Rare German: 1960 Borgward Isabella Sedan
Production of the Borgward Isabella commenced in 1954, and the car remained in production until the company collapsed into a controversial insolvency in 1960. This Isabella 2-Door Deluxe sedan looks to be in really nice condition, and you will find it listed for sale here on Craigslist. It is located in Montpelier, Vermont, and is being offered for sale with a clean title. The owner has not specified a price on this Borgward but is happy to talk to interested potential buyers. A big thanks must go out to Barn Finder Ed VT for spotting this one for us.
The Borgward appears to be in really good condition. The car doesn’t wear its original paint, having been the subject of a repaint some years ago. The color combination may not be the most stunning, but I think that the Isabella carries it off quite well. Looking around the car, everything just looks to be in really good condition, and I struggle to find any real issues with the car. The owner does state that it is rust-free, and certainly, there is none visible.
The interior looks to be original, and it is also in very good condition. It looks like there is some discoloring of the trim that runs along the front of the dash, but otherwise, everything looks pretty good. I’ve always like the look of the instrument cluster on these cars. They are just that bit unusual.
The rear seat looks just as good as the front, or maybe even a bit better. The red and white upholstery contrasts well with the exterior paint colors, and from this shot, it looks like the headliner is in good condition.
Under the hood is the 1,493cc inline 4-cylinder engine, which is mated to a 4-speed manual transmission with column gear change. The engine produces 75hp, which allows the car to hold its own in traffic. The owner says that the car drives beautifully. The engine bay looks a bit dirty, but to me, that isn’t a problem on a 58-year-old car.
So, given the information that the owner has provided in the ad, I guess the big question is determining what the car is worth. That’s a tough question because while examples of the Isabella Coupe come onto the market from time to time, the 2-door sedan is rarely seen. What makes this all the more amazing is the fact that while the sedan is seen less often, the Coupe is the car with the highest value. With that in mind, a NADA Guide Price for a 1960 Borgward Isabella 2-door sedan in this condition is between $16,000 and $19,000 dollars. I would be interested to know what the owner is asking for this one.
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Comments
Devotees of German cars will pounce on this; it’s just plain too nice not to. Mind you, I’d have to see it in person to be sure, but this Borgward has led a pampered life! No way to know a fair price, but I’d have to guess at least $15K?
try finding another one this nice at ANY price.
+1 Drive something that nobody else has for relatively short money! My fave is the ’54 Isabella wagon in green. Truly striking in appearance!
Never heard of these things, now I’ve seen 3 for sale in a couple of days.They remind me of the flying car in the Harry Potter movie, was it a Hillman?
Guess I’m special because I’ve known about these for 50 years- but only because the junkyard I prowled as a kid had several Isabellas. Would love to own this one!
Ford Anglia for the Weasely’s in Harry Potter
The flying car in Harry Potter was a Ford Angelina. I hate myself for knowing that.
thanks
The Harry Potter car was a British Ford Anglia/
I am with glen. Cool car but what do you do with it? Drive it around the block? Belongs in a museum unless you have a support team behind you. Since I do not have a museum I would have to take my coin somewhere else. Love the tail lights.
Looks a bit like a Kaiser from the back.
https://i2.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/5-22-2012-002-e1337888122345.jpg?resize=500%2C331
I always liked Borgward. It’s a shame what happened to that company, it was forced into bankruptcy under questionable circumstances. (All creditors were paid 100%, suggesting that the bankruptcy was not really necessary.) The tooling was sold to a Mexican buyer who continued producing the Isabella for a few years.
Several years ago Carl Borgward’s grandson Christian was involved in the resurrection of the Borgward marque in China. I haven’t heard much about it recently but their web site is still up:
https://www.borgward.com/
The worst part of that story is how BMW colluded with the German government to drive Borgward out of business to enable them to ultimately buy Glas which led to the Neue Klasse and the 2002…
As I said on the posting with the pair of Isabella wagons, these are great cars and, imho, better than their contemporary Mercedes competition.
This is one that could be driven and enjoyed…
To answer Glen’s question, the car in the Harry Potter movies is a Ford 105E Anglia.
thanks
Borgward Isabella is an unknown entity among some of the community. However this English language article with data and specs compiled from Auto Motor & Sport and Motor-Rundschau magazines provides a European…well German…perspective on Isabella quality and performance vis a vis other sporty European sedans:
https://www.automobiliar.com/myth_history_e.htm
The original 60 HP Isabella introduced in 1954 was complemented by the 75 HP TS introduced in 1955. The test results in Auto Motor & Sport ended with a resounding “Well done, Isabella!”
Thanks for the link James. Very interesting comparisons showing the Borgward to be a much better car than several of the German and Italian cars. I sold my 1959 Mercedes 220b and bought a 1959 Borgward Isabella TS as in the pic above, and found it to be in the same class as the MB, apart from the power of course.
What do you do with it? Weird question. I’d drive it to the store, to get a haircut, to the beer drive-through, everywhere. That’s what I’d do with it, what else?
C’mon Rex, too small to go to a beer drive-through. Well maybe if you go every day!
These cars looked dated, even when new, but offered unparalleled quality for the price. I used to work for a foreign car repair shop that maintained a Borgward station wagon for a customer. I was always impressed by the build quality of these cars and their overall reliability. Other than paint, this is an outstanding survivor that will likely find a very satisfied new owner.
“The former Borgward car manufacturing company, based in Bremen, Germany, was founded by Carl F. W. Borgward (1890–1963). It produced cars of four brands, which were sold to a diversified international customer base: Borgward, Hansa, Goliath and Lloyd. Borgward’s Isabella was one of the most popular German premium models in the 1950s”.
Had a pal that had an Isabella, circa 1967. Cool car. The 4 on the tree was interesting. :-) Terry J
I knew two guys who of one owned a Borgward Isabella , kept it spotless, drove it for years. The other guy had a Goliath truck it always reminded me of a vw truck . The Goliath truck sat in his yard for years after he passed , then gone .
One of the best things about Borgwards was that they did not rust the way other contemporary cars did.The local Pontiac dealer sold these new back in the late ’50’s,in Newton,Massachusetts,where I grew up.
Its nice.
But — Call for Price.
Means to me that he is not serious.
Serious sellers always list a price.
I think he just wants to show it off.
These Borgward cars are very good and reliable!!!
in the event anyone is has any interest , i have a 1961 coupe and a 1951 hansa that have been stored 40 plus years i would like to sell
Post ’em! BTW, this is still for sale. With no pricing info avail, that is probably why it hasn’t sold
I had a ’59 like this in Earl Schieb peeling blue paint in 1968. Dad bought it for $35 when the late owner’s widow found the shop manual for it. We did a junkyard engine swap with a much lower mileage TS engine. Once sorted it was a nice roomy and solid car that got almost 30 MPG. Only problem was getting any actual factory factory parts as it needed a new clutch. At that time Fergus Motors in NJ did have most of what was needed. Nice driving car with good seats and smooth ride with the IRS suspension. This is much nicer than the one I had.
“Call for price” that almost as stupid as the finger over the license plate trick!
My first car was a ’59 BW Isabella TS, bought in Salt Lake City around 1962. I drove it from SL thru Nevada to college in Claremont Ca. – 12-13 hr drive – at 75-90 mph all the way. Car drove very well, got great mileage, and was quite comfortable, with its single-joint swing axle, identical to Mercedes sedans of the same vintage & size. I had the generator fail on me somewhere along the 750 route, stopped at an auto repair shop, hunted up a pair of oversize brushes, filed them down to match the BW ones, inserted & drove it until I sold it in 1963. Very solid car, but did have the hydraulic clutch leak on me, so had to fix that but wasn’t a big job – just can’t remember where I got parts. 4 spd on the column worked just fine. I remember blistering a couple of the small 13 in. tires from the heat of driving 90 thru Nevada in Sept. Sold it to buy a ’59 Citroen ID19 which I drove the next 4 yrs and made a single long trip of 3000 miles, LA to NJ summer of ’66 – the Citroen was so much more comfortable than any other car I’ve ever driven – got great mileage also – 70 hp – could cruise easily at 90 all day long. Been driving Citroens ever since – 55 yrs.
They sold them in Argentina too, if I can rembemeber correctly you can make it diesel only changing the cilinder head and putting an injection pump and injectors.
Very solid and reliable cars, the only reason dissapeared only because the lack of parts.