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Borgward Isabella Concept Has Suicide Sliding Doors, Purple Interior

If you don't know what Borgward is, you might want to ask your grandfather about it. The German brand was first launched in 1919, but subsequently went under in 1961, never to be heard of again.
Borgward Isabella Concept in Frankfurt 13 photos
Photo: Guido Ten Brink/SB-Medien
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In 2015, the name was brought back with a bit of Chinese capital infusion, and now it's getting ready to launch its first model, the BX7 SUV, on the European market. The return won't be easy, though, especially with that Chinese connection hanging in the background.

However, it doesn't seem to bother Volvo too much nor does the Indian one affect Jaguar Land Rover's sales, so the only real difficulty might be finding a voice that can be heard among the many brands that exist today.

Borgward is launching its awareness campaign by presenting a completely new concept car in Frankfurt. Named Isabella, the four-door luxury sedan has the shape of a Porsche Panamera, but with much less conventional styling.

The proportions (very long wheelbase, short overhangs) immediately tell us there's an electric powertrain lurking underneath, but since this is a concept car, Borgward didn't bother going into detail. The exterior features undulating lines that guide your eyes toward the rear of the car. Two tones of blue are used on the bodywork with a slightly childish gradient on the hood chipping away some of that premium feel.

Before we get to the interior, let's talk about how you can access it. Borgward opted for sliding suicide doors, something we don't remember seeing on other cars, concepts or otherwise. Their practicality is undeniable, and yet we doubt the same can be said about their reliability. Still, anything that allows us to get a better peek at the interior is worthy of praise.

The huge Tesla Model X windscreen is put to shame by Isabella's, which stretches behind the front seats. The dashboard is hard to describe using 2017 words, but the color scheme isn't: that would be purple and cream, with some piano black surfaces.

The Isabella is supposed to signal some sort of halo car for the brand, but details aren't rich at the moment. If that happened, the interior, the doors, and some of the exterior design features would fly out the window, but the real question is whether Bogward is already thinking about making the EV switch for its production models as well. Given its strong ties with the Chinese market, that wouldn't be too surprising.

Borgward plans to sell 800,000 cars by 2020, with most of them finding new owners over in China, we assume. However, its European ambitions still stand with work on the Bremen plant underway which should help the company achieve 1.6 million units by 2025.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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