Goliath-Werke Borgward & Co. was a German car manufacturer started by

Carl F. W. Borgward Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Borgward (November 10, 1890 in Altona, Hamburg – July 28, 1963 in Bremen (city), Bremen) was a German engineer and designer and the creator of the Borgward group, based in Bremen. Biography He was of modest origin, ...

and Wilhelm Tecklenborg in 1928, and was part of the

Borgward The former Borgward car manufacturing company, based in Bremen, Germany, was founded by Carl F. W. Borgward (1890–1963). It produced cars of four brands, which were sold to a diversified international customer base: Borgward, Hansa, Go ...

group. Goliath was based in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

and specialized in

three-wheeler A three-wheeler is a vehicle with three wheels. Some are motorized tricycles, which may be legally classed as motorcycles, while others are tricycles without a motor, some of which are human-powered vehicles and animal-powered vehicles. Overv ...

cars and trucks and medium-sized cars. Their vehicles were sold under the Goliath brand.

Early history

The first models were three-wheeler trucks derived from the motorcycle based ''

Blitzkarren The Blitzkarren (German ) was a cab-less tricycle freight cart based on a motorcycle. It was produced in 1924 as the first complete production vehicle manufactured by the ''Bremer Kühlerfabrik Borgward & Co. GmbH''. The company, located in Sebald ...

'', ''

Goliath Rapid The Goliath Rapid is a lorry made by ''Bremer Kühlerfabrik Borgward & Co. GmbH'' in Sebaldsbrück (a neighborhood in Hemelingen, a suburb of Bremen, Germany). The Rapid, which technically was an improved version of the Goliath Blitzkarren, was so ...

'', and ''Standard'' previously built by Borgward. In 1926 appeared the Goliath K1 four-wheeler freight truck with open cab, followed by the 1929 Goliath Express, and with closed driver cab the 1932 Goliath Atlas, also sold as

Hansa-Lloyd Hansa-Automobil Gesellschaft m.b.H was a German car brand established in 1905, which in 1914 was merged with ''Norddeutsche Automobil und Motoren AG'' (NAMAG) into Hansa-Lloyd-Werke A.G.. From 1929 to 1931 it was taken over by the Borgward group. ...

Atlas. The first passenger car was the ''

Goliath Pionier The Goliath Pionier is a small three-wheeled two-seater vehicle first presented by Carl F. W. Borgward at the 1931 Berlin motor show. It remained in production until 1934, by when approximately 4,000 had been produced. Origins Borgward was an ...

'' in 1931, which still had three wheels and a one-cylinder engine. Until 1934, 4,000 of these small cars were produced in various types of body. In 1933, ''

Goliath F200 The Goliath F400 is a three-wheeled pickup transporter, made by Hansa-Lloyd and Goliath Company Borgward & Tecklenborg in Bremen, Germany which was sold under the brand Goliath. It was based on the three-wheeled passenger car Goliath Pionier ...

and F400'' three-wheeler trucks derived were derived from ''Goliath Pionier''. The ''Pionier'' was redesigned to its successor marketed under the brand Hansa as models 400 and 500 four-wheel passenger car with a sheet metal body. In 1938 also changed to a sheet metal body were the FW200 and FW400 as successor of the F200 and F400.

After World War II

Personal car models

These were front-wheel-drive two-door sedans, station wagons and coupes. *

Goliath GP700 The Goliath GP700 is a small automobile which was manufactured by the Bremen, Germany–based Borgward subsidiary Goliath (car), Goliath-Werke Borgward & Co from 1950 to 1957. In 1955, the GP700 was joined by the larger-engined Goliath GP900 E. F ...

(1950–1957) — inline-two-cylinder, two-stroke, water-cooled, transverse engine (anticipating the

Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

and many recent cars). In 1952 Goliath introduced Bosch direct fuel injection, around the same time as the

Gutbrod Gutbrod was a German manufacturer of cars, motorcycles and small agricultural machinery. The firm was founded in Ludwigsburg, Germany by Wilhelm Gutbrod in 1926. It originally built "Standard" branded motorcycles. In 1933 the company relocat ...

Superior 600; they were the first two cars to use this technology. *

Goliath GP900 Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant defeated by the young David in single combat. The story signified King Saul ...

(1955–1957) — inline-two-cylinder, two-stroke, water-cooled, transverse engine, available Bosch direct fuel injection. *

Goliath 1100 The Goliath 1100 and later the Hansa 1100 is a small automobile that was manufactured from 1957 until 1961 by the Bremen based Goliath-Werke Borgward & Co, a subsidiary of Borgward. A two-door saloon and a three-door ''kombi'' (estate) version ...

(1957–1958) — four-cylinder opposed four-stroke water-cooled engine. Renamed "Hansa 1100" to shake the three-wheeled minitruck image. * Goliath Empress (1953–1961)

Light trucks

Goliath F400 The Goliath F400 is a three-wheeled pickup transporter, made by Hansa-Lloyd and Goliath Company Borgward & Tecklenborg in Bremen, Germany which was sold under the brand Goliath. It was based on the three-wheeled passenger car Goliath Pionier wi ...

(1933–1937) *

Goliath FW400 The Goliath F400 is a three-wheeled pickup transporter, made by Hansa-Lloyd and Goliath Company Borgward & Tecklenborg in Bremen, Germany which was sold under the brand Goliath. It was based on the three-wheeled passenger car Goliath Pionier wi ...

three-wheeler (1938–1939) *

Goliath GD750 The Goliath GD750 was a three-wheeler pickup truck built by the Goliath division of the Borgward Group in Bremen from April 1949 to 1955 in various body variants. In the early 1950s, low-cost vans were popular with small craft businesses. In 194 ...

three-wheeler (1949–1955) * Goliath Goli three-wheeler (1955–1961) *

Goliath GV800 The Goliath GV800 was a light freight truck built in the early 1950s in Bremen, Germany. It also was available as panel van and reached up to 37 mph (60 km/h). It was announced in March 1951. The starter battery and electric was 6 volts only. D ...

(1951–1953) * Goliath Express (1953-1961).Ronan Glon, 20 June 2010, Goliath Express 1100, ranwhenparked.net
Retrieved 23 June 2016 A front engined, front wheel drive design offered in pickup, panel van and windowed van bodystyles. Available with the 688cc engine from the GP700, the 886cc unit from the GP900 and, from 1957, with a new 1093cc engine.

The end

From 1958, the Goliath 1100 models were sold under the brand Hansa; the Borgward group wanted to downplay the two-stroke engine and three-wheeler image. Three years later, in 1961, the Borgward group collapsed.

References

External links

Borgward-IG

Goliath Veteranen Club

Goliath Carworld

Goliath on 3-wheelers.com

Goliath Scale Models
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany Cars powered by boxer engines Three-wheeled motor vehicles Borgward {{Germany-company-stub