The Goliath 1100 and later the Hansa 1100 is a small automobile that was manufactured from 1957 until 1961 by the

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 ...

based Goliath-Werke Borgward & Co, a subsidiary of

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 ...

. A two-door saloon and a three-door ''kombi'' (estate) version were available from launch and a two-door coupe was introduced a year later. For 1959, the Goliath name was discontinued and the car was rebadged as the Hansa 1100, recalling Borgward’s prewar model of the same name. The Goliath 1100 replaced the

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 ...

and apart from a completely new engine, little had changed. In place of the GP 700’s two-stroke engine, the 1100 featured a water-cooled boxer motor, an engine format taken up by

Subaru ( or ; ) is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first ...

several years after the demise of the Goliath brand.

Goliath and Borgward

The Goliath business had been established in 1928 by the entrepreneurial engineer

Carl 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, ...

in partnership with Wilhelm Tecklenburg. The plant had been bombed to destruction during the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, but during the 1950s produced a succession of small

front-wheel-drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional lon ...

passenger cars. The Goliath 1100 was the last of these.

Chronology

The Goliath 1100 appeared at the

Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...

in March 1957. From the outside, it was distinguished from the GP900 by a more modern front grille. Later in 1957, the 1100 was joined by the 1100 Luxus version. The cars shared the 1094 cc engine displacement, but the Luxus, courtesy of a second carburettor and a higher compression ratio, boasted an output of . A maximum speed of compared with claimed for the less powerful car. In October 1958, the Goliath 1100 was replaced by the Hansa 1100. Hansa had been the brand name used by the business in the 1930s and 1940s. The new Hansa 1100 used most of the same body panels, but it now featured sharper tailfins and a kinked chrome strip along the car’s flank. An optional Saxomat automatic clutch was offered.

Other countries

Established by the family Taubenfeld, according to an agreement signed between it and the Goliath BmgH Werk Bremen, Germany. The Hansa 1100 Luxus are made in Argentina by Goliath Hansa Argentina in the city of

Villa Constitución Villa Constitución is a city in the Provinces of Argentina, province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe, Argentina, and the head town of the Constitución Department, Santa Fe, Constitución Department. It is located on the south-western banks of the ...

, Santa Fe for the 1960–1961 years in three versions: Sedán de Lujo, Combi y Súper cupé Lujo. With a capital of $3,350,000, began operations on May 2, 1960, and September 15 began work on the construction of a 19,000 m2 manufacturing plant. File:Goliath 1100 Heck (ret) 2007-09-08.jpg, Goliath 1100 2-door Saloon. After the 1959 name change to Hansa, the 1100 acquired sharper

tailfins The tailfin era of automobile styling encompassed the 1950s and 1960s, peaking between 1955 and 1961. It was a style that spread worldwide, as car designers picked up styling trends from the US automobile industry, where it was regarded as the ...

File:Flickr - Hugo90 - 1959 Goliath.jpg, Goliath 1100 Combi File:Hansa 1100 (4682587471).jpg, Hansa 1100 2-door Saloon File:Hansa 1100 Coupé (2005-08-27).JPG, Hansa 1100 Coupe File:Goliath Hansa Estate (14588692938).jpg, Hansa 1100 Combi (station wagon) File:Hansa 1100 Combi (12547395663).jpg, Hansa 1100 Combi (panel van)

Sources and further reading

{{Borgward timeline 1945 to 1970 1100 Subcompact cars Front-wheel-drive vehicles Cars powered by boxer engines 1960s cars Cars introduced in 1957