Here is something out of the ordinary. I don’t see Hans Glas’ Goggomobils very often, and it seems most of those are the Australian market-only Dart. And there is more than meets the eye too.
The Dart was a sports car based on the Goggomobil developed by the Australian importer Bill Buckle in Sydney, and became so much more prominent that there was an iconic ad for the Yellow Pages telephone directory from 1992 that has become, depending on your generation, part of popular culture or a meme.
The normal Goggomobil range started in 1954 with the T250 sedan; a 2-door of course, there wasn’t space for 4 doors! Australian cars had the chassis and mechanicals mated to fibreglass bodies made locally by Buckle Motors in Sydney, moulded from imported steel bodyshells.
The wheelbase was just 1,800 mm (71 in), in a total length of 2,900 mm (110 in) and it weighed a featherweight 415 kg (915 lb). The range was expanded to include a van in 1956 and a coupe and convertible in 1957. As sometimes happens, the coupe was longer than the sedan by 135 mm (just over 5 in).
The two-cylinder air-cooled two-stroke engine was expanded to 300 and 400 cc as the years progressed. The one above is in a Dart, somewhat predictably.
The T400 was actually exported to the USA, from 1955 to 1961, with an interesting electrically-operated semi-automatic gearbox and automatic oil injection.
The interior gives more of a clue that this isn’t your common or garden Goggomobil, if there is such a thing! A few extra gauges including tachometer, some rather hardcore-looking buckets and a lack of weird sideways operating gear lever are all definitely not standard.
You might have noticed the air vent for the front-mounted radiator, (on an air-cooled car?), and another clue is the mis-matched wheels and distinctly wider rear track. This car is actually powered by a Mini Cooper S 1275 cc engine.
Which explains why it was cruising along the freeway at the 100 km/h speed limit on the way home after the show! Over 3 times the original engine capacity will do that for you.
I’ll finish up with a shot of the fantastic art deco style rear licence plate plinth; isn’t it great?
Further Reading:
Curbside Classic: Goggomobil – Germany’s Beloved Goggo Found In The USA
Thanks for an insight into a car that I would never have seen I do not remember seeing these in The US. Perhaps they got as far as the West Coast only. I live on the East Coast. I remember seeing a Japanese auto in the 1970’s that never came east until one was driven by its owner. These cars look like a lot of fun.
It looks like a kiddie-car next to that Mustang!
I have a Revell-Metal blue 1:18-scale coupe version.
Is that a pre-war DKW Cabrio next to it?
Happy Motoring, Mark
Yes there were a couple of DKW’s at the show, plus a few years earlier there was a Schnellaster van! https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-dkw-schnellaster-found-in-australia/
The van has since been auctioned, from memory it brought $40k.
This is a former dream car for me. I had a TS-250 that I sold because it frightened me on the hills that hug the Hudson River. Somewhere back in Germany, 4-way flashers had been installed, and I ended up using them a lot. I also hooked up the c-pillar lamps to the headlight switch. The car is so low, that regular motorists tend to look right over it.
That said, it was a half-ton of fun. It felt like driving a mini-Porsche. When I bought it from California Classix in 2003, one of the partners there, Bill and I had a long email thread going where we daydreamed about tossing a Honda 250 cc motorcycle engine in it, and running it at Bonneville. There are several Frankengoggos out there, but they tend to be sedans.
PS: I didn’t know Buckle made a TS convertible
Very cute ~ I have never seen the coupe before, thanx for this .
-Nate
http://www.finlaybrothershistory.info/page43.html
Front-end styling owes something to certain Alfa models ? Many additional images available online; the Dart is quite a looker.
With the Mini Cooper engine, it’s a GoGOmobil.
This looks like it would be a blast to drive.And how could you hate a car with such a cool name?
While Glas produced the bigger 600-700cc Isar, have always wondered whether the Goggomobil 400’s 2-cylinder 2-stroke engine could have been further enlarged to 500-600cc+?
As far as large 2-cylinder 2-stroke engines go there was the 764cc Saab 92, 684cc DKW F89 and the 688-845cc Goliath GP700/GP900, so such enlargement would not be unique for Goggomobil.
There is plenty of room under the bonnet but there probably would have been no market for it. The mini muscle car would have missed the mark with young people who couldn’t afford the tax or licensing fees on anything over 250 cc, and those who wanted anything bigger than 400cc were in the market for more size and comfort. More’s the pity!
Was thinking of the tax / licensing fees on microcars for young people and budget buyers being more akin to Japan’s Kei Car regulations, with the exception of the maximum displacement initially being limited to around 500-600cc instead of 250cc and 400cc or 360cc in the case of Kei Cars.
So (2-stroke aside) a 500-600cc Goggomobil would be a more closer to the Fiat 500 in terms of displacement, yet both would still be a rung below the likes of the Mini both in terms of dimension and displacement that would require a full car license.
And in markets where there weren’t such fees or restrictions, the Mini and similar cars, even the Fiat 500 drove it out of the market with a much more substantial package for only a small extra cost.
It’s just… so… cute! And I just like to say “Goggomobil”. Thanks for sharing this one. 🙂
Watch the Yellow Pages ad and then you will be saying G-O, G-G-O in a Scottish accent!
I’m with Mark D. The picture with the Mustang really puts the size in perspective. Especially with both being red convertibles.
It really looks like it should have a pole sticking thru it and be giving little kids rides!