Goliath 1100

Goliath 1100 (1957 to 1959) Hansa 1100 (1959 to 1961)
Goliath 1100 2-door Saloon
Overview
Manufacturer	Carl F. W. Borgward GmbH
Also called	Borgward Hansa 1100 (Australia)
Production	1957–1961
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door saloon 3-door estate 2-door coupé
Layout	FF layout
Powertrain
Engine	1094 cc 4-cylinder boxer motor
Transmission	4-speed manual all-syncromesh Saxomat automatic clutch optional from 1959
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,270 mm (89 in)
Length	4,060 mm (160 in)
Width	1,625 mm (64.0 in)
Height	1,450 mm (57 in)
Chronology
Predecessor	Goliath GP900

The Goliath 1100 and later the Hansa 1100 is a small automobile that was manufactured from 1957 to 1961 by the Bremen based Goliath-Werke Borgward & Co, a subsidiary of Borgward. 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 dropped 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 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 several years after the demise of the Goliath brand.

The Goliath business had been established in 1928 by the entrepreneurial engineer Carl Borgward in partnership with Wilhelm Tecklenburg. The plant had been bombed to destruction during the war, but during the 1950s produced a succession of small front-wheel-drive passenger cars. The Goliath 1100 was the last of these.

The Goliath 1100 appeared at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1957. From the outside, it was distinguished from the GP900 by a more modern front grill.

Later in 1957, the 40 bhp (30 kW; 41 PS) 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 55 bhp (41 kW; 56 PS). A maximum speed of 135 km/h (84 mph) compared with 125 km/h (78 mph) 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, on the saloon version, an interestingly kinked chrome strip along the car’s flank. An optional Saxomat automatic clutch was offered.