Borgward RS Sports racer 1954

[JCH8r]

This basic sports car ran in the same configuration from about 1953 - 1958. Borgward was the second largest car company in Germany in the 1950's. They raced part time and with engineers doing the work in their spare time. Yet, the Bremen based part timers built the most sophisticated engine of the time period, an inline four, with a DohcFV layout that was strikingly similar to the one used by Cosworth in their V8 DFV a few years later. Did one inspire the other? Hard to say, but Stirling Moss used the Borgward engine in a Cooper chassis to win the 1959 F2 championship. 160hp out of 1.5 liter engine would be considered exceptional by event today's standards.

Borgward got out of racing directly in 1958, but would have been well set to provide engines for the 1.5 liter F1 era, if the company hadn't been forced into bankruptcy through some shady political maneuvers that brand fans still question today. Ask anyone from Bremen, Germany, what BMW stands for and they'll tell you: Borgward Macht Weiter.

Cheers

 

[Aero2000]

It's a nice little racer But I think you need to change 1954 to 1958 since your picture shows a 1958 1500RS

 

[Humungus]

I like that last sentence, since I'm living not far away from Bremen. BMW managed to fill the gap left behind by the legendary Borgward Isabella with it's 1500 model. On a side note, Borgward had a successor for their Goliath Hansa 1100 almost production ready when they went bust. That design went to Hans Glas GmbH who sold it as the Glas 1700. Ironically, Glas was bought by BMW in 1966, and the 1700 was discontinued, but reappeared in South Africa
as the BMW 1800 GL/1804 and 2000 GL/2004 where it was produced until 1974 using BMW running gear.

 

[JCH8r]

It's a nice little racer But I think you need to change 1954 to 1958 since your picture shows a 1958 1500RS

Thanks for the replies. I haven't looked at this thread in quite awhile. I'm trying to finish a short article on the Borgward RS. I've learned a little bit more about this little beauty. One is owned by Ralf Juttner who runs Joest Racing. He is the son of Fritz Juttner, a Borgward engineer, who bought the car from the Borgward auction and restored it. Karl Ludvigsen also owned one of these but sold it and I believe it is in a collection in Germany.

Borgward almost won the Carrera Panamericana in 1953 (small car class under 1.6 liter) but finished the last stage less than one minute overtime and so were DQ'd. Before that, the INKA group set several world records using the first post war Borgward engine. This production engine was developed until 1954, when it was scrapped for racing and the beginning of the DOHC, fuel injection engine'd cars began.

Carl Brandt was the Borgward engine designer. He had worked on the big fuel injected BMW engines that powered ME-109's during the war. His small engine eventually developed over 160hp but apparently needed a couple factory techs to keep it running. The cars did have success compared to the much greater commitment from Porsche. Borgward never truly committed resources to a separate Rennabteilung and so all of the race team worked on production problems as their day jobs.