Goggomobil Dart | |
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Overview | |
Manufacturer | Buckle Motors Pty Ltd. [1] |
Production | 1959 [2] –September 1961 [2] |
Assembly | Australia: Sydney, New South Wales [1] |
Designer | Bill Buckle |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Microcar |
Body style | 0-door roadster |
Layout | Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive |
Platform | Goggomobil |
Powertrain | |
Engine | Two-stroke straight-twin engine Standard: 293 cc, 14.8 PS (10.9 kW) Optional: 392 cc, 18.5 PS (13.6 kW) [3] |
Transmission | 4-speed manual [3] |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 1,800 mm (71 in) [3] |
Length | 3,050 mm (120 in) [1] |
Width | 1,370 mm (54 in) [1] |
Kerb weight | 380 kg (840 lb) [1] [4] |
The Goggomobil Dart was a microcar roadster which was developed in Australia by Sydney company Buckle Motors Pty Ltd. [5] and produced from 1959 to 1961.
The Dart was based on the chassis and mechanical components of the German Goggomobil microcar, which was a product of Hans Glas GmbH of Dingolfing, in Bavaria, Germany. [6] The car featured an Australian-designed fibreglass two-seater open sports car body without doors, the whole package weighing in at only 345 kg (761 lb). [2] It was powered by a rear-mounted twin-cylinder two-stroke motor available in both 300 cc and 400 cc variants, [4] and had a small luggage compartment built into the nose. [2] The Dart was designed in 1958 and went on sale the following year, [2] with around 700 examples produced up to the time that production ceased in September 1961. [7]
The Dart came standard with Goggomobil’s 293cc parallel twin (producing 15 hp and 20 ft.lb.), but their 392cc unit (20 hp/24 ft.lb.) soon became available as an option. Top speed was approximately 60 mph (96 km/h) for the 293cc cars, and about 65 mph (104 km/h) for those equipped with the 392cc engine. There may only by 50 of them left currently. Dimensions were 3.0m long and 1.3m wide [8]
The Goggomobil Dart is mentioned in a 1990s Australian Yellow Pages television advertisement in which the actor Tommy Dysart says the famous line "G, O, G, G, O... No! No! Not the dart!" [9] In the early 2000s he continued his Goggomobil persona advertising Shannons Insurance, where he plays a character who is especially interested in finding the best car insurance for his treasured Goggomobil Dart. [10]
A documentary, released on 8 September 2019 titled D'art, is about an artist who paints paper planes (paper darts) on the Goggomobil Dart as the canvas. [11] The movie was received with positive reviews and was selected in 2020 for the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival. [12]