1958 Glas Goggomobil modificado

"The New Popular Car For Family Motoring"

When we came across this curious vehicle, we assumed that it once must have been a VW Beetle: engine in the rear – check. Flat windshield – check. Rear side glass shape – kind of, check.

We were at least half right, as engine and rear axle are in fact from a "VW mexicano". But when the owner repeatedly referred to his "Goggo", he definitely had caught our attention. Turns out that the base of this automotive Frankenstein is a German Goggomobil from 1958. It fragmentarily shows in bonnet and windshield, and in the lateral engine air intake. Front axle and doors are taken from a Russian Lada 2101, while the rest is freestylin' and filler. It ain't pretty but it does the job.

The original Goggomobil did look a bit more handsome but was equally basic. Former tractor- and scooter manufacturer Glas from Bavaria began development of a "four-wheeled scooter with roof" in 1952, when it became apparent that the Germans would buy more and more automobiles in the future. In 1954, the Goggomobil bowed to the public, and soon became very popular, because it offered more comfort than the most common microcars of the time, such as the BMW Isetta (thanks, Caristas) or the Messerschmitt Kabinenroller. These spartan vehicles were the base of the German postwar motorization, when only a few Germans could afford an Opel or Mercedes. Originally propelled by an air-cooled 250cc two-stroke engine with 13hp, the Goggomobil was exported to the U.S. since 1957 with a more powerful 400cc, 20hp engine. The export models had sealed beam headlights and an automatic gasoline-oil mixer, as the Americans certainly weren't used to add the necessary two-stroke engine oil each time they filled up.

On American shores, the Goggomobil remained a rarity. Even the smallest domestic compact cars were huge and comfortable, compared to the austere German shoebox. Cuban choferes were apparently quite open to the idea of low-priced mobility, hence the amount of tiny vehicles on the island. On the narrow streets of many Cuban cities, these petite automobiles were perhaps the smarter choice, anyway.