STUTTGART,
Germany /PRNewswire/ -- In 1949 BORGWARD pulled ahead
of its competitors when the Hansa 1500 set completely new standards
for body design. The saloon was the Bremen-based
automaker's first new development after World War II. It helped to
promote the rapid spread of a body design that had previously been
unknown in Germany and
the rest of Europe:
the pontoon shape. Whereas all of the competitors' post-war
vehicles resembled pre-war products, BORGWARD had dared to make a
clean break with the past. From that moment on, things like flared
wheel arches and separate lamps were history. All of the company's
competitors were instantly relegated to the sidelines, and they
feverishly tried to catch up. With the new design, the BORGWARD
plants clearly forced the European automotive industry to take
action. The Fiat 1500 (1950), the Ford 12 M (1952), the Opel
Olympia (1953) and the Mercedes-Benz 180 (1953) were all latecomers
produced by automakers that had been downright blind to this
pioneering new trend in body design.
It's
no longer possible to determine how Carl F. W. Borgward came up
with the new design. In an interview he stated that he had been
inspired by the integrated wings of the Hanomag "Kommissbrot", a
small car from 1927 with a rear-mounted engine. Other sources
suspect that he had seen initial photos of the new Kaiser K 100 and
K 101 while he was an American prisoner of war
from September
1945 to March
1946. These four-door models ushered in the inexorable
advance of the pontoon body shape in the United
States.
No
matter where Carl F. W. Borgward got his idea from, he was clearly
impressed by the new design's obvious benefits for the customer.
Pontoon bodies were unbeatable in the way they utilised space for
the benefit of passengers and the boot. By reducing the size of the
front surfaces without sacrificing internal space, pontoon bodies
substantially improved aerodynamics and fuel efficiency. This was a
particularly important issue for BORGWARD, which focused on
aerodynamics early on. In addition, the pontoon shape provided
designers with completely new opportunities for showcasing an
automobile's elegance. Thanks to Carl F. W. Borgward's pioneering
spirit, the new shape continued its triumphal advance
throughout Europe.
Pontoon styling is also known as three-box design, because the
vehicles have separate "boxes" for the engine, the passenger
compartment and the boot. Other American designers called the new
styling a "greenhouse" design.
A far
more important concern for the Bremen-based
company after World War II was that the Hansa 1500 not only was the
first new post-war product but also had a completely new look.
Lacking any kind of "baroque" ornamentation, this plain saloon very
convincingly combined aesthetics and customer utility. What's more,
the Hansa 1500 contained many other pioneering innovations such as
electric direction indicator lights fitted as standard - a first
for a German automobile.
The
rigor with which Carl F. W. Borgward continued to develop the new
pontoon styling at his company is also demonstrated by the Lloyd
300, which appeared only one year after the Hansa 1500 and
systematically transferred the three-box design to a much more
compact vehicle class. The styling was very compelling here as
well.
The
next step in the further development of the Hansa 1500 was also a
pontoon-shaped two-door car. It is still considered one of the
world's most beautiful automobiles: the BORGWARD Isabella.
-Cross
reference: Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com)
andhttp://www.presseportal.de/nr/115998/bild/
Further information:
BORGWARD Group AG
Kriegsbergstrasse 11
70174 Stuttgart,
Germany
Jurgen
Schramek
Head of Product Communications
Telephone +49-711-7941851043
e-mail [email protected]
http://www.borgward.com