Glas Goggomobil (1955 – 1969) Review

The Goggomobil was a clever two-cylinder four-seater that quickly established itself in Europe, mainly because it was economical and significantly undercut the Volkswagen Beetle. The Goggomobil was the brainchild of Hans Glas, and was his first attempt at vehicle manufacture. The name came from Glas's grandson, who was nicknamed 'Goggo' and there is currently a cult following for the marque. A two-cylinder two-stroke 250cc engine mounted in the rear powered the diminutive car, but performance was unsurprisingly poor, especially when the car was fully loaded. The later, bigger-engined T300 and T400 versions improved matters marginally.

The car underwent various minor changes during its production run and in 1964 the original suicide-type forward opening doors were reversed. There was also a two-seater TS Coupé available from 1956, with a dummy grille and stylish wrap-around rear window. Less practical than the saloon, it could still seat 2+2 in an overall length of just 305cm (10ft). There was even a TS300 Cabriolet built between 1957 and 1958, though only seven were built. Known mainly in the UK for being the car that the Rootes Group benchmarked during the early development phase of the Hillman Imp.