CC has covered Borgward and the Isabella series before, but I sense that we like Borgward, we have empathy with the intriguing Borgward story of entrepreneurship, perseverance and unexpected ending; we certainly like 1950s icons and an example like this should not be ignored. I mean, just look at it and tell me why I don’t want it? See, that’s not easy is it?
I’ll start this CC with an observation. I’m unlikely to state anything significant you haven’t read previously on CC – you can’t follow up on Tatra87 by making corrections or adding details – and this will be my first CC for a German car. I’ve covered various British, French, Italian, Swedish, Japanese, Dutch and even an Australian car but this will be the first German car I’ve covered in depth. So, let’s see how it goes, using an example I saw in France about five years ago as a feature car and the treasure trove that is the CC Cohort.
The Borgward group was brought together in 1929 when Carl Borgward was able merge his business Goliath-Werke Borgward & Co with Hansa-Lloyd-Werke A.G. Borgward’s Goliath business was in the driving seat; Hansa-Lloyd was close to bankruptcy. Both were based in Bremen in north west Germany.
Incidentally, the name Hansa-Lloyd tells of the origins of the business – Hansa denoted that it was established in a Hansastadt, or Hanseatic City, one of a chain of cities, including Bremen, linking along trading routes through the Baltic and the North Sea, from the Tallinn in Estonia, the Baltic States, Germany, the Netherlands and the Great Britain, from the 12th to 15th centuries. Lloyd denoted its roots in the shipping line Norddeutscher Lloyd; in the mid 19th century, the term Lloyd was used in Germany for a shipping line, deriving from the Lloyd insurance market and its coverage for losses of shipping. Hapag-Lloyd AG is a surviving example.
The combined business was building vehicles under the Goliath and Hansa brands. Goliath were also building the Goliath light trucks and the Pionier microcar, which was built around a wooden frame covered with a synthetic fabric, and powered by a 198cc or 247cc single cylinder 2-stroke engine.
Hansa meanwhile had been producing some serious luxury cars but in comparatively small volumes.
Borgward stopped these, and focussed Hansa on trucks and the mid-size Konsul and Matador range. This was replaced by the all-steel Hansa 1100 in 1933, which grew to be the Borgward Hansa 1700 and then 2000 by 1939.
From then on, the Borgward name was usually used as the marque and Hansa as a model name, albeit with exceptions. After WW2, the Lloyd name reappeared as well, for an entry level car, the LP600, with a synthetic fabric body and transverse 2 cylinder 2 stroke engine and for the later (steel) Arabella saloon. The 1949 Hansa 1500 saloon did well enough as Germany recovered and got back on its wheels, or on its wheels of the first time, as private car ownership in Germany had always lagged most of western Europe.
But Borgward’s big success was the 1954 Isabella. This was a car that hit that sometimes elusive spot – conventional and sharply contemporary but well executed and a seemingly good value with it. More thoroughly engineered than contemporary Opels or Fords, more affordable than a Mercedes-Benz, larger than a VW or NSU, more modern than the DKW 3=6, BMW were not in the market then….the sweet spot was found.
Actually, it wasn’t originally called the Isabella. It was the Borgward Hansa 1500, but the Isabella name, chosen by Carl Borgward himself and in fact the formalisation of a project code, came shortly after production started. The Hansa badge was still evident on the cars until 1957. But the Isabella is the name that is remembered.
The car inherited the engine and drive train from the preceding Hansa 1500. This meant a 1493cc four cylinder overhead valve engine, driving the rear wheels through a four speed gearbox, operated by a cable column change and with synchromesh on all four gears, unusual for the time. Early cars had 60 bhp and 80lbft of torque, at a usefully low 2400rrpm. This was Borgward’s first monocoque (unibody) with coil springs and wishbones, with an anti-roll bar at the front and, being typically German and of the period, a swing axle at the rear. Extensive rubber bushing featured around the suspension and differential, along with separate front and rear sub-frames.
CC Cohort photo by Hannes
Size wise, at 176 inches long on a 102 inch wheelbase, this car was bigger than the contemporary Opel Olympia or Ford Taunus P1, as well as more powerful, and with more sophisticated transmission and suspensions. It was significantly cheaper than a (slightly later) Mercedes-Benz 190, but had a style and level of engineering that could stand comparison with most, if not quite all.
The styling was not dissimilar to that seen from several other European brands – Morris, Fiat, Simca and Peugeot, arguably Volvo and Alfa Romeo all had similar themes going on, and to me there’s a bit of the Hudson Jet in there too, albeit one of the gussied up versions. But I suggest it was a fully competent execution of the then contemporary style and format and has stood the test of time well. The surprise may be that it was only offered as a two door saloon, although similar cars from Ford and Opel such as the Taunus P1 and Olympia Rekord also came as two door only.
CC Cohort photo by moethebartender
There was also a station wagon, known as the Combi in German tradition and with that very Germanic style of station wagon glasshouse, but there was never a four door option, aside from a few prototypes.
Borgward added some glamour with the Convertible from 1955, converted by the Karl Deutsch company and, being a conversion of a monocoque that had not been planned in, was inevitably expensive to produce.
Borgward also offered a high performance model, the Isabella TS with 75bhp and 84lbft, thanks to a twin choke Solex carburettor and some larger valves. With added chrome and extra equipment, this was a car that could almost get to 100mph on a downhill section of autobahn. Stirling Moss, who had an unmatched reputation for racing and winning in just about anything with wheels, was able to use the engine to solid effect.
Let’s check a period road test. The UK magazine Motor Sport has a most tremendous digital archive.
Bill Boddy was the editor from 1936 to 1991, and was still contributing when he died in 2011 at the age of 98, and was known for penning a firm but fair road test, and the Isabella got this largely positive review.
CC Cohort photo by turbocontinental
But the car that is often cited as Borgward’s high point is the Isabella Coupe. Some say it was intended to add some glamour and separation from the Ford and Opel rivals, some say it was an affordable Mercedes-Benz 190SL and some say it was to stop Frau Borgward buying a VW Karmann Ghia.
Confession time – I’ve never been a Karmann Ghia fan. By the time I was an active Curbivore, any Karmann Ghia I saw was almost certainly a little tired and certainly dated, visually. Add the unusual rear engine and air cooling to the mix, and it wasn’t working for me. Not sure it does yet, but YMMV. But perhaps it did for Frau Borgward.
The Karmann Ghia came in 1955; the Isabella Coupe came in 1957, which is a pretty quick response but there is clearly some of the Karmann style in the Isabella. But my observation is that maybe Carl Borgward, for he styled all his cars, or at least had a key and final say on the styling of all cars, was after some of the Studebaker “Loewy” Coupes’ appeal. The rear deck, the clear front engine profile of the car and stance of the wheels all say something to me, which the Karmann Ghia doesn’t.
This car was sold at a class and price break above the Karmann Ghia, and could be seen not just as a smarter Karmann Ghia but an affordable Mercedes-Benz 190SL. The Federal Republic was by now building an impressive economic recovery and logically Carl Borgward wanted to take part in it.
The Isabella was a commercial success for Borgward. By 1958, over 100,000 had been built and this rose to over 200,000 by the time production stopped in September 1961, with a peak of 38,000 in 1959. This includes almost 10,000 Coupes, of which 5,000 went to North America. There were separate importers on the east and west coasts, and I suspect most of the sales would have been close to the coasts. Having said that, Hemmings has a feature on a car originally sold in Billings, Montana, which cost the same as a contemporary Thunderbird – around $3700.
CC Cohort by moethebartender
In terms of driving, the experience was reportedly better than many of the period. Interior space is generous for the size and format, the chassis is apparently agile and the steering sharp, the column shift easy enough if a little long of movement. It may not have kept up with a Thunderbird, but it sounds like a car that you could enjoy in Montana.
The interior comes in for praise too, with style and durability. And, yes, those are separate heating controls for driver and passenger.
I think you can easily see the appeal to this owner.
Time for another road test, again from Bill Boddy of Motor Sport, who clearly liked it, albeit he noted some foibles.
The car had to be refuelled from a special can, the boot release was on the passenger door jamb and the novelty of screen washers.
Overall, the press reaction was positive, although £1996 was a lot of money compared with, say, a Sunbeam Rapier or a MG Magnette saloon. Not as sophisticated maybe, but they didn’t cost what was soon to be close to Jaguar E Type money.
The end story of the Isabella and Borgward is well known and well chronicled on CC. In the US Import Boom of the late 1950s, Borgward had some success (helped by the glamour of this Coupe, no doubt) but as the boom ended and the imports’ market share halved, Borgward was stuck with over production and cash flow issues.
These were compounded by cost over runs and lower than expected sales and profit from the new small Lloyd Arabella, and the cost of developing the P100, a Mercedes-Benz 220 (W110 Heckflosse) competitor, complete with pneumatic suspension. After a costly development programme, Borgward sold just 2500 in the first year. Significant costs were also being expended on a new Lloyd 1500, to sit between the Arabella and the Isabella, and on early thoughts for a new Isabella. Who said BMC had a monopoly on complicated product planning issues?
Carl Borgward had no significant relationship with the major banks, or apparent desire to do so, instead relying on the Bremen State Senate. And perhaps using his suppliers as banks too, not always with their consent. When stories of late payments appeared in the press in early 1961, the State stepped in and took control, ultimately winding up the entire business. By September, car production had stopped and the businesses were all wound down. Carl Borgward died a year later, and the story was over. Personally, I don’t really buy the idea of a great conspiracy to close down Borgward. Why would the company’s competitors do that if its suppliers (also their suppliers of course) were effectively doing it for them?
But dabbling with helicopter projects probably didn’t really help any claim of focus and control on the prevailing structural issues.
There is an undeniable appeal to the Isabella, especially in Coupe form. From this distance, the saloon now appears unremarkable, with little to significantly separate it from, for example, the MG Magnette, Sunbeam Rapier or Fiat 1400. The Coupe, though, has that extra something, especially when presented like the feature car.
Borgward reminds me in some ways of the British Rootes Group. Controlled by one family with a clearly strong figure at the centre, build around a group of historically separate organisations and covering a wide range of the market in cars and trucks.
The businesses were of similar size in the late 1950s, and the role of the key Isabella was also similar to that of the Hillman Minx and its derivatives. Both businesses had a solid performing product in the mid range (Hansa and Isabella, or a series of Minx and derivatives), a larger, if dated, car to top the range (Hansa 2400 or Humber Hawk), supporting van and truck activities and later a technically ambitious but commercially unsuccessful new car (P100 or Hillman Imp). And ultimately a financial failure that perhaps could and should have been foreseen.
CC often celebrates a product from an independent or from an underdog, or from the largely forgotten or overlooked. Maybe Borgward can be classified in all these categories; certainly for me it is a true CC. Even in bright green and white two-tone.
The last Isabella came down the line in September 1961, with a banner stating “Du warst zu gut für diese Welt“. Perhaps it was too good for this world.
CC Cohort photo by Ralf K
Conspiracy or not. The fact is that the Bremen government appointed a notary as head of the company who also worked for BMW. The fact is that he guided the engineers from Borgward to BMW and that they were significantly involved in the development of the new BMW class. Because of this model and the fact that Borgward disappeared as an important competitor, BMW was able to survive at all. It was not until long after the bankruptcy when some monies were left over after all debts were paid for the closure of the works with the attendant. Loss of jobs became known to the dual activity. Bremen was an economically strong region at the time. Even far from Munich. Since then, Bremen has been one of the bottom economies in Germany.
And one could wonder what would’ve happened if it had been the other way around. If ’80s yuppies had been aspiring to Lloyd Alexanders, Isabellas and Arabellas instead of 320is and 190Es would the rest of the auto industry have trended to “people” names instead of alphanumerics and we’d be talking about the latest Mazda Juunichi or Cadillac Steve?
Silly Germans. The diamond goes on the back!
Ever since our trip to the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville a few years ago, I have been a big Borgward fan. The story of Germany’s postwar automotive industry is dominated by VW and Mercedes. Borgward occupied a middle place and made some very respectable cars.
Ever the contrarian, I think I may prefer the standard 2 door sedan to the Isabella, but not by much. The sedan is proportioned almost perfectly, while the Isabella has always looked just slightly off to me in a way I cannot quite identify. Is the greenhouse slightly too small for the rest of the body? Even then, I would happily adopt one.
I think the trunk is just a little too long. It’s styled like a sports coupe, but has the proportions of a business coupe.
The problem is that it’s got a very short and low coupe roof on a lower body only slightly changed from the sedan. That’s bound to be a bit less than ideal. It comes off as being microcephalic.
The K-G, with its body created from scratch, and its sloping front and rear ends, is so much more elegant.
Mrs. Borgward should just have gotten a K-G. It was not easy to equal it.
But Mrs B might’ve wanted some glamour and bling, and the elegant KG is bit spindly and narrow-tracked for that.
The microcephalism thing isn’t apparent in reality, maybe because the Isabella seems a wide car for its size.
I like the long trunk and short roof of the Isabella Coupe. It reminds me of the 1940-ish U.S. business coupes, in a newer package.
JP, I agree with you on the greenhouse. I always thought it should have extended a bit further into the rear deck, for balance. Having said that, I would also not mind owning one. It’s distinctive, and its high quality construction is evident.
Maybe it’s just me, but a station wagon but no 4 door sedan in the lineup seems like a recipe for staying in a market niche.
Excellent write-up by the way. I always passed this car off as a German Plymouth, that is an also ran to Ford and Opal but nothing exciting unless you liked the styling.
It was a step up from Ford and Opel which in turn were a step up from VW. A German DeSoto, then.
On the one hand, the vast majority of German personal/family cars through the ’70s were 2-door sedans. On the other, it seems like lacking a 4-door would be not only leaving export sales on the table, but ended up handing the taxi market to Mercedes on a silver platter.
Mercedes had the taxi market sewn up with its diesels. Back then only taxi drivers and some farmers bought diesel Mercedes; they were essentially created and built for that segment of the market. Private buyers didn’t start buying diesels until much later.
It occupied the exact same sphere the BMW “New Class” cars (1500/1600/1800/2000) did that essentially succeeded the Isabella. A cut above Ford and Opel.
Germans did not seem to care about the lack of four doors back then. It was very common to just have two door sedans in this class and below.
VW could have made a four door 1500/1600, as it did in Brazil but didn’t bother to for Germany.
Did four door cars have child-proof locks in period ? You certainly need four doors to lift your child into a safety-seat, but they didn’t appear until the 70s, did they ?
I always thought two-door cars were more ‘sporty’ – you wouldn’t race or rally a four-door car if a lighter, more rigid, two door version was available.
Crazy Vaclav: Put it in H.
I had a 63 Karmann Ghia that was the same colors as the first image, except that it was all green below the window line. I wonder if Borgward and VW were purchasing paint from the same supplier. When I saw the rear quarter view it looks like a modified Karmann Ghia. Thanks for the memories.
Growing up in California with a next-door neighbor who had been a Lloyd dealer, and still had one rotting in his garage, and an across-the-street neighbor with an Isabella Coupé, as a kid I naturally assumed these were a global sales success. Well, not really, I knew neither brand was in production anymore. But all the Borgwards I remember from childhood (I don’t think I’ve seen one in decades) were dull gray or beige, none of the colorful two-tones shown here. And our neighbor across the street, whose three cars in the 30 or so years our lives overlapped were the Isabella, a Beetle, and a 190 Fintail, chose an almost identical shade of tan for all of them. Thanks for the history, Roger!
I would go daringly further than Motorsport and their hyperbolic “decidedly attractive”: why, I’d go to “very nice indeed”.
I’ve always thought these were gorgeous little machines, especially when muti-toned and whitewalled. They make the 190SL look a bit frowny and fat, and as for the KG inspiration, there’s too many people fighting under that sheet (they’re poking it out all over the shop), and its hip is on the wrong way and it has no face makeup. Far from awful, natch, but quite without the exuberance and glamour of the Isabella. I’d add that you really have to see it in the flesh to fully get the feel of one.
I’ll draw a discreet veil if not an outright blind eye over its Germanic mania for suspending its lovely big backside with those evil verdammt Schwenkachse. Seems not to have drawn much complaint anyway, so one of the better set-ups. If they must.
Mark of Carr* tm again, here on a marque of car, so quality guaranteed and delivered as per. I like the Rootes analogy, as Rootes stuff often seemed a bit better quality than other Englanders, and it’s also a bit P6 Rover-esque in terms of market position and thorough engineering.
I think the greenhouse and some other elements (bodyside upper line/moldings) may be adapted from an earlier V. Exner (senior) design, the d’Elegance. Unquestionably, the Karmann Ghia is a better way to adapt this expression of “Exnuberance” to a smaller, non-hand-made car.
Nice to see a mention of the legendary Bill Boddy – there are few motoring journalists around these days of his calibre.
The factory was in Varel, which is not far from where I attended university in Oldenburg. That said – Varel is just a bridge away from Bremerhaven where Bremen ships everything it makes, out into German Bay – North Sea. Living in Oldenburg, there are many restored Isabella coupes and they are greatly admired there. Like a lot of things, folks keep their traditions and there are still a few families that are proud of the Borgward ties to the Varel plant. It was flattened during bombing raids.
Bremen has a splendid history and a lot of you beer drinkers know that it is home to one of the world’s largest brewers – Beck’s. Bremen has been a bit overshadowed by its proximity to Hamburg and like it has known for centuries, Bremen lacks a suitable shipping harbor – hence Bremerhaven, built centuries ago when the Weser silted up what little harbor Bremen had.
There aren’t many Americans visiting this part of Germany. A few Brits. Living there meant I didn’t hear English spoken for weeks at a time. A really wonderful place that I would love to retire to.
I always expect some history on CC but going back to the Hanseatic League? You’ve outdone yourself, Rog.
One of those parts of history I’ve always wondered about but somehow never looked up. Thank you for the history lesson, Professor Carr.
Now I know why a German car uses the Welsh name Lloyd.
A friend of my father’s had an Isabella and I remember my dad talking about it. Given when they were produced, I was probably 8 or 9. His friend lived outside the city and had, what was for the time, a long commute, so he piled on the miles. He was due to replace it but he held off until it rolled over 100,000 miles because it was the first car he had ever had that reached that milestone without requiring any major engine work. According to my dad it was pretty impressive for an engine to go that far without having the head off at least once. Things have certainly improved since then.
Just yesterday I stumbled across a photo of a car I couldn’t identify. I was sure it was an Isabella… yet it wasn’t quite right. Turns out it was a Renault Fregate.
Someone in my street owned one back in the sixties, after a Lloyd and an Isabella sedan had passed through their hands. I always felt these suffered from a bit too much chrome, but then Mercedes of that era were quite shiny too. Those heavy headlight surrounds though – they look like they belong on a big mid-fifties American car, and the diamond on the grille just looks out of proportion. Otherwise quite an attractive car.
Yeah, the overcooked eye makeup is a bit of a gargoyle, but (to me) the only one.
Great essay. I have always admired the Borgward automobile. My brother and I attend the NY Auto Shows when we were young The Borgward booth was a place to stop. The interiors for fit and finish were excellent and we loved the styling. I have attached a picture of a Borgward 2400 Pullman.
Chrysler D- Elegance 1953
Virgil Exner actually didn’t mind that the Karmann Ghia directly copied his 1953 Chrysler D’Elegance
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2017/11/10/virgil-exner-actually-didnt-mind-that-the-karmann-ghia-directly-copied-his-1953-chrysler-delegance
“At various times, Ghia designers Luigi Segre, Felice Mario Boano, and Giovanni Savonuzzi claimed responsibility for the Karmann Ghia’s design, but as Paul Farago — Ghia’s U.S. representative and a friend of Exner’s — explained to Michael Lamm for an article about the D’Elegance in the July/August 1993 issue of Special Interest Autos, “Boano copied Exner’s design. There’s no doubt about that.””
https://www.motorcities.org/images/file-20150422103052_1950s_Chrysler_Style_Influenced_Future.jpg
Mmmm, nice piece Roger; great to read the back story. RHD Borgwards and Hansas were sold here new, presumably UK-spec as we were still attached to England then (philosophically if not literally). There was an Isabella on my route to school in the 1980s, albeit a 2-door sedan, and I was always fascinated by the diamond-shaped grille. The interior looked high quality too, with chunky ivory-coloured switches etc. Not sure if we got the coupe, but I prefer the sedan/wagon styling anyway. The coupe’s greenhouse is too short for the lower body; the tumblehome too much versus the slab-sided lower body. But still a unique piece of styling.
My parents had a series of cool cars. Their first was an MG TC. Followed by a Borgward wagon. They LOVED the Borgward. As they said, it was near Mercedes quality, more affordable and vastly better than most other European brands. Interestingly, the article mentions the Sunbeam Rapier, which George and Lorraine replaced the Borgward with. They DESPISED the Rapier and kept if for only a year or so. It was nearly ditched for a ’66 Mustang, but once they test drove it, the boring American engineering was revealed and they ordered a Volvo 122s. They kept it for (and willed it to us) 30+ years. Thanks for reminding me of all the history.
Finally got to read this great post. Thoroughly enjoyed it, as per usual. You found some lovely period photos to go with a superb feature car.
As to the Isabella coupe, it’s definitely (along with most other Borgwards) in a class of its own. I remember seeing one in Geneva, when I lived there about 15 years ago. It was a mesmerising sight. Not exactly beautiful, but incredibly well designed, with a multitude of adorable details and the impression, which you only really got with some West German and some American cars of the period, that it’s truly built like a tank. Chrome moldings upon chrome moldings, a big white bakelite wheel and chunky switches that looked like pipe organ stops… everything seemed so well-made. It probably was too good for this world.
However, given the choice and my affinity with Fintails, I think I might be tempted by a P100, though a 60 year old pneumatic suspension sounds like an absolute nightmare.
My grandpa bought an Isabella in the early 60’s in Germany where he worked. After a while he sold it, went back to Italy and got an Opel GT there. Here in Amsterdam theres still a wagon driving around, I see it every few months.