Goggomobil Dart
The Dart (English for Arrow ) is a micro-car ( Bubble Car ) with a sporty roadster body made of plastic, which was produced from 1959 to 1962 based on the Goggomobil in Australia.
History
The Dart was developed from 1957 by the Australian company Buckle Motors Pty Ltd, a well-known car trading company from Sydney, on the basis of the mini-car " Goggomobil " by Hans Glas GmbH of Dingolfing in Bavaria. It originated from an idea by Bill Buckle who intended after the surprising success of the Goggomobil in Australia to offer a sporty and faster version of this scooter scooter for just this market. These Buckley personally traveled to Dingolfing, convinced senior Hans glass of his idea and received by this license to build the Goggomobil and the corresponding imaginary version of him. As a name for the new car he chose it based on the intended sporty character of the two-seater the name Dart.
The Dart was based on the standard base plates with associated mechanical components including drive unit and gear as well as the hood of the Goggomobil sedan, all of which were delivered from Germany. However, he had, in contrast to the original Goggomobil an independently designed in Australia flat open roadster body made of fiberglass with the Jaguar E-Type quite similar long rounded front end with aerodynamically faired headlamps and distinctive rear tail fins. Also present were a roll cage, a simple black top and a small trunk in the front. Due to the prevailing transport links in Australia the car was always designed as a right hand drive.
The drive of the small roadster was as in the saloons of an air-cooled in-line twin-cylinder two -stroke engine in the rear of the vehicle with an engine capacity of either 300 cc or 400 cc and a power of 15 or 20 hp. With its very light plastic body, he brought in road trim only 345 kg on the scale, which is why he offered significantly enhanced performance compared to the original Goggomobil. With better acceleration of the Goggomobil Dart reached a top speed of 100 km / h ( 300 - cc version) or 110 km / h ( 400 - cc version).
Like the other Goggomobil manufactured under license abroad or largely true to the original or modified independently Goggomobil derivatives - and that was a special feature - also contributed to the Dart 's trademark with a stylized letter "G " of the company glass on both the front and at the rear without externally visible indication of the actual manufacturer in Australia itself
The Goggomobil Dart was from 1959 to 1962 in the price lists and turned out in the end due to the relatively high price compared to the sedan at least as a moderate success, so it was built in a run of about 700 vehicles.