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Looks almost like a Porsche - Goliath GP 700

Name: Goliath GP 700 Sport 1951
Brand: Goliath

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Created on June 1, 1983

Text:

Ulrich Kubisch

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

Goliath GP 700 Sport (1952) - a surviving example with Rometsch bodywork in the 1980s

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Goliath Sport GP 700 S (1952) - with number C1 in the Concours d'Elégance at the Schloss Bensberg Classics 2015

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Goliath GP700 Sport (1952) - pretty coupé with front-wheel drive and two-cylinder engine, which was also available with Bosch direct injection - seen at Lukas Hüni's stand (Techno Classica 2013)

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Goliath GP 700 Sport (1951) - Rudy prototype at the IAA 1951

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Goliath Sport GP 700 (1951) - exhibited as an image carrier

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Goliath GP 700 E (1953) - transparent model of the injection engine at the IAA 1953, in the background a GP 700 Sport

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Goliath GP 700 (1954) - cutaway model of the two-stroke two-cylinder with fuel injection

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Goliath GP 700 Sport (1950) - prototype with Rudy bodywork, recognizable by the slightly more angular rear wheel cut-out

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Goliath GP 700 Sport (1951) - prototype with Rudy bodywork, recognizable by the slightly more angular rear wheel cut-out

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Goliath GP 700 Sport (1951) - with Englebert whitewall tires

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Goliath GP 700 Sport (1951) - with Rometsch bodywork

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Goliath GP 700 Sport (1953) - bears a particular resemblance to a Porsche from this perspective

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Goliath GP 700 Sport (1951) - Illustration of a prototype

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Goliath (1953) - received a fully synchronized four-speed gearbox and further refinements - at the Geneva Motor Show in 1953

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Summary

A racy two-seater coupé was produced around twenty-five times by the Berlin coachbuilder Rometsch, which at first glance could have been mistaken for a Porsche. However, it was a Goliath 700, equipped with a two-stroke engine but with pioneering direct fuel injection. The elegant coupé was not a real success, it was too expensive for that. Around 35 years ago, the Automobil und Motorrad Chronik looked back on the development of the unusual coupé. This article reproduces the text from that time with historical and contemporary pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

Image problems for the two-stroke
Coupé to enhance the image
The right coachbuilder at the right time
Construction of the coupé
Low survival rate

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Slippery pontoon shape, upscale equipment - these were the attributes with which the Bremen-based Goliath-Werke presented its first post-war passenger car to the public in 1950. The two-door saloon was powered by a two-cylinder, two-stroke engine with 24 hp.At the same time, the traditional Goliath three-wheeled transport vehicles were rolling off the production lines of the long-established manufacturer. Although they sold like hot cakes to master painters, milkmen, greengrocers and heating engineers, they were far from being a flagship for a company that primarily sought to sell mid-range "family cars" to customers.

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