Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: 1989 Wartburg 1.3 Tourist – An Inspiration!

Roshake found and posted this Wartburg Tourist at the Cohort. For you not familiar with it, the Wartburg 353 was an East German (DDR) car of somewhat upscale ambitions; the DDR Buick to the (Chevy) Trabant. It was an evolution of the pre-war DKW F9, and had a 993 cc two-stroke triple driving the front wheels, when in 1988 it finally got a VW-sourced 1.3 L four-stroke four, and had its name changed to Wartburg 1.3. But it only lasted through 1991, shortly after unification.

And what did it inspire?

The Nissan Rasheen, of course. It arrived in 1994, just six years after the Wartburg’s demise. Like all these Nissan retromobiles, it’s not a perfect replica, and was not intended to be. But its inspiration is all-too obvious.

The Rasheen was something of a pioneer, as it makes a pretty good claim to being the first CUV, given that it had a unique taller body on a passenger car platform and was available with AWD.

But let’s savor the original some more, especially in contrast to its more modern neighbors out on the street.

 

Related CC reading:

Curbside Classic: 1988-1991 Wartburg 353 1.3 – The East German Audi, In More Ways Than One

1994-2000 Nissan Rasheen – The World’s First Four-Door CUV Was An Homage To The Wartburg 353