Goggomobil Dart
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| Goggomobil Dart | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 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 is 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, with 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]
Production specifics
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 (97 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]
In popular culture
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]
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