When Borgward still existed

In the 1950s, the Isabella TS was one of the most advanced vehicles produced by Carl Borgward's carmakers in Bremen-Sebaldsbrück.
These were the days when German automotive art was reinventing itself.

The four-cylinder in-line engine was economical, and the car accelerated to an impressive 135 km per hour in 1958. It produced 60 hp at 4,700 pm.

Surprisingly, the car, which at the time cost around DM 7,265 (3,719 euros), was sold more than 200,000 times. It was a bestseller of the Borgward works, which was declared bankrupt some years later under the most dubious circumstances despite a plus on the balance sheet. Mercedes-Benz wanted to oust an unpopular competitor from the market. There are still countless legends surrounding the end of one of the most innovative car manufacturing plants in German post-war history. The Borgward-, Lloyd- und Goliath-GmbH (Carl F. W. Borgward G. m. b. H. Automobil- und Motoren-Werke, main plant in Bremen-Sebaldsbrück) was sent to the settlement in the summer of 1961 after an opaque manoeuvre; loan negotiations had held with the Bremen Senate.

For the people of Bremen, who at the time had around 20,000 employees in the Borgward plant, who then lost their jobs due to the critical reporting, which from today's perspective was probably bought, turned the situation into a fiasco.
The cars were technically superior to the Mercedes-Benz models of the time and could not surpass in form and beauty.

The bankruptcy trustee, Johannes Semler, who had been appointed by the Bremen Senate, had also served on the supervisory board of BMW since 1960.
Carl Borgward did not survive the injustice for long, and he died in 1963. His cars, like the Isabella, remained unrivalled and outlived their producers by decades in the thousands.

Volvo Lastvagnar and Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG

When after the war the economy in Europe picked up again, these beautiful exhibits that, with all the moss in the forest that now surrounds them in solitude, yet bear witness to the times in which they rendered valuable services to their users. It was years after the devastation of Europe.

Walking along the Gaula, through an almost fairy-tale forest, which, with this abundance of nature, can only be found in a few places in Europe, one is surprised to find there the last resting place of these industrial productions. Where golden eagles and salmon thrive, nature has reclaimed the actual vehicle. Rust seems to be the ravages of time.

Eagle Gaula, mv/mcvth, kasaan media, 2019[/caption]

Silent witnesses at the Midtre Gauldal in Trøndelag ( Middle Gaula in Trondheim)

The Volvo Viking was the export hit of the Swedes from 1951 onwards, built about 90,000 times and exported all over the world. Anyone who was in Africa in the 1980s saw the Vikings driving around everywhere.

Excellent performance, little diesel and indestructible technology from a time when trucks could carry up to 5 t payload. That was enough then. Reliability and practical use were the main focus of interest.

Hanomag was a German legend, produced, like Deutz or Klöckner, well-designed machines that found their way all over the world. This model was offered with a single fresh scoop, which was the hit in the 1960s when the production of this machine fossil was going on.

If you are interested in these vehicles as a collector or have a museum where the cars would fit in, please write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We would then try to establish contact, although the pictures of the wondrous artefacts from the past are inspiring even in this environment. The vehicles look like monuments and are intertwined with their surroundings.