Wartburg is an East German automotive brand used for cars manufactured at VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach.

The name derives from Wartburg Castle on one of the hills overlooking the town of Eisenach where the cars were made.

From the 1950s until the late 1980s, Wartburgs featured a three-cylinder two-stroke engine with only seven major moving parts (three pistons, three connecting rods and one crankshaft).

[1][2] The name was revived in 1956 by VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach and given to an updated version of their IFA F9 car which had been in production since 1950.

The new car had a more powerful version of the three-cylinder two-stroke engine driving the front wheels and a completely new body.

Right hand drive models were first manufactured in 1963 and exported to Cyprus, with British buyers being introduced to the car in 1964.

In the De Luxe version, electronic ignition, 5-speed gearbox, front and rear fog lights, an alarm system and central lock door were available.

The offer of Volkswagen to move a surplus engine assembly line to the GDR, to be paid off by manufacture, was accepted by the government on account of fuel economy.

The new Wartburg was short-lived, its end being sealed by German reunification; production was inefficient and could not compete with West-German manufacturers.