1958 Goggomobil TS400

Hans Glas, a big manufacturer of agricultural machinery in Dingolfing (Lower Bavaria, West Germany) brought out his first car in 1955 to participate in the German microcar boom after WWII. The name of this midget sedan was Goggomobil. 'Power' came from a 247cc air-cooled two-cylinder two-stroke producing 13.5 horsepower. From 1957, also a 296cc (14.8 horsepower) and even a 395cc (20 horsepower) engine could be ordered.

The latter one also powered the Coupe version Goggomobil TS 400 (TS for 'Touring Sport') which was launched in the spring of 1957 with a semi-automatic transmission. Hans Glas didn't only like 'American' styling of the 2+2 Coupe but rather the idea of selling the car in the U.S. Today only seven Goggo-mobils are known to have survived in the United States of which three are restored.

The company's later ambitions to enter the luxury car market ended in the very sophisticated and expensive Glas 2600 V8 Coupe - and almost in bankruptcy. In November 1966, BMW took over the Glas works, today the BMW 3 Series is manufactured in Dingolfing. Until June of 1969, a total of 284,491 Goggomobils were produced, making the model the best-selling German microcar by far. 66,511 of those were Coupes.