Misplaced Pages

Goliath GP700

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

The Goliath GP700 is a small automobile which was manufactured by the Bremen , Germany –based Borgward subsidiary Goliath-Werke Borgward & Co from 1950 to 1957. In 1955, the GP700 was joined by the larger-engined Goliath GP900 E . From 1951 to 1953, a coupé version, the Goliath GP700 Sport   was offered. The Goliath was a revolutionary design, which in several important respects pointed the way for automobile development in the second half of the 20th century.

#127872

29-408: The Goliath business had been established in 1928 by the entrepreneurial engineer Carl Borgward in partnership with Wilhelm Tecklenburg. During the 1930s, Goliath had specialised in producing small three-wheeled vans and passenger cars. The plant had been bombed to destruction during the war , but in 1949 Goliath managed to introduce a small three-wheeled delivery vehicle. The announcement, in 1950, of

58-664: A condominium by Prussian and Austrian administration. With the Gastein Convention of 14 August 1865, Holstein came under solely Austrian administration, while Schleswig and Lauenburg came under Prussian authority. After the Austro-Prussian War , Schleswig-Holstein as a whole became the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein in 1867 and as such Altona became part of the German Empire in 1871. In

87-488: A five-seater even though the wheelbase was of only 2.3 metres (91 in). The GP700 Sport appeared in 1952 with a Bosch fuel injection system. The Sport model was produced only in very limited numbers, but shortly afterwards fuel injection also became available on the GP700 saloon (designated GP700 E: E stood for “Einspritzung”) as an alternative to the carburetor-equipped version. When the larger-engined GP900 E appeared, it

116-661: A four-wheel passenger car represented something of a break with the company's past. The small Goliath first appeared at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1950. By the time of the Frankfurt Motor Show in April 1951, it had acquired the name under which it would subsequently be marketed, and a light-weight two-door coupé sibling. The next year a cabriolet version of the saloon and a small estate version completed

145-666: A hand-held axe. In the 1990s, the Federal Republic of Germany reversed the convictions of Tesch and the other men who were put to death, clearing their names. On 1 February 2007, the Ortsämter (district offices) in Hamburg were done away with. In Altona, the districts of Blankenese, Lurup and Osdorf had existed and had local offices. On 1 March 2008, the Schanzenviertel neighborhood, which had spanned parts of

174-653: A violent clash between Nazi marchers and members or supporters of the Communist Party . In 1938, the Greater Hamburg Act removed Altona from the Free State of Prussia in 1937 and merged it (and several surrounding towns) with the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. After police raids and a special court, on 1 August 1933, Bruno Tesch and others were found guilty and put to death by beheading with

203-532: The Carl F. W. Borgward Automobil- und Motorenwerke factory was opened in Sebaldsbrück near Bremen. At that time the company had 22,000 employees. Until the end of the war the production of Borgward was primarily military vehicles. When the factory was destroyed by bombing in 1944, half of the workers were prisoners of war and forced laborers. Carl Borgward was interned until 1948. One year after being freed, he

232-556: The Lurup and Osdorf quarters contrast with the affluent Blankenese and Nienstedten quarters within the borough. The border of Altona to the south is the River Elbe , and across the river the state of Lower Saxony and the boroughs of Harburg and Hamburg-Mitte . To the east is the borough of Hamburg-Mitte and to the north is the borough of Eimsbüttel . The western border is with the state of Schleswig-Holstein . According to

261-579: The Nazi Holocaust during World War II are the Jewish cemeteries , but in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, the community was a major center of Jewish life and scholarship . Holstein-Pinneberg and later Danish Holstein had lower taxes and placed fewer civil impositions on their Jewish community than did the government of Hamburg . During the Weimar era following World War I , the town of Altona

290-461: The two-stroke club. The GP700's Ponton , three-box design reflected the silhouette of Borgward's Hansa 1500 introduced the year before. Ten years later, the ponton format automobile had become mainstream, but in 1950, while Opel and Mercedes Benz were still selling cars with designs dating back to the 1930s, the Goliath's design was bold and innovative. The wings were fully integrated into

319-399: The bodywork, and the passenger cabin filled the full width of the car. Volkswagen would follow suit only in 1961 . Another aspect of the car in respect of which the full significance became obvious only when adopted by other manufacturers was its front-mounted engine, installed transversely along with the gearbox, which drove the front wheels. It was thereby possible to advertise the car as

SECTION 10

#1732776748128

348-679: The bored out 886 cc-engined GP900 E, introduced in 1955, managed a maximum speed of 120 km/h (75 mph) courtesy of an advertised maximum output of 50 bhp (37 kW; 51 PS). The very rare lightweight GP700 sport, offered from 1951 to 1953, its fuel-injected engine enlarged to 845 cc, managed a claimed maximum speed of 125 km/h (78 mph) on the basis of 32 bhp (24 kW; 32 PS). Carl F. W. Borgward Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Borgward (10 November 1890 in Altona, Hamburg  – 28 July 1963 in Bremen )

377-656: The boroughs of Altona, Eimsbüttel and Hamburg-Mitte, became the Sternschanze quarter, the entirety of which is now in the Altona borough. Altona is noted for being the site of the popular Altona Fischmarkt . Commentators and politicians, including former member of the Hamburg Parliament Stefanie von Berg  [ de ] , have noted that neighborhoods in Altona is diverse in terms of social conditions. Von Berg noted that poverty present in

406-420: The car's model life. In 1952, the car acquired a heater and the size of the back window was increased. The Goliath 1100  – introduced in 1957 – is a substantially restyled continuation of the GP700 model, but it also represents a significant move upmarket with a larger four-stroke four-cylinder engine, anticipating by nearly a decade the switch away from two-stroke power plants by other members of

435-639: The company's first new car in over 40 years, the BX7 at the 2015 International Motor Show in Frankfurt. Altona, Hamburg Altona ( German: [ˈaltonaː] ), also called Hamburg-Altona , is the westernmost urban borough ( Bezirk ) of the German city state of Hamburg . Located on the right bank of the Elbe river, Altona had a population of 270,263 in 2016. From 1640 to 1864, Altona

464-409: The design of all the car models. Increased competition on the segment of mid-sized cars, and the broad and uneconomical range of models, as well as poor financial and tactical choices by management, led the company into crisis at the end of the 1950s. The new model Borgward-Lloyd Arabella should have eased the difficulties, but was handicapped by quality problems. In 1961, Borgward underwent one of

493-530: The large Hansa sedan, which was the first European car with a pontoon body. He had taken ideas from American magazines, which he read when under detention. The largest success came in 1954 with the Borgward Isabella . The Borgwards met the spirit of the time: the German customers wished for American-type styling and chrome decoration with European compact dimensions. Borgward participated in detail in

522-603: The most spectacular bankruptcies in the history of Germany. The company went to the Land of Bremen, which had it liquidated, and part of the factory went to Hanomag . Years after the bankruptcy was closed, it came out that it had not been reasonable: All debts had been paid to the last cent. Carl Borgward died of a heart attack at the age 72 on 28 July 1963. His life work might continue: 50 years after closing, his grandson, Christian Borgward, together with his partner Karlheinz L. Knöss and with assistance from Chinese investors unveiled

551-444: The range. During the life of the model, it benefited from various modifications and upgrades. Among the more significant of these was the introduction in 1955 of the 886 cc-engined GP 900 E model: with a 38% increase in claimed power output, the new model offered a useful performance advantage over the modestly powered GP700 which nevertheless continued in production. The body and equipment levels also changed progressively during

580-493: The same year, the town was hit by cholera , with a minimum of 16 casualties in Altona. Because of severe restrictions on the number of Jews allowed to live in Hamburg until 1864 (with the exception of 1811–1815), a major Jewish community developed in Altona starting in 1611, when Count Ernest of Schaumburg and Holstein-Pinneberg granted the first permanent residence permits to Ashkenazic Jews . Members did business both in Hamburg and in Altona itself. All that remains after

609-641: The statistical office of Hamburg, Altona has an area of 77.5 km or 29.9 sq mi in 2006. Politically, the following quarters (German: Stadtteile ) are part of Altona borough: In 2018, Altona had a population of 274,702 people. 18.0% are children under the age of 18 and 17.9% are 65 years of age or older. 16.2% are immigrants. 5.0% of people are registered as unemployed. In 2018, 53,4% of all households are single-person households. There are 195 kindergartens and 31 primary schools in Altona as well as 879 physicians in private practice, 254 dentists and 60 pharmacies. Simultaneously with elections to

SECTION 20

#1732776748128

638-555: Was a German engineer and designer and the creator of the Borgward group, based in Bremen. He was of modest origin, the son of coal retailer Wilhelm Borgward, and had twelve brothers and sisters. He undertook mechanical engineering studies, and obtained his engineering degree from Hannover Technical University in 1913. He was wounded during World War I . In 1919 he became one of the partners of Bremer Reifenindustrie . The company

667-617: Was again a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bremen. In 1949, the first Lloyd LP 300 had been designed and produced. In Germany this car was nicknamed the Leukoplastbomber ( Band-aid Bomber ). The small car with a plywood body on a wooden chassis had a two-stroke engine and was in the market segment under the Volkswagen Beetle , and kept this position over a decade. In 1949 Borgward had presented

696-481: Was available only with the Bosch fuel injection. This is a Goliath feature that would be taken up across the auto industry during the balance of the twentieth century: however, the fuel-injected GP700 E appeared five years before the fuel-injected Mercedes-Benz 300 SL . Yet another innovation, available from 1952 on the GP700 and which subsequently became mainstream was the all-synchromesh, four-speed gearbox. The GP700

725-576: Was disturbed by major labor strikes and street disorders. Inflation in Germany was a major problem. In 1923, Max Brauer , the mayor of Altona, directed that town personnel should be paid in part with gas meter tokens, as the tokens did not lose value from inflation. The most notable event at that time was the Altona Bloody Sunday (German: Altonaer Blutsonntag ) on 17 July 1932, when 18 people were killed, all but two by police, during

754-864: Was one of the Danish monarchy's most important harbor towns. The railway from Altona to Kiel , the Hamburg-Altona–Kiel railway (Danish: Christian VIII Østersø Jernbane ), was opened in 1844. The wars between Denmark and the German Confederation – the First Schleswig War (1848–1851) and the Second Schleswig War (February–October 1864) led to Denmark's cession of the Duchies of Schleswig , Holstein and Lauenburg ; they were initially jointly administered as

783-454: Was propelled by a two-cylinder two-stroke engine of 688 cc. The carburettor version with which the car was launched had a claimed maximum output of 25  bhp (19 kW; 25 PS), which increased to 29 bhp (22 kW; 29 PS) where fuel injection was specified. Claimed maximum speed when the car was launched was 102 km/h (63 mph). Subsequently, the installation of more powerful engines delivered more performance:

812-475: Was restructured and in 1920 became Bremer Kühlerfabrik Borgward & Co. In 1924 and 1925 the company started to produce the small three-wheel trucks Blitzkarren and Goliath . With his partner Wilhelm Tecklenborg, in 1928 he created the company Goliath-Werke Borgward & Co . When the two associates took over Hansa-Lloyd-Werke in 1931, this became the Borgward Group. On 23 September 1938

841-539: Was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Altona was an independent borough until 1937. Altona was founded in 1535 as a village of fishermen in what was then Holstein-Pinneberg . In 1640, Altona came under Danish rule as part of Holstein-Glückstadt , and in 1664 was granted municipal rights by the Danish King Frederik III , who then ruled in personal union as Duke of Holstein. Altona

#127872