There’s no shortage of optimists in the auto biz, so when Christian Borgward, grandson of company founder Carl F.W. Borgward, and industry vet Karlheinz Knöss resurrected the Borgward name back in 2008, the motoring press responded with typical skepticism. After all, without a sugar-daddy manufacturer to provide engineering and manufacturing assistance, the odds of launching a new brand, let alone producing one fully functional prototype, are about a bazillion-to-“Dream on, sucker!” So when Borgward resurfaced a few years later at the 2015 Geneva auto show and announced that it planned to be selling 800,000 cars by 2020, it was greeted with, well, more skepticism. Recently fortified by a partnership formed with the Beiqi Foton Motor Company, a commercial vehicle company based in China, the Wards of Borg have returned again, this time in Frankurt with an actual car, the BX 7 SUV.
Scheduled to be launched in Germany and the rest of Europe “within the next two years,” and China in the first half of 2016, Borgward hit Frankfurt with two “near production” BX 7 AWD T-GDI prototypes, one in standard kit and one in the high-luxe TS trim. The maker spared no words emphasizing the updated classic logo and imposing front grille, one executive explaining “We borrowed the wing design for the new BORGWARD BX 7 directly from the world’s dynamic nature. Just like a bird of prey, dragonfly or ray, our new SUV offers a completely individual interpretation of the wing shape and is therefore unmistakable (sic).” We were thinking Audi Q5, Porsche Macan, and Buick Enclave—just the ticket for the Chinese market—but that’s just us. No mention was made concerning whether it might attempt a return to the U.S.
Comprised of a turbocharged, 224-hp, direct-injected four-cylinder, six-speed automatic transmission, and permanent all-wheel drive, the gasoline powertrain routes up to 90 percent of the available torque to the front wheels in normal operation, directing it to the rear axle via an electronically controlled all-wheel multiple plate clutch when conditions dictate. The plug-in-hybrid powertrain supplements the gasoline engine with an electric motor mounted on the rear axle, and will provide up to 34 miles of battery-only range.
Although no official crash-testing results have been released, Borgward claims to have made safety a priority. In addition to a sturdy passenger compartment and engineered crumple zones, a full compliment of airbags and the latest assistance systems such as collision alert with automatic braking, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, side wind compensation, and a 360-degree-view camera will all be available.
Should the BX 7 in fact make the leap from auto show floor to showroom floor, Borgward will have beaten the long odds. But it still has a long road to go.
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