Goggomobil Postal Vans. Goggomobil were a car maker from Bavaria and was the brand name for the ‘Glas’ car company. They made small cars, really micro cars with two stroke engines that ranged from 250-400cc. The engine was really the same, just slightly differing sizes and power outputs. Their two stroke cars were rear wheel drive, air-cooled and had the engine also fitted in the rear. They really only made one model of car that was designated by its engine size and body style. There were 2 door saloons, 2 door coupes and a stylish roadster known as the ‘Goggomobil Dart’. ( The Dart was only built in Australia and had a fibreglass body and no doors!) They had 4 speed manual transmissions as standard and were also available in type of semi-automatic format too. The cars were exported to USA ( 400cc versions only), the Uk and Australia ( where some models were also assembled there). I’m not certain but I think some went to South Africa too. The American models had an automatic fuel/oil mixer as standard. Goggomobil’s had a combined starter/generator as one unit which must have been similar to Dkw’s ‘Dynastart’, and also used a mini-coil for each cylinder( also like Dkw). British period advert 1957. Performance for their tiny engines was pretty impressive, as was their fuel economy. The TS250 (coupe model) 1958, 13 hp @ 5000rpm for 47 mph. It sat on tiny 10 inch tires. The TS300 (coupe) had a top speed of 59 mph from its 15 hp engine. Its fuel economy was recorded as averaging 50 mpg (1957 by Motor magazine). TS300 The 400cc engine put out 18.5 Hp and had a top speed of around 65 mph in the Dart version. Probably about 60 mph in coupe version, same as the 300 cc but with better acceleration. 214,313 saloons and 66,511 coupés were built from 1955 to 1969. They also made a small van and pickup truck that were based on the cars, but more practical. This van was known as the TL Transporter and was designed with the then, West German postal service( Bundespost) in mind who needed a small, nimble vehicle that would do their job, ferrying letters and small parcels in urban environments. The Bundespost bought over 2000 of these vans between 1957 and 1965. One of these vans sold in 2010 at an auction in the Usa for an unbelievable $88,000 , which demonstrates how rare they are today. Just 3,667 Transporter vans and pickups were made from 1955-1969. 1959 restored transporter made 88k at a U.S auction. Goggomobil’s were well engineered and well built. Downsides were they were tiny and pretty expensive for such small cars. In Germany, they were almost twice the price of a Trabant, which was a bigger car with a bigger engine. They were taken over by Bmw in 1966 and phased out in 1969. lovely Goggomobil Dart.
