One of the many things that I love about woody wagons is that there is a seemingly strange matrix of models from all over the world, which were built to test the idea that a woody wagon could be a production reality.
Typical of this is the story of Goliath – Werke Borgward & Co. The Goliath brand was German car company started by Carl Borgward and Wilhelm Tecklenburg in 1928. It would later become just Hansa and then just Borgward. Based in Bremen, Germany they initially specialized in three-wheeler cars and trucks and smaller cars.
Their first passenger car was the Goliath Pionier in 1931 but the brand is best know for its compact Goliath 1100 and later the Hansa 1100 models which sold around the world during the fifties. However to complicate the story, the Goliath name was dropped and it cars re-badged, as Hansa and Lloyd in 1959. Goliath/Hansa/Borgward were also built in Argentina, and sold and assembled in Australia in the later fifties and early sixties.
Their range of vans and other light commercials were launched in 1954, called Express but they never achieved great popularity despite being spacious and as good as anything else Goliath made.
In 1959 they introduced a new steel bodied series of Goliath Express commercial trucks and vans. These lightweight front-wheel drive vehicles were offered in four models from a cab, chassis to a full camper from cab to camper. Three years later, in 1961, the Borgward group collapsed.
With that said this super rare Express delivery van certainly was one smart looking panel truck. It is assumed that this van was produced (circa) 1955-56, and just how many were built is unknown, but this one certainly proved that it could be done to produce a spacious van body that was quite well detailed and good looking. Note the suicide front doors and the very tall conventional side door with a single window of this front wheel drive model. This power train allowed for a low flat floor in the rear, creating better cargo space.
Always fun to see something that is truly different, and this Goliath certainly hits that historic spot!
classicwoodys 