New Midget For N.Z.

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28629, 4 July 1958, Page 12

New Midget For N.Z.

The tiny German Goggomobil in a new four-seater coupe design will be seen in New Zealand shortly. Expected to cost about £650 with the 40 per cent, sales tax included, the new car has a 395 c.c. engine, compared with the smaller 293 c.c. unit on the present model. The selling points of the car will bo its cheapness of operation—about equal to that of a motor-cycle—its ease of parking, and the surprising elegance which the factory’s designers have managed to achieve in such a tiny vehicle. The car is capable of about 65 miles an hour. Electric Gearbox

In a car of such size, the provision of an electro-magnetic preselector gearbox is a departure from the usual design employed on European small cars. Rated at 20 brake horsepower at 5000 r.p.m., the engine in the roar is a parallel-twin two-stroke design. and cooled by air. The cylinders lie in a transverse position, and the drive is to the rear wheels by means of a gearbox and differential unit combined. Four forward gears and a reverse are provided. Front and rear springing is by swing axles with helical springs and hydraulic shock absorbers. Braking is hydraulic on all four wheels. Weighing only 10141 b, the car is 16ft 7in long and 4ft sin wide. The fuel tank holds 51 gallons and the average fuel consumption is quoted at 56.8 miles a gallon. A shipment of these cars, together with four-seater saloons and vans, is at present on the way to New Zealand.