BORGWARD's Petrol-saving Marvel: Direct Petrol Injection Made its Debut in 1951 at the IAA Motor Show - in the Sleek Goliath Sports Coupe

PR62609

STUTTGART, Germany, Nov. 18 / PRNewswire=KYODO JBN / --

    - In 1951 BORGWARD-Werke made direct injection fit for series production

    - Customers benefited from up to 30 per cent lower petrol consumption

    - Close cooperation with experts at Bosch

    After World War II, the two-stroke engine was the standard for

BORGWARD-Werke's Goliath automobiles. Robust and simply designed, it was

intended to promote mass car ownership in Germany - even among people who had

previously only been able to afford a motorcycle. However, the Goliath brand

had long been aiming higher. In March 1950, the Bremen-based company presented

the Goliath GP 700, a dream car that was somewhat more expensive than the VW

Beetle, but still affordable for this consumer group. For Carl F. W. Borgward

it was high time to eliminate the drawbacks of the two-stroke engine. Comfort

was impaired by the engine's uneven charge changing and scavenging losses drove

up fuel consumption. In 1949 BORGWARD therefore decided to use a loop

scavenging system with flat-top pistons in its two-stroke engines. For this,

the company paid royalties to the patent holder, Humboldt-Deutz. The result was

a noticeable improvement in comfort and fuel savings.

    (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151118/288730 )

    However, Carl F. W. Borgward was still not satisfied, and so he worked

together with his development team and the supplier Bosch to bring to series

production a carburation system that is now found in almost all modern cars -

direct petrol injection. In 1950 the former head of the INKA design agency,

two-stroke expert August Momberger, was appointed Technical Director of

Goliath-Werke, where he introduced an injection concept he had learned about at

his former employer, Auto Union. Direct injection offered many obvious

benefits, especially for two-stroke engines. In direct-injection engines, air

expels the spent gases from the cylinder and the nozzle subsequently injects

the pure fuel into the combustion chamber. Theoretically, this pioneering

technology could achieve fuel savings of up to 30 per cent. The more

comfortable throttle response was a free by-product.

    As was typical of Carl F. W. Borgward, he didn't stop there, but instead

worked together with Bosch to make the very promising carburation system fit

for series production. After three years of development work, BORGWARD's

Goliath brand became the first automaker besides Gutbrod to present a vehicle

with direct petrol injection. The automobile in question, a Goliath sports

coupe, was unveiled at the IAA motor show in Frankfurt in April 1951. It was

another technical milestone from BORGWARD. The new two-stroke engine consumed

just 5.9 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres. Moreover, at 29 hp, its output was

10 per cent higher than its predecessor's. Specific fuel consumption declined

from 330 grams per hp and hour to 225 grams. This decrease was actually

slightly greater than the 30 per cent that the technicians had forecast.

    Goliath manager August Momberger had the idea of launching direct injection

along with the sports coupe so that the new technology would also have a new

look. In the spring of 1951, the Delmenhorst-based body manufacturer Rudy

created two coupes based on the Goliath saloon. They were followed later on by

a very similar series of two-door cars featuring a sleek Rometsch body. As an

extra feature for the beautifully styled coupes, BORGWARD later bored out the

direct-injection two-stroke engine to 845 cubic centimetres and boosted its

output to 36 hp. In 1951, this was almost as much as the boxers of Porsche's

1100 series had to offer. However, this increased performance was reserved for

the Rometsch coupes that were produced later on. A total of 27 units of this

coupe model were produced. The new technology was so advanced at the time that

many workshops were initially unable to service the carburation system. With

his typical vigour, Carl F. W. Borgward nevertheless forged ahead with the

technology's series launch because he was convinced that customers would

benefit from direct petrol injection.

    Three years later, direct petrol injection ennobled what now counts as the

most iconic sports car of all time, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL gull-wing. Today,

the technology is found in all modern combustion engines, where it helps to

optimise fuel consumption and emission values. Optimal exhaust gas properties

and efficiency are important design principles that have also been consistently

implemented in the new BORGWARD that made its debut at this year's IAA in

Frankfurt.

    - Cross reference: Picture is available at AP Images

(http://www.apimages.com) and

http://www.presseportal.de/suche.htx?q=borgward&keygroup=bild -

    BORGWARD Group AG

    Kriegsbergstrasse 11

    70174 Stuttgart, Germany

    Marco Dalan

    Head of Global Communications

    Telephone +49-711-7941851000

    E-mail media@borgward.com

    http://www.borgward.com

SOURCE: BORGWARD Group AG