Borgward racing cars at the Bremen Classic Motorshow

Special show: Silver Arrows from Bremen in 2006

"Borgward built racing cars?" young people will ask in amazement time and again when they see one of these very rare sports vehicles in a museum. "The well-known Bremen car works 'Borgward' was successful in international racing sport with 1.5 litre cars during the 1950s", reports Heinrich Völker who at that time worked as an engineer in the experimental department of the factory and went on to write a book about these "silver arrows" from Bremen.

Altogether, probably only twelve of these vehicles were constructed and, of these, only three cars from different years survived the confusion of the times. The Bremen Classic Motorshow has succeeded in getting these racing cars plus not only a Borgward Le Mans coupé but also the most feared competitor, the "Porsche 550 Spyder" to come to Bremen in 2006. It will be a 'first time ever' meeting, particularly since prominent racing drivers from that period, such as Hans Herrmann, will also be there to answer questions from the public. It's going to be a very special treat for all classic and racing car enthusiasts.

In 1949 the former Auto Union grand prix driver August Momberger approached the most prominent figure in the Bremen car industry, Carl V.W. Borgward, with the idea of building a sports car on the basis of the Hansa 1500 saloon car that would break international records. Borgward agreed to build a chassis and a 66 PS sports engine and to offer financial support, the latter however only in the actual event of record-breaking success. One year later, in August 1950, Momberger drives the new racing car (maximum speed 185 km(h) on the Linas-Montlhéry circuit near Paris and breaks 12 international speed records. The Borgward advertising department exploits this success to the full, thereby strongly impacting the image of the car factory.

In 1952 an improved model of the car (approx. 90 PS, maximum speed 225 km/h) takes part in the Fifteenth German Grand Prix on the Nürburgring. Its driver, Hans Hugo Hartmann, immediately takes second place just three seconds behind Paul Pietsch in Veritas. In September Hartmann then goes on to show what the car can really do at the Avus (Berlin): circuit record and class winner ahead of Porsche. New successful records underline the potential of the car in Montlhéry in October. Borgward sets five new international records which had previously been held by Bugatti, Porsche and MG. The Borgward RS is now the fastest racing car in the 1.5 litre class. Borgward's designer and engineer, Karl Ludwig Brandt, develops the RS engines further. In 1954 they are equipped with fuel injection bringing their performance up to 115 PS at 6000 revs/minute, at which, however, the long-stroker has reached its limits. Brandt designs a completely new 4-cylinder engine with a considerably smaller stroke-bore ratio, 4-valve cylinder head, two overhead camshafts, double ignition and direct injection. The 1488 cc straight-type engine has up to 160 PS and pushes the Borgward RS car, which weighs just under 600 kg, up to nearly 260 km/h. This enables drivers like Joakim Bonnier and Hans Herrmann to get good places in mountain and circuit races.

In 1959 Borgward stops motor racing so that the designers and engineers can concentrate on the construction of a Formula 1 car for 1961. Bankruptcy puts an end to this project, however.

The Bremen Classic Motorshow 2006 will be open to visitors on Friday 3 February from 13:00 to 20:00 hrs, Saturday 4 February from 09:00 to 18:00 hrs and on Sunday 5 February from 09:00 to 17:00 hrs. Tickets cost 12 euros, 9 euros for clubs. For further information and photos please visit www.classicmotorshow.de

Further press information available from:
HVG Hanseatische Veranstaltungs-Gmbh
Geschäftsbereich Messe Bremen
Christine Glander,
Phone +49 (0)421 / 35 05-2 69, Fax +49 (0)421 / 35 05-3 40
eMail: glander@messe-bremen.de; Internet: www.messe-bremen.de

Also seen on Oldclassiccar - free parts ads for Borgward cars here.

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