Classic Velocity

Goliath was founded by Carl Borgward in Bremen, and has been mentioned in these pages before (see The Many Faces of Borgward and Maintaining Tempo). They are perhaps most well known for their three-wheeled vehicles with commercial applications.  After the war, three wheeled production restarted first. Their first postwar four-wheeled vehicle was introduced at the Geneva show in 1950, and it was a small 2 door coupe called the GP700.  It sported a 688cc two-stroke engine producing 25hp in carburetor form, and 29hp in fuel injected form.

At the Berlin show in 1951, Goliath introduced the GP 700 sport. The sport was front-engined, and front-wheel drive! It featured an enlarged 845cc engine, capable of 32 hp and 44 ft/lbs of torque, but it only weighed 1753 lbs. It was equipped with Bosch fuel injection prior to the Mercedes which is often thought to be the first. Top speed was 78mph, and you did not get there quickly, but this was adequate performance at the time. The GP700 also featured a 4-speed synchromesh gearbox, which was again advanced for the time. The swoopy body was from Karosserie Rometsch, and had similarities with the Porsche 356 and the Borgward Hansa. In particular, the cabin profile, the wheel arches, the hood, and the sloping rear with a small trunklid, could easily lead you to believe that this was a Porsche product. The interior was elegant, with a painted dash and luxurious VDO gauges.

The Sport was a true hand-built car and was very expensive. offered from 1951 to 1953 in model years, but was really only in production from Mid 1951 to mid-1952. Its low production numbers (only 27-30 were believed to be produced) and unique features make it rare, and few survived. However, it introduced a number of features that went on to become standard in automobiles for the latter half of the 20th century.