Borgward Isabella
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| Manufacturer | Carl F. W. Borgward GmbH |
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| Production | June 1954 - 1962 |
| Assembly | Bremen-Sebaldsbrück [1] |
| Predecessor | Borgward Hansa 1800 |
| Body style(s) | 2 door saloon, estate, cabriolet, coupe |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Engine(s) | 1493 cc straight-4 |
| Transmission(s) | 4 speed manual |
| Wheelbase | 2,600 mm (100 in)[2] |
| Length | 4,390 mm (173 in) |
| Width | 1,705 mm (67.1 in) |
| Height | 1,480 mm (58 in) |
| Curb weight | 1,010 kg (2,200 lb) |
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The Borgward Isabella is a medium sized two door saloon that was manufactured by the Bremen based auto-manufacturer Carl F. W. Borgward GmbH between 1954 and 1962. Initially the car was badged, like its predecessor, as the Hansa 1500, but within the company it was known from the beginning by the code name, Isabella (not after Carl Borgward's wife whose name was Elisabeth), and cars produced after 1957 bore the ‘Isabella’ name, inscribed eye catchingly within the rhombus at the centre of the front grill: in retrospect the car produced from 1954 is known as the Isabella to differentiate it from the (first) Hansa 1500/1800 which the company produced between 1949 and 1954.
Despite its aspirational positioning in the marketplace, the Isabella had a smaller engine (and was marginally shorter) than its immediate predecessor. Late in 1952 the firm had launched their six cylinder Hansa 2400 model. The larger car never found many buyers; but in 1954 it made commercial sense to keep the two models from competing too directly with one another.
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[edit] The Isabella at launch
11,150 Isabellas were produced in 1954, an early indicator that commercially this would be the most successful Borgward ever. The early cars enjoyed an enthusiastic reception in the market place. Unfortunately early models were afflicted by teething troubles, reflecting a rushed development schedule, and the marketplace would later prove unforgiving as Borgward's Stuttgart based rival, Daimler-Benz demonstrated that new models did not have to involve customers in such problems.
The advertised launch price of DM 7,265 was higher than that of competitor family sedans from Opel and Ford, but significantly less than Mercedes Benz was asking for their 180 model. In view of the car's spacious cabin and impressive performance, the pricing was perceived as very competitive.[3] A road test at launch reported a maximum speed of 130 km/h (81 mph) and fuel consumption of 8.4 l/100 km.[3] The testers described the modern structure of the car ain some detail: they particularly liked the wide cabin with its large windows, and they commended the effectiveness of the brakes.[3] The inclusion of a cigarette lighter and a clock also attracted favourable mention.[3] Unlike the Mercedes 180 however, (and unlike its predecessor) the Isabella was only delivered with two-doors.
The Isabella was constructed without a separate chassis, applying the monocoque technique which during the 1950s was becoming the norm. Like its predecessor, the car was designed with a modern three box form, but the line of the Isabella was more curvaceous than that of the first Hansa, and the car’s body made greater use of chrome trim.
The Isabella featured a swing axle at the back: it was supported by coil springs on all four wheels. The four cylinder 1493 cc engine had a claimed power output of 60 bhp (45 kW), and was connected by means of a then innovative hydraulic clutch to the four speed full synchromesh gear box. Gear changes were effected by means of a column mounted lever.An interesting story is there were only imported 10 units as an special car to Malaya in the early 50s,and 60s.
[edit] Variants
A year after presenting the saloon, Borgward presented the Isabella estate version.
Also introduced in 1955 was a two door cabriolet, known as the Isabella TS and featuring a more powerful 75 bhp (56 kW) motor. Production of the cabriolet was contracted to the firm Karl Deutsch in Cologne: converting an early monocoque design to a cabriolet necessitated considerable modification in order to achieve the necessary structural rigidity, and the resulting cost was reflected in a much higher selling price for this version.
Initial sales volumes were not maintained. Responding to a sales decline of almost a third between 1955 and 1956, Carl Borgward decided to produce a more beautiful Isabella with a shortened roof line. The Borgward Isabella Coupé was developed, and the four hand built prototypes were well received by the press. Borgward gave one of these prototypes to his wife, Elizabeth, who would continue to drive it into the 1980s. Commercial production of the coupé, powered by the more powerful TS version of the engine first seen in the cabriolet, commenced in January 1957. The coupe appears to have achieved it’s marketing objective of further distancing the Isabella’s image from similarly sized competitors from Opel and Ford. By 1958 the more powerful 75 bhp (56 kW) TS motor had also found its way into the more upmarket Isabella saloon and estate versions.
[edit] The Isabella in competition
English Racing driver and tuner Bill Blydenstein raced a Borgward Isabella in the 1950s with some success.
[edit] The end
At the time of Borgward’s controversial bankruptcy in 1961 the firm carried a substantial stock of unsold Isabellas. Nevertheless, the model's production at the Bremen plant continued until 1962, suggesting that overstocking had not been restricted to finished vehicles. By the end, 202,862 Isabellas had rolled off the Borgward production line which was nevertheless an impressive volume in the 1950s: overall, and despite being hit by falling demand in the economic slump that briefly hit Germany in the early 1960s, the car is believed to have been the firm's most lucrative model by a very considerable margin.[1]
Borgward enjoyed a brief afterlife: the production line was sold and shipped to Mexico where later during the 1960s the P100 (Big Six)was produced. The Isabella was never produced in Mexico. Back in the German market, BMW’s stylish new 1500, launched by the Bavarians in 1961, convincingly filled the niche vacated by the Isabella, and was credited by at least one commentator with having rescued BMW itself from insolvency.
[edit] Sources and further reading
- Peter Kurze: „Autos aus Bremen“, Band 3, Verlag Peter Kurze, Bremen 2001, ISBN 3980697738
- Völker, Heinrich: Der Weg zur Borgward Isabella - Unbekanntes aus der Versuchsabteilung - Bremen: Verlag Peter Kurze 2003 – ISBN 978-3-927485-27-3
- Georg Schmidt: „Borgward“, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1986, ISBN 3879436797
- „Motor-Klassik“, Heft 1/2004, Vereinigte Motor-Verlage, Stuttgart
- ^ a b "Erinnern Sie sich? Verblaßtes Nordlicht: Borgward isabella". Auto, Motor und Sport Heft 20 1977: Seite 126 - 129. date 28 September 1977.
- ^ Gloor, Roger (1. Auflage 2007). Alle Autos der 50er Jahre 1945 - 1960. Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-613-02808-1.
- ^ a b c d "Vor 20 Jahren: Erster Fahrbericht: der neue Borgward 1500 (ie a page of extracts from the same magazine's edition of exactly twenty years earlier". Auto Motor u. Sport Heft 13 1974: Seite 14. date 22 June 1974.
- This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.
