Borgward lives

The summer slump is on its way, and this year it seems particularly extensive. Marcus and Manuela report daily from the IntSaab in Norway, and today I am daring a trip to another brand. Which is also worth reading if you go through life with Saab glasses. I had promised the readers not to lose sight of the Borgward topic and during the holidays I approached the brand through specialist literature. Also - yes, watch out! - the first new Borgward is here. At least partially…

Let's talk about literature first! I am too young to experience the vehicles with the Rombus as new cars. The drama about the Bremen company therefore largely passed me by. Reason to take a closer look ...

For friends of the well-kept automotive literature and for conspiracy theorists, who should also exist in the Saab environment, there is a “what-if” novel on my table ... which one could have written something similar about the brand from Trollhättan. "Borgward lives ” von Andreas A. Berse transfers the brand into the present and builds on the fact that the group would not have gone bankrupt in 1961, but would have survived as an innovative car maker and with the help of Chancellor Adenauer. Brese is a motor journalist, the novel was published in 2006; so it has little to do with current events.

The story is absolutely exciting in places and full of speed, which the author unfortunately cannot keep up. Again and again there are passages that seem very constructed and tenacious - and where the story then sags sharply. The reader feels the impulse to skip a few pages. Nevertheless: Borgward lives on in the book, Borgward defends itself against industrial espionage and sabotage - and remains innovative. A story - too good to be true, which is why it is only fiction and not reality.

An unusual book on a fringe group theme, suitable for reading on the beach and for readers with gasoline in their blood. Anyone who has a little interest in Borgward and German car culture, is not wrong here.

Borgward DNA - or can you preserve a brand?

While the book by Brese is pure fiction, served Peter Short Background knowledge. The man seems to live Borgward; In addition to literature, he discovered a virtual Borgward Museum. In his publishing house, there are books from the last big Borgward, the first luxury class car with air suspension, to discover the direct-injection pioneer Goliath Sport. The books are lovingly made, with many contemporary illustrations. Short writes well, but the topic is very specific. You should really be interested in Borgward or have roots in Bremen to find that entertaining.

Nevertheless, what Borgward stood for does not reveal itself to me even now. Perplexity! There were some models with an extremely pleasing design, there were technical highlights. But every manufacturer had that back then. Every 2-stroke Saab has more to tell. Saab came out of the plane corner, which you can see on the 92, 93 and 96. And some details were so mercilessly ingenious and subordinate to aerodynamics that one is still amazed today.

The Borgward group was, in my opinion, a large general store of the economic miracle. The special story behind it, as Saab has them, I search in vain. Borgward products were not exceptional vehicles as they came from Saab, but fashionable mass-produced goods. During the boom period of the old republic, they rushed to the market, reserves and risk provisions were frowned upon. A Bremer Patriarch led the fast-growing company in an outdated form in the first sales weakness in the downfall. Point, told.

So Borgward was not alone, the German economy has experienced many borgwards. Or is the bankruptcy itself, which came prematurely about the company, the key to Borgward legend? Probably.

In any case, my grandfather, from whom I inherited my passion for cars, had his garages full of Mercedes, Peugeots and BMWs. Never Borgward, not even close. He must have known why.

Borgward in the present

From the literature it goes into the present. Announcements have followed actions. Borgward 2.0, the new birth of a German brand, has opened the provisional headquarters in the newly built Stuttgart City Gate. 1.000 square meters will provide space for 100 employees, and other 50 employees and engineers will find their offices at a second location in the Böblingen district. The original plans for the former IBM site are not yet off the table; further discussions are to be led to it.

And there's more news, but I'd rather write about Saab than about Borgward. But the times for Saab bloggers are not good, so we're filling the summer hole with the Borgward comeback.

Two weeks ago, a surprise, the Borgward SUV rear end went through the digital galaxy via Twitter. The first car is served in small doses and everything has been done right so far. Respect! Borgward lives and provides proof that at least one Borgward lettering and the rear of the brand's first SUV exist. What not everyone wanted to believe months ago ...

Exciting for us: Borgward Design comes from Einar Hareide, who in recent times was responsible for Saab and the 900 II. The successful tail of the 900 II, which transported Saab Design into GM time, is one of his works. Interesting for that reason alone is what is hidden under the cover. Can Hareide still conjure up a shot of Saab in the new Borgward? It will not be long before we know it. At the IAA 2015 we will be able to see the result.