The 1950s were a time of wild experimentation in the auto industry. The emerging age of jet engines captured the imagination of car designers. Suddenly, every automaker needed a sleek sports car. The trend included the obscure Borgward company from Bremen, West Germany, which created the Isabella, such as the 1959 model recently offered for sale on eBay.
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A Head-Turner
Borgward is not well known, even among gearheads. The Isabella lineup—consisting of sedans, coupes, wagons, and pickups—were relatively popular mid-market vehicles in Germany. But the company filed for bankruptcy in 1961, so few vehicles reached US soil.
Borgward was mainly known for family vehicles. However, the Isabella Coupe was a dramatically styled fashion statement. It resembled sports cars of the day but only managed 85 horsepower. Nonetheless, cruising down the road in this classy touring car turned heads.
The 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine drives a four-speed manual transmission—with a column-mounted shifter. It has full synchromesh on all four gears. Synchromesh provides a clutch between the gears to make shifting smoother. In the 1950s, it was typical for the first gear in a manual to feature gears without synchromesh, which could cause grinding when selecting a gear.
The Isabella Coupe features a swing axle at the rear, which can make handling weird at speed. A swing axle, in extreme situations, allowd the inside rear wheel to tuck under the car, causing a loss of control. That’s something to keep in mind if this Isabella is fully restored. You wouldn’t want to go racing with it.
Restoration Parts Are Available
Borgward had a brief second act in the 21st century. A grandson of the founder established a new Borgward company. The German firm built luxury vehicles mainly for the Chinese and Russian markets. Unfortunately, it flopped like the original company, filing for bankruptcy in 2022.
The Borgward Isabella is rare, but parts are available. eBay Motors has thousands of them. This car looks worthy of a complete restoration.
The seller notes rust in the rocker panels, but that sort of metalwork is a simple repair for a skilled craftsman. Other exterior details should be easy to handle or let the patina remain.
Clearly, previous owners loved their funky Borgward Isabella. It will be up to the next owner to continue with the same devotion for such a remarkable example of 1950s automotive style.
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