In his book „Kaisen und Borgward“ (1), Georg Schmidt, a long-time friend of the Borgward family, reports on an interview about the dirty business that occurred at the time of the Borgward Group’s being compulsorily acquired by the government of the state of Bremen.
There was a break in the conversation, then Monica Borgward resumed. “And then there was also the mysterious story of the disappearance of the new ‘Isabella’ ....”
Her brother Claus Borgward took up the thread. “Yes, that’s a puzzle that hasn’t been solved up to the present day. It gives an indication of how our father thought ahead – or, in this case, built ahead. Together with his head constructor Heiko Dziggel he had – as was his way of doing things – built the prototype of a new, improved and even more elegant ‘Isabella’ in a secret chamber. There it stood in a locked room, ready to go into production. Only two people had the key to that room: my father and Director Wilhelm Gieschen – so that there would be no premature publicity. People from the press are like wild animals when they get the scent of something new, as we all know! Well, one day the lock was broken open and the ‘Isabella’ had disappeared. My father had seen it in January, shortly before he was dispossessed of the firm. It was expected to be a huge commercial success, and it would have been that, too, if it hadn’t been for ...
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