Torchinsky Bait

"Berang" (berang) 03/11/2016 at 01:55 • Filed to: wartburg, skoda, renault, fiat, austin, volkswagen, opel, saab, vintage cars

4

17

Have some trunk diagrams showing the Wartburg 353 has the biggest butt in its class.

Scanned from a German road test of the then new East German wonder car, the Wartburg 353.

Flavien Vidal > Berang 03/11/2016 at 02:01

2

The Panhard PL17 desagrees :)

Not to forget that once the rear seats are folded, you can still sit 3 people in front!! :)

Goggles Pizzano > Berang 03/11/2016 at 02:06

0

Well that’s not fair. Which would you rather have, a brick or a Saab 96?

Berang > Flavien Vidal 03/11/2016 at 02:08

1

Unfortunately, the PL17 was out of production by the time the 353 was on the scene.

Still:

Berang > Goggles Pizzano 03/11/2016 at 02:10

1

Oddly, the illustration is of a 93, despite the label. Already having a 96 though, I think I’d like a Wartburg to complement it.

. . > Berang 03/11/2016 at 02:29

1

From my childhood I remember that the 353's boot was absolutely cavernous. A shame that the car’s frame actually ends right under the rear seats so anything heavy can just go through the trunk floor...

My hovercraft is full of eels > Berang 03/11/2016 at 02:29

1

My parents had a Wartburg when I was a kid (not the 353, but its “modernised” version with the same body and a 4-stroke 1.3 VW Golf engine). In fact, I learned to drive on that thing. (The picture is for illustration only, the 1.3 had plastic bumpers, different taillights, etc.)
It was a pretty decent car compared to most of the other socialist rides, and the trunk was gigantic. The problem is, only the top lid opens, so one must lift all the heavy stuff over the back “wall”. The ride hight doesn’t help either (really, cars with that kind of ride height are sold as SUVs today).

Flavien Vidal > Berang 03/11/2016 at 02:46

0

Not bad, no PL, but not bad haha :)

Yeah, PL17 were discontinued in 1965, the Wartburg 353 launched a few months later that same year...

Cé hé sin > Berang 03/11/2016 at 04:26

1

Interesting how many of them have the engine mounted astern.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Berang 03/11/2016 at 06:58

0

JalOppo needs more of this kind of consumer advice! :D

Lucky I already liked the Wartburg, and classic Skodas as well! :P

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Goggles Pizzano 03/11/2016 at 07:27

1

A Volvo brick!

MultiplaOrgasms > Berang 03/11/2016 at 07:56

0

Or maybe the Wartburg is just by far the biggest car of the lot.

Berang > MultiplaOrgasms 03/11/2016 at 08:29

0

It’s not really any bigger than the Renault or Volkswagen though.

MultiplaOrgasms > Berang 03/11/2016 at 08:37

0

Which would mean that the drawings are not scaled properly. Either way, the Renault and Volkswagen are rear-engined and thus at a disadvantage by conception.

Berang > MultiplaOrgasms 03/11/2016 at 08:42

0

If you look closely you’ll see all the vehicles are aligned by their rear axle location, so the wartburg with its huge rear overhang just looks super long.

MultiplaOrgasms > Berang 03/11/2016 at 10:38

0

You’ll also see that the Eisenach eclipses all competitors in height excluding the Saab because that was designed in the 1940s and cars were generally taller back then. The Fiat almost looks like a 8/10 scale miniature of the Eisenach.

Berang > MultiplaOrgasms 03/11/2016 at 10:40

0

Yup. More head room more better.

The Wartburg was a crossover before such things had been conceived.

MultiplaOrgasms > Berang 03/11/2016 at 11:10

0

Fiat 60hp would like to say lol. Convertible SUV half a century before SUVs had been invented.