A Borgward twice at Le Mans
06/20/2019
The 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1953 was not one of the great moments in Borgward's history. That year, Carl F. W. Borgward had three racing cars built on the basis of the Hansa 1500, with a crested rear end and an engine boosted to 90 hp. However, the adventure got off to an unfortunate start when the first of the three cars (number 43 with drivers Schaufele and Brudes) died on arrival.
Two Borgward cars started the race, starting number 42 (Hans-Hugo Hartmann, Adolf Brudes) only managed 29 laps and then stopped without fuel. Car number 41 with the French drivers Jacques Poch and Edmond Mouche fared better. They only had to retire in the last hour when the engine overheated. They did not see the finish line either. There was no further start for Borgward at Le Mans.
While the two coupés that had retired earlier were lost, the Poch/Mouche car survived. It reappeared painted in Sweden, driven by Monika Borgward, who had a love affair with the Swedish general importer. At some point, the couple had an accident and the Borgward 1500 was a heap of scrap metal, which subsequently changed hands several times for the most modest sums until Lars-Erik Larsson, a real Borgward enthusiast, was able to buy it for very little money.
Larsson finally restored the car to the way it had once driven at Le Mans. And he had the goal of driving the car again at Le Mans, more precisely at the Le Mans Classic and together with his two sons.
For this to become a reality, not only did the car have to be made fit, but the Larsson family also had to be prepared for racing. This was successful and in 2018, the Borgward was at the start in Le Mans. Father Larsson was aiming for victory. But the three Swedes weren't quite that fast after all.
They finished 31st in their plateau and fifth in their class. Not a bad result for the racing novices and finally a finish at Le Mans for the Borgward!
Incidentally, the Borgward 1500 RS is currently on display at the Mac, the Museum Art & Cars in Singen in southern Germany. So if you would like to see it up close, you have the opportunity to do so.
A visit to the Mac is worthwhile next weekend anyway, because that's when the Mac 2, an impressive second building, will be inaugurated. You can see cars by Bizzarrini and Monteverdi, among others!
