It is completely incomprehensible where the German car manufacturer Karl-Friedrich-Wilhelm Borgward dug up this name for his new mid-range model. His mother was Sophia, his wife was Elizabeth, his daughter was Monica, not a single Isabella was seen among the older and younger sisters either ...
Any romantic childhood friend? Hardly: Karl-Friedrich-Wilhelm was born in 1890, there was little room for romance in Germany during his childhood. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the manufacturer, who himself received all three of his names in honor of the German emperors, starting with Charlemagne, simply named his novelty in honor of some historical person. Say, Isabella of Castile, whose union with Philip of Aragon marked the beginning of the modern Spanish state. But there is no reliable data on this subject.
It is only known for sure that it was he, Karl-Friedrich-Wilhelm Borgward, who gave this name to the car, which in the course of development bore a completely different official designation - Erlkoenig. And one more documented fact: it was Elizabeth Borgward who received the very first copy of the elegant coupe as a gift, and two years before this model went into production. A loving husband presented her with an exclusive car in 1955, on her birthday and on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of family life together. The car was painted in a catchy orange-red ("tomato") color and had automatic transmission; Frau Borgward drove it for the rest of her life - the car still remains the property of the Borgward family, only the color changed to a more modest dark blue.
The production of cars under the Isabella brand began back in 1954 - this model replaced the Hansa 1500/1800 car on the assembly line, which Borgvard was rightly proud of as the first truly post-war West German model. All other automakers in the country were still driving their pre-war models to the market - and in Bremen they had already launched the serial production of a modern smooth-board car with a "pontoon" (that is, three-volume) body! Even Mercedes-Benz came up with its "pontoon" only by 1953 - by the time this model appeared, Bremen's Hansa had been in production for more than three years and had as many as seven modifications, including three diesel ones. Models with two doors and four, open and cargo-passenger were offered. As it turned out, such a variety of German buyers in the first half of the fifties seemed to be useless - the release of a four-door modification during the transition to the Isabella type range was abandoned, as well as diesel traction, leaving only a four-cylinder petrol engine for 1493 cubic meters. see working volume.
The convertible, however, had to be left - this type of body continued to be in great demand among the Germans, no matter what - and the cargo-and-passenger modification too; another thing is that this version went on sale only from May 1955, while the first two-door sedan solemnly rolled off the main assembly line on June 10, 1954. (The open model was produced by the Cologne coachbuilder Karl Deutsch, cutting off the metal top from a standard sedan.) From September 1955, deliveries of Borgward Isabella cars began in the TS (Touring Sport) version, with a 75-horsepower engine instead of the standard 60-horsepower, and in In 1957, the line of models was replenished with a two-door coupe, modeled after the personal car of the wife of the owner of the company.
The running gear of the novelty was no different from the original versions - the same independent suspension front and rear, the same four-speed transmission, the same steering mechanism based on a pair of "worm and roller", the same drum brakes with hydraulics; even the wheelbase remained the same, 2600 mm. However, due to the shortened interior - the car belonged to the "2 + 2" class, and she was not supposed to have a full-size rear sofa - the length of the trunk increased sharply, as a result of which the proportions of the body changed dramatically, and the intense plastic of the sides "stretched" the car even more horizontally, dividing its volume below the glazed "attic" with sweeping and bold strokes of light lines. The new silhouette was very well complemented by the contour of the top - the car turned out to be stylish and elegant, while maintaining a "family resemblance" with the rest of the Isabellas thanks to the same frontal processing.
In the second half of the fifties, German car styling was generally on the rise, at that time the BMW 503, and the BMW 507, and the Mercedes 300 SL, and the Mercedes 190 SL, and the Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia were born; even the miserable socialist Wartburg with its three cylinders - and it looked smart and dapper even in its serial four-door version, not to mention experimental or small-scale two-doors ... And still, in 1957 there was no more effective and beautiful car either in East Germany or in Western than the Borgward Isabella Coupe. Against the background of this car, not only all the other Isabellas were lost, but also the Ford Taunus, and Opel Olympia Rekord with their newfangled "American" styling, not to mention any small things like DKW or NSU. Moreover, less than 11 thousand marks were asked for all this beauty, while the “one hundred and ninetieth” Mercedes (W 121) cost at least sixteen and a half, and the “three hundredth” with lifting doors (W 1981) generally cost under thirty. By the way, today a well-restored Isabella Coupe can cost about 18 thousand, but not marks, but the euro: “feel the difference” ...
The only “facelift” of the car, purely cosmetic, came in August 1958: all Borgward Isabella cars had their front cladding changed, slightly reducing the branded “diamond” - now it was inscribed in the cutout of the false radiator, and not superimposed on top of it. Since May 1960, on all models of this type range, they began to offer a four-band “automatic” instead of the standard transmission - this box bore the proud name of Hansamatic, but in fact it was not the company’s own development, but was purchased by import from the English company Hobbs. This pleasure was quite expensive, 980 marks over full cost car, and therefore not in great demand. Another option turned out to be much more popular - automatic clutch Saxomat: The centrifugal clutch and the vacuum chamber worked together to “squeeze out” the clutch as soon as the driver took hold of the transmission lever and turn it back on with the first pressure on the accelerator pedal.
It was generally a fairly common device in those days - European cars of various brands were equipped with it: BMW, Opel, NSU, Glas, Volkswagen Beetle, and even SAAB. The Cologne wizards from the firm of Karl Deutsch tried to make a convertible, a two-seater, out of the Isabella coupe, using the same method of “amputation of the roof,” but the public greeted this venture with coolness: the view of the car in the open version was not so hot, and it cost it is already 15,600 marks, while their regular (that is, made from a sedan) convertible car that seats five was sold for only 12,535 marks in the most expensive version of the TS. So Karl Deutsch managed to build and sell only a dozen of these "coupe-cabrio", plus another such car built to order by Georg Autenrieth in Darmstadt. Now such machines come across quite often, but all of these are completely remakes: you can see with the naked eye.
The production of Isabella machines continued until the complete cessation of production by Borgward as a result of a hostile takeover. It was this car that last left the factory assembly line in the fall of 1961, crowned with a poignantly bitter poster: “Goodbye, Isabella, you were too good for this world ...” However, that farewell copy still had a sedan body, not a coupe.
As a matter of fact, the Russian branch of the latter was engaged in the certification of the Borgward BX7 crossover, which is positioned by the company as ... an affordable alternative to the premium Audi Q5. The cars are similar in size, and the style overlaps a lot.
The Approval of the Vehicle Type (OTTS) that appeared in the Rosstandart database says that the car will be delivered to us in front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive versions in two body configurations: five- and seven-seater.
There is only one engine, it is a 2-liter 4-cylinder gasoline power unit in two boost options: 201 and 224 hp. The certification of the first power unit: cars with engines from just 200 hp. in Russia are subject to a higher transport tax. Both variants are adapted to AI-92 fuel. The transmission is a non-alternative 6-speed automatic Aisin.
The length of the Borgward BX7 is 4715 mm, the wheelbase is 2760 mm, so with a seven-seat configuration, only children can fit in the third row of seats.
Borgward considers its main trump card to be quite rich equipment with affordable price. However, it cannot be said that the car that received the OTTS can boast of an expanded configuration. It has power windows, power mirrors, two frontal airbags, air conditioning, an alarm system, a sunroof, a tire pressure monitoring system and an ERA-GLONASS emergency call system. The size rims: 17 and 18 inches depending on the version.
In the Celestial Empire, in the basic configuration, there are also side airbags, a leather interior, a multimedia system with an 8-inch screen and rear parking sensors. Top-end versions are equipped with 3-zone climate control, safety curtains, electric tailgate, all-round video review system and much more.
In September last year, the St. Petersburg-based United Automobile Group (UAC) announced that it would sell Borgward cars in Russia. Plans for this year are 200–250 vehicles. And in Russian company they even promised to bring an electric car in the future, which will be made based on the Borgward Isabella concept.
- In the European market, the main competitor of Borgward is the machine created by Geely sub-brand Lynk&Co.
- Borgward may have a third crossover, the coupe-like BX6 TS, as a concept in 2016.
This year, the Borgward brand enters the Russian market. She herself is German, but belongs to the Chinese concern BAIC, and cars are assembled in the Celestial Empire at the facilities of the Foton Motors plant.
New "Chinese" in Russia: all the details about Borgward BX7From the editor:
This is not the usual magazine historical article "on top", but a real historical story, collected from a number of German-language sources unknown in Russia. The story is long and may be difficult to read right away - we recommend you make yourself comfortable and bookmark the article so you can come back to it later if you want to take a break. But get to the end - this amazing and full of drama story is worth it.
Pictured: Borgward Hansa 1500 2-door "1949–54
History of confrontation: covert and overt
Two German car companies. One now knows the whole world, the other - individual fans. One is the embodiment of style, quality, drive and much more. The other one is even difficult to say: for example, there were problems with quality, with style - too, and it’s not clear about drive and other things. However, innovations, interesting solutions, non-trivial designs, advanced technologies, exemplary production, wide the lineup- this list did not always correspond to BMW, but very often - Borgward.
A simple ranking in the post-war years until 1961 also did not put the current auto giant from Bavaria higher than the manufacturer from Bremen, on the contrary, he confidently kept fourth place inaccessible to the Bavarians after Mercedes-Benz, Opel and Volkswagen, and was by no means going to give up positions.
But the turbulent events of 1961, which led to the bankruptcy of one of the largest automotive companies West Germany, in the fall of 1962, received a very specific answer to the sacramental question: Qui prodest (“who benefits” - ed.)? All this, to put it mildly, ugly action, in fact a real massacre, is remembered very reluctantly today. And there are reasons for that: to stir up unpleasant pages of the past, probably, would not bring joy to anyone. Especially those who are now at the pinnacle of fame and power.
BMW today is one of the largest automotive companies in the world. A powerful, successful company that produces a wide range of models of the highest quality and a considerable price. One has only to say: "BMW", and anyone will immediately say what it means. But if you say the word "Borgward", then only a few will not ask: what is it? But that was not the case in the 1950s. Then what happened?
Germany after World War II. The auto industry is more alive than dead
Let's go in order. What Germany was like, exhausted by wars, revolutions and Nazism, is quite understandable. This gigantic anthill, torn apart by numerous contradictions, needed the revival of its former industrial power. Even recent enemies were well aware that the former merits of the Germans in the production of cars are not an empty phrase. The occupation regime was gradually softened, the notorious "Marshall Plan", designed to restore the country from ruins, began to bear its first fruits, and the country's economy began to somehow recover. Car factories revived, production was getting better.
Demand was worse: the new German stamps of the 1948 model were in large quantities, not only not at all, but in fact, few at all. General prosperity in the form of chic limousines and all sorts of sports coupes with convertibles was postponed until better times, since even modest 4-5-seater cars for Germany were still a luxury item. There is a separate conversation about trucks: it is clear that the restoration of a destroyed country was unthinkable without the participation of a large number of trucks.
Be that as it may, passenger cars were gradually put into production. European Ford Köln and Opel, with the support of overseas owners, were among the first auto companies to resume work. However, it was still far from new, post-war models - until the end of the 40s, in fact, they did not appear.
Daimler-Benz, the true automotive symbol of pre-war Germany, was mostly in ruins. Destroyed by an average of at least 70%, its factories immediately after the war gave rise to an unpleasant statement by shareholders: "we are forced to admit that the concern does not physically exist." They, of course, exaggerated, and humanly they can be understood. Soon, however, Daimler-Benz began to work - and, moreover, one of the first, but in the early years of cars almost did not make.
Auto-Union or BMW lost their factories in the Eastern Occupation Zone. It was doubly disappointing, since these plants suffered much less than Western ones. The grandiose pre-war project with the personal participation of Hitler, the "people's car", aka Volkswagen, under close and not to say that the careful supervision of the British occupying forces unexpectedly quickly received its continuation: the huge plant in Fallersleben, which suffered about 60% (became Wolfsburg after the war) rather quickly restored almost on bare enthusiasm and put into production the now legendary KdF machine, aka Käfer (“Beetle”), in an amount of at least 1000 units per month. This was the demand of the British, who threatened otherwise to close the enterprise.
Companies such as Adler, well-known before the war, had to forget about the production of cars forever. Several new car companies also emerged in the post-war years (Porsche, for example). But all this took on some kind of tangible form only after the lifting of the ban on production - for many this did not happen before 1948. Until that moment, the occupying troops graciously allowed the production of bicycles, cheap motorcycles and the repair of their equipment, which broke down every now and then. After the sanctions were lifted, real proceedings began, although not everyone was in an equal situation. We got out of this state as best we could. Not everyone succeeded, which will be discussed further.
No matter what anyone says, Germany managed to get used to cars during the break between the two wars. German car factories until 1939 were marked by a number of remarkable designs and a large number of technical innovations developed by talented German car designers. Many firms offered the population cars for every taste and budget.
The Germans slept and saw themselves driving, but for the most part they did not have the opportunity to travel in a motorized vehicle before the war, and after 1945 even a German middle class I simply could not afford anything more expensive than 1000 marks. What can we say about the more disadvantaged segments of the population! Their purchasing power allowed them to rely on a maximum of only something a little larger than a bicycle. Motorcycles? Yes, and so do they. But what to do with the burghers' eternal habit of warmth and satiety? If you attach a roof and doors to a motorcycle, it will already be a motorized carriage. The number of wheels is still not two, but three or four. There remains an even more or less decent seat (or even two!), Already less reminiscent of a motorcycle saddle - and the wagon of the new Germany is ready. Such “self-running strollers” were produced by many German companies, one of which was BMW. And then not immediately.
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Pictured: Daimler-Benz DB 7" 1934–35, Auto-Union logo, Volkswagen Käfer, Adler logo,Adler Trumpf Junior Sport Roadster" 1935–37
bmw. Raised from hell. The triumph is delayed because of the proximity of the collapse.
After the war, BMW's position was, as they say now, little more than hopeless. Factories destroyed or remaining in the Soviet zone of occupation, a ban on production for 3 years for the production of military products (aircraft engines in the first place). Why, even motorcycle engines over 250 cc. cm volume also could not be done for a long time. Under such conditions, BMW shareholders have shown miracles of devotion to the brand that once shone throughout Europe and retained at least a small share of production.
For several years, bicycles and motorcycles with low-power single-cylinder engines were the only BMW products that also repaired equipment of the occupying forces. But the former glory haunted the Bavarian engine builders. Having barely gotten stronger, the Bavarians set out to return to normal: this is how a car with an index, completely illogical for the then state of affairs of the company, was born - in the current ranking table it would be designated as an E-class, 4-door and five-seater sedan with a 6-cylinder engine. What to say? That this car immediately began to be missed like hot cakes? Not at all. The first year of production is generally marked by a meager circulation of a few dozen pieces. Then something moved, and... And nothing special. History decreed that the most valuable thing in the history of the BMW of the 50s is a completely different car.
Is it a car? "Isetta" - that was the name of the development of the Italian company ISO. From Vehicle this company produced scooters, and it also made refrigerators! Cheerful Italian engineers, having combined these two devices together, got an absolutely unimaginable result! As soon as the unusual car began to be in demand in their homeland, its creators, who dreamed of creating a Real Italian Sports car, immediately hurried to get rid of it, selling a license to several companies in different countries of the world at once, and with the proceeds they finally took up their dream.
This strange teardrop-shaped refrigerator on wheels, the number of which was inexorably approaching three - due to the lack of center differential the distance between rear wheels the machine has much less - it had a motorcycle engine of 9.5 horsepower. BMW gave him almost 13 - a 247 "cube" engine from the super-popular BMW R24 motorcycle accelerated the Isetta to almost 85 km / h! However, do not forget about the ridiculous weight of 360 kg! The frightening external resemblance to a refrigerator was aggravated by the fact that the Isetta drove with the only door forward! The controls had to be made quite original, so steering column, located actually on the door, opened with it! The gear lever was placed to the left of the driver, who, along with the passenger, was sitting on a sofa, which, on occasion, became a three-seater (for example, a young family with a small child). Of course, the engine was located at the rear. Reverse gear this strange wagon was completely absent.
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In the photo: BMW 501, Isetta and Isetta under the hood
Approximately 160,000 babies have been made in Munich over the years since 1955. In favor of BMW, there were production traditions that were not yet completely dead, knowledge and skills in establishing technological process, thoughtfully aggressive marketing and - the same halo of the brand, covered with the glory of past achievements and sports records, the credibility of which, although on a semi-legendary basis, still existed. “A firm with a name should do us good” - respectable burghers could argue something like this, after the catastrophe of the 40s, they began to fill the bedside tables and Deutsche Bank with their first decent savings. And BMW did.
However, it would be too pretentious to say that this Italian-German wagon put Germany on wheels, since the real hero of that time in Germany was the Volkswagen Beetle, whose production already in 1955 exceeded one million copies. But the market demanded, at the same time, a large number of ersatz cars like the Isetta, so the business was not limited to BMW alone - in Germany alone, several companies at once, including the former aircraft factories Messerschmit and Henkel, also produced similar designs.
Having launched the Isetta, BMW soon breathed a sigh of relief and ... again went all out: 502 models with an 8-cylinder engine are created (the first post-war unit of this kind in Germany), 502 coupes, 503 coupes and convertibles with a modern body shape and, finally , the stunning BMW-507 Roadster. All this took so much money that soon there was practically nothing to take away. The development of new models was underway, but BMW has not yet kept pace with the emerging market.
Isetta was enlarged by adding side door and a couple more places in the back, putting a more powerful engine from the R67 motorcycle. The result was the “600” model, which in profile already remotely resembled something like the Fiat Multipla, and in 1959 the “700” model came out, a small two-door with a normal body of quite modern outlines by the Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti. But the threat of bankruptcy was becoming so obvious that it all threatened to go to waste. Well-founded rumors soon spread about the merger of BMW with ... Daimler-Benz. The ending would have been very beautiful, you can’t say anything! But the facts are not only stubborn things, but also ruthless: the financial situation of the Bavarian company left it practically no choice.
In the photo: BMW 502 with 8-cylinder engine
Bremen manufacturer. Borgward is serious.
In the early 1930s, a group of automotive companies was finally formed in Bremen, owned by the talented design engineer Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Borgward. Before the war, they were marked by several interesting developments. Goliath's three-wheeled trucks were especially famous, but Borgward built his company in such a way that it produced cars of almost any class: from utility three-wheeled cars to full-size prestigious models.
One such pre-war model, the Hansa 2000/2300, has already gained some notoriety; in addition to a closed body, a sedan or a limousine, coupes and convertibles were made on its basis, including well-known bodywork firms, which did it very beautifully! Then the war began. At the end of it, Borgvard even ended up in prison for more than 2 years for aiding the Nazis. Unfortunately, there was a reason: during the war years, the company supplied the army with equipment of its production, entering the so-called "Shell program" (however, they would try not to enter there!), And the owner himself even joined the Nazi Party - however, for the most part parts because of being left behind, and not because of some kind of fiery love for National Socialism.
Pictured: Goliath and Hansa 2000
Its factories for the production of military products were massively bombed and were destroyed no less than the same Daimler-Benz, but after the war, about 400 people continued to work at the surviving production facilities, so some production was carried out even in the absence of the owner: these were pre-war models trucks and spare parts for them, and cars were temporarily not produced.
Upon returning, Borgward immediately set about developing the first truly post-war German passenger car. Hansa 1500 in 1949 became the first German car with a body that permanently lost its protruding wings and received the nickname "pontoon", which even larger and richer companies were able to do only after two or three years. Legend has it that Borgward, while in prison, "peeped" the idea of a solid body in American magazines, which were sometimes given to prisoners.
The small, but four-wheeled and four-seater Lloyd L300, which appeared in 1951, also looked quite interesting - suffice it to say that all subsequent developments of mini-cars borrowed the general outlines from this car. In addition, a wide range of bodies was offered. The wooden body frame was covered with some kind of artificial leather, for which the baby received a playful, but rather formidable nickname - Leukoplastbomber, that is, “Leukoplastbomb”, which stuck to it forever (later modernized models began to be made of metal).
Goliath, shedding its three-wheeler image, developed a larger model than Lloyd, the GP700, which was also produced in several versions, including a small-scale sports coupe that resembled Porsche (or vice versa?). This car was a classmate of the Beetle in size, although the engine here was two-stroke and less powerful than that of its eminent competitor.
But the car had a promising front-wheel drive, and the world's first sports coupe was equipped with direct fuel injection as standard! The already mentioned middle-class cars Hansa 1500 (and later 1900, which meant engine size in cubic centimeters) were produced in two- and four-door versions, convertibles, station wagons, vans and even sports coupes were also offered.
At the top of the model range was the Hansa 2400 with a fastback body that resembled the English Standard Vanguard, our Pobeda or the French Ford Vedette (yes, Ford had its own branch in France at that time), being closer in size to the latter (4, 5 meters long). In the German market, she had to compete (alas, unsuccessfully) with the BMW 501/502. In addition, several series of trucks, vans and minibuses under the Borgward brand were produced, as well as Goliath and Lloyd minibuses and vans, which are quite interesting in design and appearance - the latter, in the six-seater version of the LT600, in fact, became the prototype of all modern compact minivans.
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In the photo: Hansa 1500, Lloyd L300, Goliath GP700, Hansa 2400,Standard Vanguard, "Victory", Ford Vedette, Lloyd LT600
Gradually Karl Borgward's company reached the 4th place in Germany. The products were actively exported, and they sold well at home. The Isabella model of 1954, which replaced the Hansa-1500/1900, became a real bestseller - until the end of the release, it sold more than 200,000 copies (202,862 produced in Germany). It was produced with a two-door sedan and a three-door station wagon, as well as a coupe and a convertible. Even more beautiful coupes and convertibles were ordered from Karmann, which are still considered recognized classics of the genre. Of all the Borgward models, this one is still perhaps the most recognizable. Isabella belonged to a class similar to the current D. She had a lot of competition among both German and foreign cars. However, offered in addition not at the lowest price, it consistently found a sale wherever it was sold.
The same could not be said for Borgward's top model. The price and some unpleasant design features of the Hansa 2400 did not attract crowds of enthusiastic buyers to the car - for example, doors that opened against the movement caused a lot of criticism. Buyers were afraid that at high speed they would simply be uprooted, and passengers would immediately fly out of the car (there were no seat belts then). In general, interesting in design and quite comfortable inside, Hansa 2400 could not boast of a powerful motor. 82 HP for such a machine was not enough.
Borgward could not but understand this - nevertheless, he tried first to change the appearance. The outlines of the car became quite three-volume, and rear doors began to open in the "right" direction. It did not help - in 1958, production was stopped, releasing only 1032 pieces - insanely few! Is it that now in the market of automotive antiques, the surviving copies are worth very good money.
By 1959, they began to prepare a new prestigious car. Initially, a 100-horsepower 6-cylinder engine was planned, but more powerful options were being developed. The main trump card was still waiting in the wings - it was a prototype of a powerful 8-cylinder engine of its own design. But in Frankfurt in 1959 newest Borgward P100 has appeared so far in a 6-cylinder version. The novelty came out as a rather formidable competitor to the new Mercedes 220, the ancestor of the current E-class ...
Fate is knocking on the door. Mergers and acquisitions are the nightmare of the capitalist economy.
However, not to him alone: nicknamed "the angel of the Baroque" bmw sedan 502, which a few years ago looked preferable to the Hansa-2400 due to more powerful engines and other design solutions, at the end of the 50s was no longer impressive. Something new was needed, but how? The Bavarians all rested, as we have already found out, in an enchanting lack of funds. Soon not only the funds will run out, but also the words explaining their absence. It remains to wait not long - until the end of 1959 ...
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In the photo: Isabella, Hansa 2400, Borgward P100
What happened to the craftsmen from BMW? Having pulled themselves out, like Baron Munchausen, by the hair from the quagmire of the forties, by the mid-50s they stabilized their position. Motorcycle history was successfully moving forward - both on the highway and on the racetracks, BMW motorcycles practically knew no equal. The forced romance with Isetta was still far from over, because here everything was going well.
The rest were worse. A company that once made a name for itself in the production of comfortable and high-speed cars, could not return to the prestigious market segment. As a result, several expensive developments with 6-8-cylinder engines appeared: sedans, coupes, convertibles and the 507 roadster, as the quintessence of wasteful waste of money.
While Mercedes produced more affordable pontoons and a more luxurious 300 "Adenauer", BMW actually "gave birth" to something in between, but one thing. It was not possible to wipe the nose of Mercedes: a little more than 14,000 sedans and a meager number of all other cars for so many years - it was a failure. And the "baroque angel" falling into the abyss was already ready to carry away all its creators with it - from designers to the last auxiliary worker.
Thunder did not suddenly strike, it was preceded by some kind of artillery preparation. The bank lending to BMW could not help but be aware of all the company's vacillations, as it was a major shareholder. The growth of debts, therefore, did not escape the attention of the gentlemen of the bankers. Trying to somehow not stay in the red, Deutsche Bank - and that was it - began to look for the best solution: I really didn’t want to have such an unpleasant ballast in the face of a company that was on the verge of complete collapse.
Just then, the Daimler-Benz AG concern, which had pumped up fat, was circling like a predatory kite, already having the full moral right to compare itself with the previously unattainable Volkswagen: the Stuttgart car builders are on the second line of the rating with a huge annual turnover of 3 billion marks. The Three-Beams would probably not mind getting rid of old rivals by eating them with giblets. In Munich, they were preparing for the worst, the most nervous ones were already writing wills ...
Instead, at first the insatiable Stuttgart Gargantua in 1958 swallowed a completely different game, namely the Auto-Union company, which after the war made cars under the DKW brand (earlier, before the war, the Union of Four produced Wanderer, Horch, DKW and Audi cars. The emblem of the company - now famous all over the world four rings - and symbolized these four brands). It seems that in Stuttgart they were concerned about the absence of a company in a huge segment of the market more than compact cars, which they did not know how to do at all, but still did not reach their implementation.
The DKW model, named Junior, under the wing of the new owners seemed to be not without success, but not too confidently trying to push the stubborn "Beetle" from the first place. Optimism about the new acquisition in Stuttgart remained at first, and the head of Daimler-Benz, Walter Hitzinger (also chairman of the Supervisory Board of Auto-Union), as early as 1961 could proudly say "that we are one family" and that "Mercedes drivers and Auto-Union already greet each other on the road."
In the photo: DKW Junior
But really good new developments appeared too late, and Mercedes, realizing that it was overeating, in 1964 sold the concern to a competitor - the same Volkswagen. In Wolfsburg, pleasant efforts began to create their super-empire, and the Stuttgarters, without knowing it themselves, became the creators of the current premium triumvirate of the German car industry: Mercedes-Benz - BMW - Audi.
December 1959 arrived. The next reporting meeting of BMW shareholders threatened to be the last in the history of the company. Deutsche Bank, which also owned shares in Daimler-Benz (what a coincidence, bravo!), wanted to finally get rid of BMW shares. How? Very simple - sell them to Daimler-Benz!
Those, if they objected, somehow reluctantly. For example, the model range caused doubts: such as that of the then BMW, Mercedes was completely useless! Therefore, stopping the production of BMW models and starting the production of some car under an unknown brand (but definitely not BMW developments!) Was the only way for Mercedes, if they buy this unfortunate one. Such options were also announced at the meeting, and this plunged the patriotic shareholders of the company into shock: BMW will produce ... "Mercedes"? Here, it seems, patience ran out among the most patient, and the abyss was already ready to overthrow, swallowing everything and everything. Instead, the meeting was adjourned.
Lounges, lobbies... What questions were not solved in them! How many destinies were decided like this, in private conversations in the midst of the most noble meetings! Now, something similar has happened. The resumed shareholders' meeting took on a completely unexpected continuation. If you describe it in a couple of words, then most of all it resembled a gypsy girl with an exit: the main character appeared on the stage - no, not new, but from now on and forever the main character. His name was Herbert Quandt. Later, not without reason, they began to add the more compelling “BMW savior” to his name. Why, we will tell a little later.
So far, it is important for us that BMW has begun to develop new models under its own brand with renewed vigor. The influence of Deutsche Bank has significantly decreased, and it no longer made any sense for them to sell their stake in BMW. An epochal work begins in Munich, but what about Stuttgart? It seems that Daimler-Benz, busy with one acquisition, completely blew it, the second one is perhaps even more interesting. However, then there would be no Audi. Or would it?
In Frankfurt, at the premiere, crowds of people did not leave the car. It may not have been a revelation of revelations, but it was for Borgward Gruppe that it finally became the very flagship model that it is not a shame to put at the head of its production program. And now many, without detracting from the merits of Isabella, call him best model companies throughout history. No, there was nothing so chic in it that could provoke a massive drop of jaws on the floor, but the company has not yet had a more correct, timely and advanced model.
Handsome? Yes, but rather elegant. Nothing defiant, but an abyss of self-respect. Interior, design - everything, well, just everything on the topic! A 6-cylinder 100-horsepower unit that accelerates a solid five-seater sedan to 160 km / h, a bunch of useful little things, including things like heating rear window or adjustable front seat backrests, and options up to automatic box gear and air suspension own design - it was, without exaggeration, a masterpiece. And released at the same time new Mercedes 220, which did not differ much for the better, was, moreover, almost 1000 marks more expensive. Yes, there is a powerful company behind it, so it was useless to compare sales, but buyers definitely began to like the “big Borgward”. Its production gradually increased, and this only benefited Bremen.
Not good, however, was something else. Problems, as is often the case, do not arise out of nowhere. Everything that could be called profit in 1959, one way or another, covered the huge funds spent on the development of new models. In addition to the P100, a new Lloyd Arabella was launched in 1959. Needless to say, it got off to a strong start. The successful design of a small car, plus undoubted technical innovations and even "bells and whistles" attracted close attention to the novelty.
And then the first disappointment came: the complexity of the design revealed a rather weighty list of flaws. The quality of the first copies was not up to par, and the first thousand machines were recalled in order to eliminate defects. While the design was being finalized and “childhood diseases” were being treated, buyers shrugged their shoulders. Like, we thought... A thousand marks for the completion of each instance, a million in total - and Arabella returns to the market.
But the moment was greatly missed: sales were very stalled, and it was necessary to revive them somehow. Then there was a strong dependence of the Arabella price on the number of options offered, and it turned out that the most top version cost almost as much as the cheapest car from the next market segment: the price of the simplest Ford Taunus 12M, the competitor of the Hansa 1100, was struggling to stay just above the baseboard, because Ford could afford it.
Borgward couldn't. Yes, he rather wanted to bring a new product to the market in order to get ahead of competitors. It came out like that. This new enfant-teriblé of the Bremen firm required intervention for the next year to restore the demand that had been lost for it. Borgvard and his company remembered well the recent failure with the Goliath, which, in the name of saving sales, was hastily rebranded (and this is in addition to correcting design flaws!), Renaming Hansa 1100!
In this case, the brand Lloyd was replaced by Borgward, which, as it were, demonstrated the personal responsibility of the maestro for the corrected model. Soon, the sales of the “daughter of a pirate - Arabella” increased by ... 5%, which at least somehow justified the time and money spent on this. But the return of the former interest in the car had not yet arrived, and this was far from the only problem that brought dissonance to the sound of the Bremen quartet.
Pictured: Lloyd Arabella and Ford Taunus 12M
Four independent brands under the sole leadership of Kaiser Borgward, as he was sometimes called, looked like a strange anachronism in the reality surrounding them. There is nothing wrong with the variety of brands, of course, but the fact that it has not yet been a corporation did not bode well for Borgward in the near future. He was persuaded, and he, referring either to being busy or to lack of interest, put everything off and put off solving this problem. Therefore, force majeure circumstances with sudden losses of some branches (as was the case with Goliath) were extinguished manually at the expense of the profits of others. The corporation could distribute financial flows more flexibly; in addition, using the example of saving the same BMW, it has already been shown how shareholders can support their company.
In addition to this opportunity, Borgward missed another one: corporations were given significant tax breaks on land for their enterprises. But after 1960, this was canceled, and even the creation of the new corporation Borgward AG did not promise such benefits. Realizing that he had missed the moment, Borgward embarked on a long and tedious argument with the Bremen Senate. It was about the amount of 12.5 million marks, which now he had to give away, in fact, just like that! And this is when every brand counts!
Borgward has announced at the Shanghai Motor Show that it is going to start selling its cars in Russia. This is primarily about, which is produced at a factory in the suburbs of Beijing and has been sold in China since July last year. However, this spring, Borgward also introduced a more compact one (in the title photo), which is about to enter the Chinese market - and which, in the future, should also get to Russia.
According to Autoreview, the company has already begun the process of car certification in our country, but General Director Ulrich Volker during an interview in Shanghai confirmed only that the study of the Russian market and the formation of a promotion strategy are now underway. According to Volker, Borgward considers itself to be in the "affordable premium" segment, and sees Volkswagen first of all as competitors on a global level. True, the head of the company refused to outline the price segment. AT Russian Borgward initially plans to sell only imported cars, but if the sales volume grows steadily, the company will start work on localization.
Borgward BXi7 with electric motor
Recall that Borgward is a German brand that was founded in 1919, but in 1961 the company went bankrupt and was revived only in May 2015. Behind the rebirth project is the Chinese company Foton, which is part of the BAIC concern and is engaged in the production of commercial vehicles, but in 2010 began the development of passenger cars, inviting managers, engineers and designers from Mercedes, BMW and Porsche.
However, it was not until 2013 that Foton entered into an agreement to buy the brand with Christian Borgward, who owned the rights to the Borgward name and had been looking for opportunities to revive the family brand for almost a decade. Two years later, the company was registered in Stuttgart as a German company and made its debut on.
Since 2016 Anders Warming, former Mini stylist, has been the head designer, but the BX7 and BX5 models were of course finished before his arrival, with the participation of Einar Hereide, former Saab chief designer and author of the second-generation Saab 900 and Saab 9-5 cars. In the development of the platform, Borgward collaborated with global contractors: the two-liter turbo four was helped to create by FEV, a preselective "robot" and four-wheel drive- brand BorgWarner, and the electromechanical variator for hybrid versions - Aisin.
The hierarchy of models is simple: the BX7 acts as an analog of the Audi Q5, is almost identical in size and is equipped with a 2.0 turbo engine (221 hp). Since July last year, China has managed to sell 30 thousand of these cars - not the most outstanding result. But Borgward is pinning its hopes on a more compact BX5 with a 1.8 turbo engine (190 hp) - this is a classmate of such golf crossovers as the Volkswagen Tiguan or Hyundai Tucson. In addition, on the basis of BX5 created and coupe crossover(he has not yet reached the assembly line), and two more platforms are in development - for a shortened crossover and for an electric car, which will be presented in a year.
A modest result domestic market stimulates Borgward to be active on the export front: According to Ulrich Volker, the certification process for cars has now been launched in almost 30 countries. Russia is not at the top of the list of priorities: Volker explained that now the company is focused on launching sales in the Middle East and has already signed a contract with an importer in Qatar. The next priority market is South America, and in 2018 Borgward will begin construction of a plant in Germany. Thus, the appearance in Russia should be expected no earlier than next year.