Borgward has come a long way since closing its doors in 1961. It took over 54 years, but thanks in large part to the influx of funds from Chinese manufacturers, the German automaker returned to the auto scene last year with the BX7 SUV in China. It quickly followed that up with the smaller BX5 crossover, and with the success of the two models, it opened the door for the company to return to its home market, and its first offering of the future comes with a very familiar name. It’s hard to say whether the Borgward Isabella that’s currently at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show is the spiritual successor of the popular 1950’s model or an entirely new one altogether. What’s clear, though, is that the new Isabella has its an eye on the future, and it’s looking to get there with a futuristic design and an electric powertrain.

Even clearer is the fact that the new Isabella looks the part of a modern-day sports car. Borgward calls the car’s new design philosophy an “impression of flow,” and for what it’s worth, it’s hard to argue against that assertion because the car certainly has the body that flows seamlessly, thanks in part to a design that features a sloping nose, nice flowing lines, and a sleek fastback roofline that carries some design influence from the OG Isabella from the 50’s. Unfortunately, the Isabella itself is still a concept and there’s no word yet about Borgward’s plans with it. For now, we can look forward to the company’s new line of crossovers and SUVs hitting the European market by the end of 2017 and hope that one day, the Isabella, or whatever name it ends up getting, will join them in the fold.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

What can we expect from the returning Isabella

Like with most concepts, the fate of a possible production version lies squarely on a couple of factors. One is public interest. There’s no better gauge of a concept’s success than the model receiving overwhelmingly positive reactions. Those reactions could turn into actual demand for a car and in a business that’s all about the bottom line, high demand for a car is one of the most important catalysts an automaker can have towards becoming a successful brand.

The second (and more important) factor is money. No matter how successful a concept is in generating positive reviews and igniting demand for a production model, it’s still all contingent on the costs that come in actually developing and building actual production models. This is the investment part of the equation, which is arguably the most difficult part in a concept’s transition into a full-blown production model.

I don’t know exactly where Borgward fits into these equations, but I do know that the Isabella Concept is the kind of model that could redefine the future of the German automaker. From what I’ve gathered, the response for the concept has been on the favorable side, validating all the hours and manpower spent on actually developing the concept model. The response also gives life to the possibility of a production version coming soon after Borgward’s lineup of crossovers and SUVs make their way to Europe.

All that’s left at this point is for the company to determine whether a production version of the Isabella Concept will fit into its plans moving forward. I sincerely hope that it ends up there because the concept and all that it represents would make for an interesting electric supercar in the future, even if Borgward has been largely coy in avoiding any talks regarding the kind of electric powertrain it’s supposedly carrying.

References

2016 Borgward BX7

Read our full review on the 2016 Borgward BX7.