From The Classifieds: 1960 Borgward Isabella

Borgward was – and remains – a status symbol recognised by a few, rather than many.

Part of the reason for their rarity was the pricing: Pre-dating BMW’s push into Australia by some years, the Borgwards – the two-door only Isabella sedan was introduced in Europe in 1954, followed by a wagon and a cabriolet in 1955, then the coupe version in 1957 – nudged the likes of Mercedes-Benz and other luxury imported brands, which was a problem because of the almost total lack of brand awareness in this country.

Even in its day, the coupe was a bit strangely proportioned, but that contributed, in a positive way, to its unique character. The coupe was accompanied here by the two-door sedan and wagon variants but they sold in such limited numbers that the chance of seeing one on the road today is rare indeed.

The Borgward Isabella’s mechanical specifications were pretty advanced for the time, and the luxury aspirations were evident in the lush, well-appointed and high-quality interiors including luxuries such as a clock and a cigarette lighter.

The coupe, which was significantly more expensive than the sedan or wagon, was credited as the model that raised the German brand’s profile.

It shared the light-weight monocoque construction and all-independent coil-spring suspension – albeit with swing axles at the rear – with other Isabella models, but had the more powerful, 56kW (75bhp) version of the 1.5-litre alloy-head four-cylinder pushrod engine used in the cabriolet. Transmission was a manual, column-shift four-speeder.

The rear-drive Isabella had a wheelbase similar to that of most small cars today, although front and rear overhangs were something else. And the coupe, which is said to have been inspired by Volkswagen’s Karmann Ghia coupe, sported a rear deck that was bigger than the bonnet of many contemporary cars. The rear end shows its swing-axle underpinnings via noticeable positive camber, although reports at the time praised the Isabella’s handling abilities.

The Isabella range was successful for Borgward, but not successful enough to prevent the Bremen-based company from slipping into insolvency in 1961.

Among the few Isabella coupes in Australia is this 1960 model from Kenthurst in NSW. At an asking price of $16,990 it comes with a full 12 months registration (at the time of writing) and a roadworthy certificate, and is claimed by the owner to rate eight to nine out of ten for body condition, and eight out of ten for the interior.

The owner says he bought the cream coupe for his wife but the size of the family, and the fact his wife “never really came to grips with driving it” brought about the decision to sell it.

The owner says it has excellent seats and carpets, but needs some attention to the rear-window wooden surround. It is described as “mechanically excellent, and has recently had a complete brake overhaul.”

Early German style and luxury at a relative price well below its new value five decades ago.