On the return trip in the 2009 Dodge Viper, we took some good roads off of I-70. I'll tell you more about that, but first, check out this beaut we found disintegrating at a Shell station in Hanksville, UT.
Know what make and model it is? The sexay beast on the right, I mean.
[Update: bobinsepa nailed this one -- it's a 1958 Borgward Goliath 1100 Kombi. It has a water-cooled 1100cc flat four hung over the front axle, like a Subaru. There's a transverse front leaf spring and what looks like a rear beam axle. Very packaging-efficient -- there's oodles of space under the hood and the cabin is quite roomy. The owner claims that with a new fuel pump and a battery that it runs just fine.]
Here's a hint -- it's German, has a flat four, and is not the obvious choice.
I'll check back in the comments, and later, update the post with more info and pics. This thing is so freaking cool I can barely contain myself.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor
Previous Viperoadtrip entries: first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh
boxheadtim says:
03:12 PM, 07/16/10
I'd guess it's a Lloyd Arabella station wagon...
rjohnstonstl says:
03:19 PM, 07/16/10
Volvo Amazon?
bradyholt says:
03:22 PM, 07/16/10
Volkswagen Squareback?
ronhawk says:
03:27 PM, 07/16/10
Borgward
tifighter says:
03:28 PM, 07/16/10
Looks like a Wartburg...
firstwagon says:
03:29 PM, 07/16/10
VW 412
rmelvin says:
03:31 PM, 07/16/10
Opel?
tdigeezer says:
03:45 PM, 07/16/10
Looks like a borgward isabella wagon. Possibly an NSU.
05mazda6hatch says:
03:53 PM, 07/16/10
Mini Clubman
desmolicious says:
03:57 PM, 07/16/10
Looks like the new Aston Martin shooting brake wearing some kind of rustoleum camoflage undergoing hot weather testing.
misterfusion says:
04:11 PM, 07/16/10
Definitely not a VW -- at least not one of the 411/412 variants that were available in this country. Since it's not Swedish, my next guess would've been Opel, but I see that a few commenters have already chimed-in with a make I've never even heard of.
kshankar says:
04:14 PM, 07/16/10
Is it a Trabant?
jkavanagh says:
04:15 PM, 07/16/10
ronhawk and tdigeezer are both (partially) correct -- it is a Borgward!
But which model?
boxheadtim says:
04:29 PM, 07/16/10
Actually Lloyd Arabella and Borgward Arabella are the same vehicle, they were originally sold as Lloyds but given that the previous Lloyds were pretty much looked down on in Germany at the time (two-stroke engine, fabric bodywork IIRC), they were subsequently sold as Borgwards to make them a little more 'upmarket'.
firstwagon says:
04:29 PM, 07/16/10
I was sure it was a VW 412 type 3 but now I see the window posts are too vertical.
If it's a Borgward then my guess is an Isabella.
firstwagon says:
04:38 PM, 07/16/10
Hmmm didn't notice tdigeezer already guessed that.
Must be a combi then.
mcelduff says:
06:43 PM, 07/16/10
Volkswagen K70 Wagen
windsor5 says:
08:47 PM, 07/16/10
lol its funny seeing all the british car companies being posted. He sayed GERMAN THE DUETCHLAND!!!!
bsegalis says:
09:08 PM, 07/16/10
Skoda
lt1boy says:
09:08 PM, 07/16/10
It's a Porsche Panamera.
No wait... it's much too good looking to be a Panamera...
bobinsepa says:
10:07 PM, 07/16/10
I've been hanging around here for years, but this has forced me to join.
It is a Goliath Kombi Wagon and it is the first car that I ever owned! I purchased it used, well used, in the fall of 1963. It was a true weirdo in that time period, horizontally opposed water cooled "boxer" 4 cylinder engine, front wheel drive, 4 on the dash in a really strange H pattern. Boy did my uncle give me grief about it but he helped me get it running right. I don't remember what year it was, but it was a strange green with an almost egg shell roof where the paint had been. Another strange thing is that there was a Lloyd parked on my block and a Borgward parked around the corner, radical. I only had it for several months before I "upgraded" to a Metropolitan.
http://myplace.frontier.com/~vzenughv/worldofgoliath/id3.html
BTW: Borgward, Goliath, Lloyd and Hansa are all German cars.
ed124c says:
07:47 AM, 07/17/10
"She's my mother, she's my sister, she's my mother, she's my sister" (Faye Dunaway-- Chinatown)
So which is it? bobinsepa's world of goliath photos make a strong case for... all of them. With all the inbreeding, who can really say, without digging in to it.
My original quess was Borgward, and when I saw "Isabella" in other's comments, I was convinced it was a Borgward Isabella, but now.... who really knows?
Jason?
jkavanagh says:
08:00 AM, 07/17/10
Congratulations, bobinsepa -- you are correct, it is a 1958 Borgward Goliath 1100 Kombi. I'll post more pics in this post (I'm currently unable to).
All bow to bobisepa's knowledge of obscurity!
05mazda6hatch says:
08:22 PM, 07/18/10
Ok, I thought I was being witty by saying Mini Clubman - I've just been informed that I now look like a moron. Pardon the ignorance....