Sirs,
I am trying to find some race details of the last Electron-bodied Borgward sports racer. The car broke several hillclimb records in 1958 despite tough competition from Porsche. I believe it broke the outright record at Schauinsland. Moss tested it on occasions but more famous was an epic race battle at Avus in '58, Bonnier against Herrmann's Porsche. Does anyone have a report of this race?
Thanks
Mick
Borgward RS
Started by
Mick Walsh
, Dec 12 2002 17:35
14 replies to this topic
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#2
Paul Parker
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Posted 12 December 2002 - 19:15
Hello Mick, and its all your fault that I'm now hooked on TNF! Regarding your Borgward query I seem to recall that Karl Ludvigsen owned a Borgward sports racer in the early 60s so he might well know something about the subject. I would be surprised if he doesn't.
#3
Doug Nye
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Posted 12 December 2002 - 21:27
Mick - call... ?
Do you write????
Do you send flowers????
Nothin'.....
DCN
(
)
Do you write????
Do you send flowers????
Nothin'.....
DCN
(
)
#4
Holger Merten
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Posted 12 December 2002 - 21:44
Mick, some informations:
27 July 1958 Schauinsland Hillclimb, Herrmann was third on Borgward RS (No.14) Winner was Bonnier on Borgward, second was Behra (Porsche).
I have only one other first place result for Borgward in 1958, for Herrmann in Aspern (Austria 15 May 1958) with No. 20 on Borgward RS. The other results on Borgwards are always 2nd, 3rd and 4th places.
For Avus I certainly know, that Behra won, in front of Bonnier, and Herrmann didn't start, cause he was ill.
27 July 1958 Schauinsland Hillclimb, Herrmann was third on Borgward RS (No.14) Winner was Bonnier on Borgward, second was Behra (Porsche).
I have only one other first place result for Borgward in 1958, for Herrmann in Aspern (Austria 15 May 1958) with No. 20 on Borgward RS. The other results on Borgwards are always 2nd, 3rd and 4th places.
For Avus I certainly know, that Behra won, in front of Bonnier, and Herrmann didn't start, cause he was ill.
#5
Vitesse2
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Posted 12 December 2002 - 21:54
We discussed the AVUS race in another context a little while ago. Start at post number 16 in this thread:
http://www.atlasf1.c...hlight=Borgward
http://www.atlasf1.c...hlight=Borgward
#6
karlcars
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Posted 13 December 2002 - 09:00
I'm happy to say that M. Walsh Esq. has made contact with the abovementioned Ludvigsen and we will be lunching on Monday to discuss my ownership of this car. I have already sent Mick a short resume of my experiences with the 1500RS, which I am sharing below with TNFers.
MY BORGWARD YEARS
I spotted the Borgward in May 1967 in the small ads of auto motor und sport. It had been rescued by Horst Frischkorn of Ennepetal from a lockup in which he’d spied it. He was glad to hear from me; he told me that most people who had expressed an interest in the car wanted to use it as the basis for some kind of special. When I was on a business trip to Bilstein, in the same area, I visited Horst and he wheeled it out and let me have a go on a cold, blustery day. All was well, so we made a deal and the Borgward arrived in New York in January 1968.
Here was the very car that Bonnier had driven so memorably at the AVUS in 1958, that I had seen in Bremen early in 1959 and that Clarence LaTourette had drawn for Sports Cars Illustrated. As we found it the Rennsport was in quite good nick. We had various problems with the wiring, electric fuel pump and injection settings but these were not difficult to deal with. The blocky tail lights weren’t original but that was a minor detail at the time. The magnesium bodywork was in reasonable shape, although there were some tears around the door hinges and body attachments. Bodywork wizard Del Mentnich managed to put that right although I had to suffer his many complaints about the working of this peculiar cardboard-like material.
Don Lefferts at Vintage Auto Restorations took over mechanical responsibility for the car. In this respect I had the benefit of the advice of the genial Fritz Jüttner, former works mechanic and sometime driver. Fritz had moved from Bremen to be based near Stuttgart to act as liaison man between Robert Bosch and its racing customers. During a visit to his home he handed me a small cardboard box containing some special tools for the RS engine and a supply of the unique ring-shaped shims for adjusting the engine’s valve clearance. That’s what you call friendship. Fritz also gave useful advice about the care and feeding of the rare racer.
Over several seasons at the end of the 1970s I enjoyed racing the Borgward in Vintage Sports Car Club of America events on the East Coast. We won the fast-car handicap race at Thompson Raceway in July 1978. I drove her at my favourite track, Bridgehampton, where I won my event, and also at Lime Rock and Watkins Glen. She also attacked the hillclimb at Mount Equinox. She was a delight to drive, with a compact gearbox pattern, balanced handling and just enough power from the engine to make me well aware that I was driving something that had to be treated with real respect.
A career change ended my affair with the Borgward. Moving to Britain in 1980 to join Ford of Europe, I was entering an unknown world. Reluctant as I was to add a German racing car to the complication of my new life, I elected to sell her. The new owner was Martin Schröder, who thus happily repatriated her to Germany. Martin was nice enough to invite me to race the RS at the August, 1980 Nürburgring meeting. This I did with great pleasure, sitting in the car in the historic ‘Ring paddock in which I had first seen her. Unfortunately she wasn’t in the best of tune that day.
This closed the loop on one of my most enjoyable experiences as a journalist – getting the inside story of the Borgward RS. Actually owing and racing the most notable of these cars ten to twenty years later? Life does have some wonderful surprises in store.
MY BORGWARD YEARS
I spotted the Borgward in May 1967 in the small ads of auto motor und sport. It had been rescued by Horst Frischkorn of Ennepetal from a lockup in which he’d spied it. He was glad to hear from me; he told me that most people who had expressed an interest in the car wanted to use it as the basis for some kind of special. When I was on a business trip to Bilstein, in the same area, I visited Horst and he wheeled it out and let me have a go on a cold, blustery day. All was well, so we made a deal and the Borgward arrived in New York in January 1968.
Here was the very car that Bonnier had driven so memorably at the AVUS in 1958, that I had seen in Bremen early in 1959 and that Clarence LaTourette had drawn for Sports Cars Illustrated. As we found it the Rennsport was in quite good nick. We had various problems with the wiring, electric fuel pump and injection settings but these were not difficult to deal with. The blocky tail lights weren’t original but that was a minor detail at the time. The magnesium bodywork was in reasonable shape, although there were some tears around the door hinges and body attachments. Bodywork wizard Del Mentnich managed to put that right although I had to suffer his many complaints about the working of this peculiar cardboard-like material.
Don Lefferts at Vintage Auto Restorations took over mechanical responsibility for the car. In this respect I had the benefit of the advice of the genial Fritz Jüttner, former works mechanic and sometime driver. Fritz had moved from Bremen to be based near Stuttgart to act as liaison man between Robert Bosch and its racing customers. During a visit to his home he handed me a small cardboard box containing some special tools for the RS engine and a supply of the unique ring-shaped shims for adjusting the engine’s valve clearance. That’s what you call friendship. Fritz also gave useful advice about the care and feeding of the rare racer.
Over several seasons at the end of the 1970s I enjoyed racing the Borgward in Vintage Sports Car Club of America events on the East Coast. We won the fast-car handicap race at Thompson Raceway in July 1978. I drove her at my favourite track, Bridgehampton, where I won my event, and also at Lime Rock and Watkins Glen. She also attacked the hillclimb at Mount Equinox. She was a delight to drive, with a compact gearbox pattern, balanced handling and just enough power from the engine to make me well aware that I was driving something that had to be treated with real respect.
A career change ended my affair with the Borgward. Moving to Britain in 1980 to join Ford of Europe, I was entering an unknown world. Reluctant as I was to add a German racing car to the complication of my new life, I elected to sell her. The new owner was Martin Schröder, who thus happily repatriated her to Germany. Martin was nice enough to invite me to race the RS at the August, 1980 Nürburgring meeting. This I did with great pleasure, sitting in the car in the historic ‘Ring paddock in which I had first seen her. Unfortunately she wasn’t in the best of tune that day.
This closed the loop on one of my most enjoyable experiences as a journalist – getting the inside story of the Borgward RS. Actually owing and racing the most notable of these cars ten to twenty years later? Life does have some wonderful surprises in store.
#7
Mick Walsh
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Posted 13 December 2002 - 10:22
It never ceases to impress who contributes to this brilliant site. Thanks for the cross-reference to the Avus F2/sports car race. It sounds an epic battle with RSKs and Borgward locked together. Love to find a photo for our story.
Thanks also to Karl. It never ceases to amaze me the rubbish I’m told by owners. Karl, I was informed had tried to buy a 300SLR from Mercedes and been given the Borgward as a substitute. The RS1500 had been acquired by Mercedes to investigate its advanced design after Borgward went bust. Too good to be true.
Thanks also to Karl. It never ceases to amaze me the rubbish I’m told by owners. Karl, I was informed had tried to buy a 300SLR from Mercedes and been given the Borgward as a substitute. The RS1500 had been acquired by Mercedes to investigate its advanced design after Borgward went bust. Too good to be true.
#9
Holger Merten
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Posted 19 December 2002 - 21:42
Mick, I found a small book about the Solitude "racing track", which was very popular near Stuttgart in my archiv. Including some results about the Borgward. There are results, names of the drivers and some interesting statements about the Borgwards in the 50's.
#10
Rainer Nyberg
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Posted 19 December 2002 - 22:02
A picture from the Solitude homepage.
#12
Bjorn Kjer
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Posted 18 March 2008 - 07:02
Oops another Borgward thread , does any of you know Borgwards "house" colour ?
#13
Graham Gauld
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Posted 18 March 2008 - 09:27
As can be seen from this photo I took at the 1958 Ollon-Villars hill climb the colour was plain aluminium and no paint. Hans Herrmann at the wheel.
#14
Graham Gauld
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Posted 18 March 2008 - 09:29
PS Did you notice Wolfgang von Trips taking a quick look at the Borgward. His Porsche RS is second in the queue behind behind the Lotus. Innes Ireland won his class at that event with his private Lotus Eleven.
#15
Bjorn Kjer
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Posted 18 March 2008 - 10:30
Great picture , and in colour !!! Trips need not do that long look , because at that time of the year he knew the Borgward was very competitive but no real match for the Porsche. Thanks Graham !Again however my writing is not allways clearly my thoughts : Borgward transporters was NOT silver , but some dark colour (b/w picture) , so thats what I meant with "housecolour" .
Any ideas on that then ?
