Goliath GP900

Goliath GP700 Goliath GP900
Goliath GP700 2-door saloon
Overview
Manufacturer	Carl F. W. Borgward GmbH
Production	1950–1957 GP700 1955–1957 GP900 1951–1953 GP700 Sport
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door saloon, 2-door saloon cabriolet, 3-door estate, 2-door Sport coupé 2-door panel van
Layout	FF layout
Powertrain
Engine	688 cc straight-2 2-stroke (GP 700) 886 cc straight-2 2-stroke (GP 900) 845  cc straight-2 2-stroke (GP 700 Sport)
Transmission	4-speed manual all-syncromesh from 1952
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,300 mm (91 in)
Length	4,050–4,150 mm (159–163 in)
Width	1,630 mm (64 in)
Height	1,470 mm (58 in)
Curb weight	903 kg (1,991 lb)
Chronology
Successor	Goliath 1100

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.

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 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 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 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 the two-stroke club.