Borgward Hansa 1500 RS Borgward GmbH Le Mans 1953

1953 was the first year of the World Sportscar Championship for Makes and of course it included the Le Mans 24 Hours. From an incredible 127 entries, 71 cars were admitted to practice. In the end 60 cars were on the grid, including two aerodynamically optimised Borgward Hansa RS with 1.5 litre four-cylinder engines. The idea for a Le Mans entry came from the French Borgward importer Jacques Poch, who then drove car #41 with Edmond Mouche. An overall victory against the big Jaguar, Cunningham, Ferrari and Talbot was out of reach, of course, but in the 1500cc class, the 210 km/h fast coupé seemed to stand a chance for a good result.

The Hansa was the first German post-war car with a ponton body and produced 52 hp as a road car. For Le Mans, the small power unit was increased to 95 hp and the three coupés built were given a lightweight aluminium body. Chassis #345 002, the #41 car, was actually on course for a podium finish in the class behind two Porsche 550 until the engine blew with just one hour to go. German works drivers Hans Hugo Hartmann and Adolf Brudes with the #42 car, chassis #345 001, retired after just 30 laps out of fuel. 1953 was to be the only Le Mans appearance of the famous German car brand, which went spectacularly bankrupt in 1961.