From the 1950s, Wartburgs were a three-cylinder two-stroke engine with only seven major moving parts (three pistons, three connecting rods and one crankshaft). Production ended in April 1991, and the factory was acquired by Opel. History First usage of name The marque dates back to 1898 when a car made by Automobilwerk Eisenach was named the Wartburgwagen. It consisted of a two-seating cane chair, four mudguards, two headlamps, and a two-cylinder, 765-cc engine. Its top speed was . The name was dropped in 1904 when the company changed hands but re-appeared briefly in the early 1930s on the BMW 3/15 DA-3 Wartburg, which was BMW's first sports car.