Borgward Isabella – a popular German in the 1950s

Borgward until Isabella was launched

Borgward was a well-known and popular German car brand in the 50s. But the story started around 1920 when Carl Borgward established a factory to produce parts for the car industry. As a subcontractor, he made many good contacts in the growing car industry. He saw great opportunities for good income and an exciting future. In addition, his radiator factory had moved into new and spacious premises. Car production got under way and the first cars to be produced were goods and trucks with 3 wheels. Some financiers also saw the possibilities and stepped in with financial support.
Car production picked up speed and in 1939 the first cars with the name Borgward came on the market. This was a good supplement to the existing Goliat car brand. The first model that came after the war was a modern family car named Hansa. The cars sold well but the real boom came when the new Isabella model came on the market in 1954.

Borgward Isabella

The new model from Borgward was a really nice car. The figures from the sales department indicated that Isabella could become Borgward's top seller of all time. Isabella was a relatively expensive car, it cost more than similar models from Ford and Opel. But the equipment and good space could justify the high price. In addition, it was one of the most modern car designs on the market. This resulted in very good sales at first. The year after the introduction, both a station wagon and a very nice coupe came on the market. Both the regular passenger car and the coupe model came in both standard and deluxe versions. For those who wanted more equipment and greater speed, the TS models were a good alternative.

The problems that led to the model being stopped

Due to many technical problems at the start, Isabella got a bad reputation and sales dropped after the positive introduction. New models from Opel and Ford made the competition much tougher. In addition, there were many customers who wanted a model with 4 doors. The planned 4-door Isabella never made it beyond the few prototypes that were produced. At the end of the 1950s, the factory's finances were so poor that product development was very slow. Production of the Borgward Isabella was stopped in 1961.

Technical data for Borgward Isabella

Length: 439 cm
Width: 170 cm
Top speed: 135 km/h.
Engine: 1493 ccm, 60 hp

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