Spring is here, and that means that many gems kept hidden from view and protected from salt (not that it snows much anymore in Berlin…) are back out in the open. Or when have you last seen an IFA F8? Even though I am married to a women born in the German Democratic Republic, the vehicles built in that state are not my area of expertise – shame on me. From what I understand this is basically a DKW F8, a pre-war design from 1931.
After the war, many a car manufacturer was faced with the challenge that some of their production facilities were located in different sectors of a Germany newly divided. This was also true for the Zwickau Audi factory which was now in the Russian sphere. And instead of producing Audis or DKWs, it was producing IFAs.
Everyone following? IFA stood for Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau, roughly translated as “industrial association of vehicle production”. IFA was formed in 1946 and was directly controlled by the authorities of the Soviet military administration and later the newly founded GDR.
There are books to write (and they have been written) on the complex history of car manufactuting behind the Iron Curtain. One interesting fact about the IFA F8: Its 20 hp two stroke engine was actually the basis for the design of the Trabant’s engine! But that’s another story altogether.
During one of my garage meditations, in the last corner of an otherwise completely empty lower level floor, I came across this FIAT 130 Coupe. A beautiful Pininfarina built design!
No, I don’t regularly see Borgward Isabella coupes passing by during my lunch break.
Yes, this is a first generation Honda Prelude convertible.
No, these were not offered by the factory. I have two different sources claiming 50 or 147 were made by a company called Solaire based in Santa Ana, CA. Anyone know anything about this?
Paul has probably written everything there is to know about these. Interesting fact: I saw this in the former American sector of Berlin.
Every journey must come to an end.
Although seeing how this is a true 20V quattro, it’s probably worth it putting it back into shape.
If those last two images made you cry (like they would make me), this is to make you feel better: The first S2 on the road that I have seen in a decade.
And if you still haven’t gotten enough of that five cylinder AWD melody, there you go!
Maybe the most overlooked Volvo ever.
The Sierras, particularly those early ones, have really been growing on me. This one was parked right in front of my house!
And it’s a diesel no less!
I’ll take you for a delicious Berlin Currywurst mit Pommes und ein Bier if you can identify the model year!
Love that Isabella coupe. Always wanted one.
I’ve gone my entire life without ever seeing a Borgward. The Isabella and the later P100 sedan are both easy on my eyes, or at least seem so in photos.
Sehr schoene Fotos! Vielen Dank!
I’ll bet you a Spezi that the 200Q20V has had its 3B engine donated to something else years ago…A shame as the wagon body is wonderful with the different rear wheel cutouts. And look, a slightly older 100 Avant photobombing the Syncro Passat!
I can’t identify the year of the Minor van, other than to guess that it’s from near the end of the model’s long run. But as an obsessive tire sidewall reader, I love the Barum tires! And I was surprised to learn that they are sold in the US. Thanks for the great pictures … perhaps my favorite is the Borgward, although it doesn’t match the color of the Isabella Coupe that lived across the street from us for many years of my childhood. I still think that Borgwards should be beige.
“…an obsessive tire sidewall reader..”
That’s – different!
I confess to being one of those 😂😂😂
Great pics, again.
A bit perversely, my favourite is the 100 Avant lurking behind the 4wd Passat. I love this design, and prefer it as plain as possible, like as this one.
The amazingly-preserved Sierra is a curious artifact. They’ve always been interesting to look at, but I also get why it is that a lot of Britons didn’t much care for it at launch. And I’ve just noticed a flaw that can’t be ever unseen again: it has old-fashioned drip-rails above curved-over door tops. Messy!
Also, cool as the old Ford might be, this one might be a bit joyless to drive. It has the old 2.3 pushrod diesel from Peugeot, meaning just 66bhp to move 2600lbs. Perhaps not one for the autobahn, then.
Good point about the Sierra’s drip rails. Curiously, the US Tempo, which came out about the same time and shares its design language, didn’t have them.
The IFA F8 is a great find. I’ve always had a thing for the DKW/IFA cars, and this Cabrio is very sweet. The F8 was frst built in 1939 by DKW, and it took until 1949 before it got back into production by IFA.
Yes, its two cylinder two stroke engine went on to have a long life in the Trabant, but there its transmission was mounted inline with the engine, like most modern FWD cars. The older IFA/DKW cars had the engine set transversely behind the front axle center line, with the transmission in front of it.
I’m sure there is some related development, but it’s not the same engine as a Trabant. The F8 is watercooled with a dynamo, with the mentioned transmission in front of the engine. This is the drivetrain used in the P70, flipped 180 degrees so the transmission is behind. Everything about it is pretty different from a Trabi with it’s inline, transverse transmission and regular starter and generator.
Quite right. I shot that off without thinking, and remembering that the trabi had an air cooled motor.
There is a highly – rated museum in Zwickau (which was in the former DDR) that highlights over 160 fascinating vehicles. Have not visited, but they are very active with events and such on their Facebook page:
https://www.horch-museum.de/
“The August Horch Museum is located at the historic birthplace of Audi. The DKW and Trabant were later also manufactured in these former production halls. Today the Volkswagen rolls off the assembly line in Zwickau. Discover the history of more than 115 years of Zwickau automobile construction on 6,500 m² of exhibition space and be inspired by the brilliant scenery!
As cradle of Audi’s forerunner, Horch, and as seat of the Sachsenring company which produced (as VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau) East Germany’s most popular car, the Trabant, Zwickau has historically been one of the centres of the German automotive industry, with a tradition over one hundred years old, including other car makers like Auto Union and Volkswagen…”
The ‘Minor’ van has an Austin grille, which dates it between 1968 and 1971 when production ceased. If that is a disguised British format plate, which it looks like it might be*, the H at the end would give a registration date between August 1969 and July 1970, in the London area.
That IFA F8 is rather splendid!
* Then again it seems that H at the end is ‘historic’ in Germany. Could it be that by lucky chance the vehicle always had an H at the end?
I had to look close and confirm it was indeed RHD because of the Austin grille. My first thought was that surely BMC/Leyland had only a single dealer channel in Germany and no need for such shenanigans, unless it came over to the British garrison in West Berlin. But a classic import it is.
An “H” suffix indicates a historisch (historical) vehicle registration in Germany.
I’ll take the Passat (Quantum in North America) for trips to cross country ski areas, with a “refreshed” 20V 3B engine, please. Love the aero 100 Avant shape, but the squarish Passat appeals.
I’ll have the Fiat 130 Coupe for the Sunday brunch drive. Could we massage the 3.2 L V6 a bit, fit a modern fuel injection system ? Thank you!
Thank you. “What he said. All of the above” ^^
The Audi Avants of that era were a stunningly beautiful design in my book.
That Sierra, on the other hand, is just awful to me. I felt quite the same about the Tempo/Topaz twins here and the XR4Ti as well. That design language just never spoke to me at all. The thick upper door frames in body color just gave all of these a cheap overall look, and in lighter colors that aspect really sticks out like a sore thumb. I was never a Ford fan, but I specifically thought most Ford designs of the 80’s were especially clumsy, like they were cobbled together with parts from different industrial design firms, with no collaboration between them.
Yep, another Dislike for those door frames. In hindsight they look really odd, but the Tempo’s look even thicker.
Those DKW roadsters were used in the ’30s to search for unwanted radio “interference” and catch people listening to the “wrong” station when an official command program was on.
Much sneakier than Britain’s later TV detector vans, which were mainly for show and scare purposes.
As seen in Britain’s Wireless World, July ’39
https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Wireless-World/30s/Wireless-World-1939-07.pdf
If I saw that Isabella passing by, I’d pass out from Beauty Shock Syndrome. Magnificent.
Great finds!
I’m thinking that Prelude convertible might be a German conversion. There was a firm called Tropic Automobiledesign in Baden-Württemberg that made convertible conversions in the early 1980s, including of German cars like BMWs, but also Celicas and Preludes. From what I understand, production was very limited (the sources I found put Prelude production at just a few dozen), and most were exported.
All of the photos I’ve found of these cars (Google “Honda Prelude Cabrio Tropic”) show the same distinctive wheels as the example you found. Meanwhile, most photos of Solaire Preludes show them with BBS or regular steel wheels. It still could go either way (both examples looks awfully similar to me), but given its location, I’d bet this is one of the German-made Tropic Preludes.
The “Tropic” name is visible on the boot lid 🙂
Aha! I missed that – guess that solves the mystery.
Nice collection of cars. The Borgwards were beautifully finished. We had them in the U.S. I would sit in them at the N.Y. Auto Shows each year. The IFA is a corker. It is good to see it on the road.
That Borgward still looks a stunner after all these years. That’s not to say the other finds aren’t great – a 130 coupe! – but that and the IFA are just amazing. Vielen Dank, Hannes!
Was “Bogward” someone’s name? It just doesn’t flow in a “marketing sense”.
Carl Borgward, factory was in Bremen, they also made commercial vehicles like vans and trucks. They were quite successful, were quite big in Brazil.
The whole bankrupcy of Borgward in 1961 had not been necessary as was stated later but by that time BMW had the benefit of producing its Neue Klasse sedan without any real local German competition.
Actually Borgward had acquired a very strong reputation of making quality products, some said they went bankrupt because their cars were too good!
That Ford Sierra must be the rarest model on the planet : it has an early 2.3 liter Peugeot Diesel under the bonnet. Later Ford switched to their own 1.8 Turbo Diesel which ran like there were a bunch of rattle cans under the bonnet. That 2.3 liter Diesel made the Sierra capable of reaching 150 km/h
These were made from 1982 till 1987