Wartburg motor car
| Wartburg | |
|---|---|
 Wartburg motor car 1898 with a folding top
|
|
| Wartburg motor car | |
| Production period: | 1898 – approx. 1903 |
| Class : | Small car |
| Body versions : | Phaeton |
| Engines: |
Gasoline engines : 0.8 liters (2.6-5.9 kW) |
| Length: | 2300 mm |
| Width: | 1200 mm |
| Height: | 1300 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 1520 mm |
| Empty weight : | 315 kg |
The Wartburg motor car was the first in Eisenach produced automobile . It was named after the castle of the same name near Eisenach .
Bicycles were still manufactured under the Wartburg brand until around 1920 . After the Second World War, Wartburg was reintroduced as a car brand in Eisenach. The production of several mid-range models ran from 1956 to 1991.
history
The Eisenach vehicle factory , founded in 1896, manufactured bicycles and guns. In 1898 it was decided to also build automobiles. For this, the acquired Rheinmetall founder and shareholder Heinrich Ehrhardt a sole license to build a French Voiturette type Decauville Voiturelle to as soon as possible to offer a competitive product. The first test car was built before Christmas of that year, and from the beginning of 1899 the model was sold as a Wartburg motor car . Around 250 of these vehicles were manufactured in Eisenach, and the price was between 3500 and 3950 marks , depending on the version .
After the company founder Heinrich Ehrhardt and his son Gustav , who as factory director and chief designer played a key role in the development of the motor vehicle, left the company in 1904, which went hand in hand with the loss of the vehicle licenses, the management introduced the Dixi brand for automobiles . From around 1920, Wartburg was also replaced as a bicycle brand by the Dixi brand.
Technical details
On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Eisenach vehicle construction, VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach (AWE) published a special edition on its history and with technical data on the Wartburg motor vehicle.
drive
While the first vehicles were still powered by an air-cooled four-stroke engine with 2.6 kW (3.5 hp), the second version had a water-cooled engine with a maximum of 3.8 kW (5 hp) or, in the racing version, 5.9 kW ( 8 hp). It was a gasoline engine with two cylinders arranged in a row and a displacement of 764 cm³, the intake valves were uncontrolled sniffing valves that were automatically opened by the vacuum in the cylinder when the engine was sucked in, the exhaust valves were mechanically controlled. The radiator was in front of the front axle; The Wartburg motor vehicle was started using a handwheel on the driver's seat. The ignition worked with a dry battery. When the battery was empty, the car stopped. The engine with the exposed three-speed gearbox was mounted under the driver's seat, similar to a driver's seat. It was shifted with a hand lever on the driver's seat. The rear-wheel drive vehicle reached a top speed of around 40 km / h. The front wheels were unbraked.
landing gear
The Wartburg motor vehicle was built on a tubular frame and had stub axle steering . The front suspension and the rear rigid axle were sprung with leaf springs . The steering column stood vertically in front of the driver's seat. There were band brakes on the open differential gear that the driver had to operate with his foot, and there was also a hand-operated band brake on the rear wheels. The track width was 1050 mm.
Model variants
In addition to the simple design, as it was built at the beginning, there were the following model variants:
- a luxury touring car
- a promenade wagon with a hood that was specially designed for women
The list of optional extras included an umbrella stand on the side wall, a horn with a rubber ball, braided side panels, acetylene lamps, leather upholstery and a rain cover with a folding mechanism.
Racing successes around 1900
.jpg)
The following successes were found in an advertisement:
| route | Success / place |
|---|---|
| Berlin – Aachen, approx. 700 km | 1st prize in touring car class |
| Berlin – Aachen, approx. 700 km | 3rd prize in the small car class |
| Eisenach – Oberhof – Eisenach | 1st and 2nd prize |
| Gotha – Untere Schweizerhütte – Gotha | 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th prize |
| Salzburg – Vienna | 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize |
| Vienna – Graz – Vienna | 1st Prize |
| Nuremberg – Kitzingen | 1st and 3rd prize |
In addition, on November 24, 1900, a 1000 mile drive was carried out on the racing circuit of the Crystal Palace in London. There a Wartburg car drove the route in 48h 24m 4s without stopping, in order to demonstrate the perfect operational safety.
literature
- Horst Ihling: 90 years of vehicle construction in Eisenach . In: Motor-Jahr: An International Review . transpress publishing house for transport, Berlin 1986, ISBN 3-344-00006-3 , p. 24 ff .
- Eberhard Kittler: BMW: all passenger cars since 1928 . Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-613-02642-1 , p. 8 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Christian Leitzbach: Strong automotive tradition at Rheinmetall. Rheinmetall AG, April 2004, archived from the original on June 28, 2007 ; Retrieved February 10, 2009 .
- ↑ It started with 3.5 hp. In: Wartburg Signals 1976 Illustrated special edition. VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach (GDR), accessed on March 11, 2015 .
- ↑ The beginning of Eisenach vehicle construction. Rheinländer Wartburg Freunde & IFA Freunde Rheinland eV, accessed on February 11, 2015 .
- ↑ Wartburg motor vehicle. In: Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung . October 21, 1900, accessed on March 11, 2015 (advertisement from the Eisenach vehicle factory).
- ↑ 1000 miles in 48 hours, 24 minutes, 4 seconds. In: Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung . December 9, 1900, accessed on March 11, 2015 (advertisement from the Eisenach vehicle factory).
