The Goggomobil was a microcar produced in the Bavarian town Dingolfing after World War II by Hans Glas.
There was a conventional looking four passenger two-door sedan and a very sleek sports coupé. The engine was an air cooled, two stroke, two cylinder unit originally of 250 cc and 15 hp (11 kW) but increased to 395 cc and 20 hp (15 kW). It had an electric pre-selective transmission built by Getrag and a manual clutch. The engine was behind the rear wheels. Suspension was independent all round using coil springs with swing axles.
219,531 sedans and 66,511 coupés were built from 1955 to 1969. Between 1957 and 1961 some 700 sports cars called Goggomobil Darts were produced by Buckle Motors Pty Ltd in Sydney, Australia.[1]
Glas also produced the highly rated Goggomobil motor scooter.
The Glas Auto works at Dingolfing were subsequently taken over by BMW.
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TS 300
The specifications of a 1957 Goggomobil TS 300 Coupé are:
- Configuration — Glas 2-stroke rear engine, 298 cc displacement
- Engine — 2 cylinder, 2 stroke, air-cooled, 58 x 56 mm. bore and stroke, 6.0:1 compression, 15 hp. at 5,000 rpm, 17.4 lb·ft (24 N·m) torque.
- Transmission — 4 speed plus reverse (with electric pre-selector as an available option).
- Top Speed — 85 km/h (53 mph)
- Tires — 4.80 x 10 inch.
- Weight — 420 kg (926 lb).
- Wheelbase — 71 in (1,800 mm) [2]
- Height - 49 in (1,200 mm) [2]
- Length - 114.5 in (2,910 mm) [2]
- Width - 53 in (1,300 mm) [2]
A coupé tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1957 had a top speed of 59.2 mph (95.3 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-50 mph (80 km/h) in 27.9 seconds. A fuel consumption of 50.5 miles per imperial gallon (5.59 l/100 km; 42.1 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £625 including taxes of £209 on the UK market. [2]
TS 250
The specifications of a 1958 Goggomobil TS 250 Sedan are:
- Configuration — Glas 2-stroke rear engine, 247 cc displacement
- Engine — 2 cylinder, 2 stroke, air-cooled, 13.6 hp. at 5,000 rpm
- Transmission — 4 speed plus reverse
- Top Speed — 75 km/h (47 mph)
- Tires — 4.40 x 10 inch
- Weight — 415 kg (915 lb)
Australian Yellow Pages advertisement
Australian Yellow Pages ran a well-known advertising campaign which referred to a Goggomobil ("not the Dart").[3] The Yellow Pages advertisement was used as a basis for an advertisement for Mobil, properly licensed from the producers of the original advertisement. Another advertisement, for Shannons Insurance and featuring an unauthorised reference to the original Yellow Pages advertisement, resulted in a Federal Court of Australia case. The case was resolved in favour of the producers of the Yellow Pages, Sensis.[4] Tommy Dysart featured in all of these advertisements, as did a number of different Goggomobils. The advertisement has been parodied a number of times in Australian TV shows, usually featuring Tommy Dysart.
External links
- http://www.goggomobil.com/ehome/ehome.html
- http://www.californiaclassix.com/archive/59_Goggo.html
- http://www.microcarmuseum.com/tour/goggo-t250sunroof.html
References
- ^ A Dart in the Microcar Museum
- ^ a b c d e "The Goggomobil TS 300 Coupé". The Motor. September 18 1957.
- ^ Berthon, David (2008-08-22). "Iconic car's golden year". Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Ltd). http://www.smh.com.au/news/drive-life/iconic-cars-golden-year/2008/08/22/1219262497841.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2.
- ^ " Federal Court of Australia: Telstra Corporation Limited v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Australia Limited 2003 FCA 786 (1 August 2003)
- Kleinwagen, Small Cars, Petites Voitures, by Benedikt Taschen, 1994
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