MORE BORGWARD
Dear Classic American,
Well, I assume I am not the first to point this out, but just in case and for the sake of protecting your hard-fought reputation for accuracy, the Borgward you identified in the July issue (page 22) as an Isabella, is in fact the much larger and much rarer Borgward P100, 2.3-litre. Much rarer as it was only produced in Bremen from 1960-61 until the firm went bankrupt. However, it enjoyed a second life in Mexico, where FANASA revived the car, using the old tooling from Bremen, as the Borgward P230 and the stretched P230 GL Pullman from 1966 until 1970. I visited Mexico in 1973 and was amazed to see these Borgwards there in regular use.
Dr Paul Nieuwenhuis
Cardiff
Wales
Dear Classic American,
In the July issue you showed on page 22 a Borgward P100 (six cylinder, 2.4-litre 100 PS) Model 1960/61, which you unintentionally named ‘Isabella’. The P100 was the last model of the Borgward luxury line, which started with the Borgward Hansa 3500 (probably eight cylinder) in 1937. Only about 200 cars were manufactured. In the late Forties Borgward developed the Hansa 2400 Streamliner (six cylinders, 2.4-litre), which was presented at the Frankfurt Motorshow 1951. It wasn’t successful, nevertheless Borgward improved and developed this luxury line continuously: in 1953 an additional saloon followed, called Hansa 2400 Pullman.
In 1955 Borgward presented the Hansa 2400 Pullman with a new, modern bodywork and a more powerful engine (six cylinders, 2.4-litre). But only 356 Pullman saloons were sold. Therefore, Borgward started a new attempt and constructed a completely new car with a new engine. About 2500 cars were produced, when the factories were closed. A final restart began in 1966 by FANASA in Monterrey, Mexico and finished in summer 1970 after 2267 P100s, which now were badged with Borgward 230, 230 GL, 230 GL Pullman.
My English is not so good, but I hope you can understand what I wrote to you.
Volker Maier
Via email
Well, considering this is Classic American, we’ve had more emails about this German/Mexican car than anything recently, although to be fair, it definitely takes its inspiration from Detroit!