(Welcome our newest Contributor/Photoshopper “Barko”, whom I recruited from the comments thanks to his photoshop of a denuded 1960 Valiant. Barko actually owned one of these charming Goggo coupes, but has also re-imagined it with a decidedly more dynamic front end, perhaps in hopes that the donor car might rub off some of its horsepower to the 13hp TS-300.)
Leafing through the collection of Road & Track’s given me by a golfing buddy of my Dad’s, I discovered the cool little Goggomobil TS coupe in a 1958 issue. I was in my cash-starved 20s then, but I vowed to own one of Glas’ little GTs some day. Finally, in 2003, at the age of 53 I was able to realize that dream thanks to Bill Boelcke of California Classix, who worked with me to redirect shipment of a tan ‘64 coupe, originally planned for their showroom, to Port of Newark from Germany.
It became one of my favorite cars, ever, but was ill suited to the hills of Rockland County, NY. Fortunately, a German owner had fitted it with 4-way flashers, and they became one of its most important safety features. Though the car would touch 60mph under ideal circumstances, the meager 13 hp put out by it’s 250cc two-stroke was overtaxed in many a sisyphean ascent of Route 9W, and even with a running start, it would struggle to the top at 5 mph in first gear. I kept it for about 3 years, and needing a bit of cash for other things, sent it on to a friend who still has it.
Compared to the sedan from which it was derived, the coupe is low and racy, a lilliputian “personal car”. Though the front end smacks of Alfa Romeo, I always thought the overall shape resembled a 1955 Chrysler C-300, dusted with shrunken-head powder like the safari hunter waiting to be served in “Beetlejuice”.
Here’s my re-imagining of the Goggo TS with the front end of “The Beautiful Brute”. Although the simplicity of the original is gone, I always thought the TS designers, given the sensuous rump they massaged onto the little GT, could have smoothed out that drastic fall-off of the hood (most likely a compromise for forward vision), giving it more of a dome, while sculpting the prow a bit so the grille looks less tacked-on. Adding a ridge at the center would allow for a scaled version of the Chrysler’s split opening to fit right in.
The transplant was pretty easy; even the rebadging was a breeze. Of the 3 models offered by Hans Glas, each named for the engine displacement, the middle one was 300cc, so I didn’t even have to change out the cloisonne on the Chrysler’s nose!
The only other changes I made were installation of the Mopar’s side spear and rounding off the top of the side window at the C-pillar, which I always thought too severe a corner anyway. Changing the roof to body color finished the job.
Related Reading: CC Goggomobile – Germany’s Beloved Goggo Found In The USA
I cannot imagine how much (fun??) 13 HP would have been on the Palisades. Would have yearned for the opposite of dad’s tales of his trip to/from school – uphill both ways with a stiff headwind and sleet in your face.
This is one setup you could wish for rusty floors to imitate Fred Flinstone.
I’m not sure that 13hp would be much fun in Nebraska…
You did a great photoshop there ! .
I really like the looks of this .
-Nate
Fun revision. Now it just needs some of those gently upswept fins like on the 56 300B. That and a 354 hemi. 🙂
*blink*. Love it. Looks better than the original.
That is very cool nose surgery. I also like the driver.
This would have made my BMW 700 seem like a race car.
The Goggomobil* itself seems to be the answer to a “What if?” question, i.e., “What if Alfa Romeo got the contract to supply the clown cars for Barnum & Bailey’s?”
* Goggomobil, not Goggomobile, is the correct spelling. The article has it spelled both ways.
Fixed. Thanks.
Whoa – that is incredible! Very cool story, too. I remember driving on the Palisades and 9W in cars with 100HP or 200HP and having them struggle a bit… driving a 13HP Goggo on those roads takes serious balls!
Do you have any pictures of your car? I caught your comment in the other Goggo article comparing it to your (current) Fiat 500 and I’m hoping we’ll get to see that one, too.
Gee oh gee gee oh but its the Dart, the front end is photocopied from that Darrin designed sports car and doesnt look remotely Alfa, definitely improved with the Chrysler front though.
I’m with Mr. Barko… I think it was probably, if anything, Alfa-inspired:
…and aside from the tiny grille, the front end isn’t really all that similar to the Kaiser Darrin:
For everyone’s viewing pleasure, here i s the ad that the “Gee, oh, gee-gee, oh” refers to. It is a classic these days having originally aired around 22 years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk6pO7eLeiM
Great stuff Mr Barko, reminds me a bit of the old mini super car “thing”. As an aside, was it only 6 years ago they appeared (per google search results), it seems longer!
“I’ve broken Fritz”, oh – that was too funny.
We also name our German cars.
Exner’s ghost looking down from heaven: “Wish I’d done that instead of the Valiant!”
Now that Chrysler is part of Fiat, a car like this would be a realistic possibility. A Trecento to accompany the Cinquecento.
Great job with the photoshop! This summer we drove through Mungia, in the Basque Country, Spain, and the city’s welcome sign features a Goggomobil. I learned from our guide that there used to be a Goggo factory there. That would make Mungia (pop. 16,000) an Auburn (12,000) of sorts: a forgotten town with a glorious automotive past.
I cribbed this shot off the web:
Welcome Barko, that’s some mighty fine photoshopping there – and anyone who uses a word like sisyphean is worthy of high praise indeed! Looking forward to more (hopefully!) of your work! 🙂
The idea of being condemned to spend eternity trying (and failing) to drive a Goggomobil up a steep grade sounds like damnation indeed…
Better at photoshop than punctuation.
What a fun reimagining of an interesting little car! I never would have made the connection but that looks surprisingly natural. Perhaps a motorcycle engine to replace the 13 HP 250 would fit?
You have not driven a car until you drive a goggo, the best fun you will ever have.