In 1984 a deal was reached in which
IFA would assemble Volkswagen's 1.3-liter
EA111 engine under license, in the
Barkas plant in
Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz). The engine was too long to be mounted longitudinally in the Wartburg 353, and too long to fit between the front wheels in a transverse installation. The appearance was also altered by the installation of a new front clip, with large wraparound turn signals and a smoothed-off appearance. Being rather expensive (nearly twice the price of the 353 W), the 1.3 sold slowly from the outset. The two-stroke 353 W continued to be built until 1989, when imported cars became available. Being a four-stroke was not enough of a novelty to convince buyers, especially in Western export markets. After the
German reunification in October 1990, the Wartburg 1.3 was no longer competitive, and production slowed down until it was discontinued on 10 April 1991. A pickup version (not available within the Eastern Bloc) called the Wartburg 1.3 Trans was also available, although only about 920 were built. A total of 152,757 Wartburg 1.3 were built, about half of them intended for export. The engine originally developed , after July 1990 this was increased to .
Karmann showed a more luxurious prototype based on the Tourist, called simply the "Tourist L". It had a glass sunroof, roof rails, tinted windows, and an upgraded interior.
Irmscher developed a modernized, sportier-looking version with 14-inch
alloy wheels called the 1.3 New Line. Wartburg could see the writing on the wall, however, and only two New Lines were built. A Wartburg 1.4 was also developed in 1990, with a
Renault engine. This was in an attempt to lower costs (which were rising rapidly after the reunification) by thirty per cent, and the Barkas-built drivetrain was the most expensive part. One operational prototype was built, but it was decided to liquidate
Automobilwerk Eisenach rather than continuing production. The original AWE Wartburg plant closed in 1991 was replaced by the new
Opel Eisenach joint venture one building the
Opel Vectra. ==References==