Hans Glas was born in Bavaria, growing up around his family’s agricultural machinery business. Hans spent a decade in the US learning manufacturing techniques and upon his return to Germany, he purchased the ag business from his forebears. After WWII, Hans’ son Andreas attended an agricultural convention in Vienna and noticed the swarms of scooters plying the roads. Returning with this inspiration, Glas made a swift switch, producing a two-wheeled scooter called the “Goggo”. These sold very well, eventually evolving into what micro-car fans know as the Goggomobile. Encouraged by success, the Glas family prepared to move upmarket, contracting with Pietro Frua to create a delicate 2+2 coupe called the 1300GT. Arriving in 1964 into a competitive landscape, the little GT faced larger-engined British and Italian makes. The 1700GT followed in 1965, its motor making a promising 100 bhp. Here on craigslist is a 1966 Glas 1700GT project car, with a firm asking price of $5000. Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, the car and its parts will require a trailer. Thanks to T.J. for this excellent find!
The interior has been scarred by heat – every piece is peeling like a bad sunburn. At least the dash with its gauges and switches is complete. Interior handles, e-brake, steering wheel, and the horn button – check. The seller indicates he has the bumpers. The car came equipped with a Blaupunkt radio, and this one with its white knobs is still installed. Of course, whether anything works is going to be another matter. But as with every single make I’ve ever encountered – no matter how weird – there’s a club! Might need to brush up on your German, though.
Two engines and two transmissions are included in the sale. The original motor was a 1682 cc four-cylinder breathing through two Solex carburetors. A compression ratio of 9.5 helped the little powerplant generate 100 bhp. Zero to sixty time was swift, at just under 10 seconds, and top speed was north of 110 mph. Either a four- or five-speed manual transmission was available.
Storage conditions haven’t been ideal. The body has hosted visits from the tin worm and accident damage is visible – an ignominious end for the lovely Frua design. Speaking of ends, the 1700GT did not save Glas. The intense development effort required to produce these two models and a later V8 chased the company into the arms of BMW by 1966. Regrettably, BMW did not buy the company for its cars – it was after Glas’ Dingolfing, Bavaria plant. BMW had launched its 1500 and was capacity constrained. It briefly rebadged the Frua bodies and installed its own 1573 cc engines, but by 1968, even that remnant of Glas was gone.
Kaput!
“ungebeleigable”. “veddddy intereshting…but shtupid”
“ungebeleigable”. “veddddy intereshting…but shtupid”
Actually, it´s not….
I wonder how many more craigslist ads will come up
in the Scottsdale area in the next week or so?People trying
to cash in big to some wealthy buyer.
Thank you for the excellent write-up and for the link to the club website. I like Frua’s work and it’s a shame BMW didn’t sell the coupe and convertible on after going after the trouble to install the BMW drivetrain into the chassis for one year. It is definitely baked to a crisp but hopefully it’s not rusty in the floors. Also hopefully the club might be of some help finding parts which might be as rare as fillings in a hens tooth. I seem to remember a Glas V8 coming to market not long ago.
I was in town last weekend and this was not listed or I would have driven out to look (and probably buy despite not needing another project car). Fabulous design that has always intrigued me. I have a Ghia 1500 GT which mimics some of these lines. I hope someone grabs it and restores it as they are a pretty design.
Ahoi
The german collector car magazin “Oldtimer Markt” says a Glas 1700Gt in condition 1 is 57700Euros and in condition 5 (like this one) 8700 Euros worth.
Best regards from Bavaria (near Dingolfing)
Till J.
There is good value here. This car could be an outstanding restomod using BMW parts for someone with the skills and imagination, not to mention the nerve, to see it through.
When new they were known as the poor man’s Porches. I fount out the hardest, If you weren’t poor when you bought it,you surely were when you walked away from it (walked away because it wouldn’t run!) Beautiful looking and nice handling but you had to be going downhill because it didn’t run long enough to go anywhere. RIP GLAS 1700 GT.MOROON(SIC) with tan interior and chrome wheels,looked beautiful ❤️😍
I forget to mention I traded in my Aston Martin DB Drophead (convertable I believe 1955) long time ago and at 76 years old it is hard to remember this Moy?
I believe this specific, gross little example sat neglected for decades in a yard over near Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix. If the people who make money selling magazines called “price guides” tell you this is “worth” 57700 euros. I can assure you this specific car would cost you twice that much to make it look new. And that still totally begs the question….”why?”
The european collector car market is not the us-american market. But yes, not all prices in such magazines are always completely correct. Such a car in perfect original condition cost in Germany more then 57000 Euros…
Wow. You say that like it is a good thing!
My heart bleeds looking at this once beautiful, car. I bought a new one in 1967 from a Glas dealer in Belmont Ca. and drove it until being dumb enouigh to sell it in 1975 to a Mexican wholesaler. It had the most usable interior and trunk imaginable, the seats could be laid flat to make a doubke bed. It handled a bit quirky but after getting used to it, it was a gas to drive and to challenge Porsche 912´s and Alfa Spyders. Mg´s and Triumphs didn´t stand a chance. I never had reliability problems, no issues whatsoever. The fly in the ointment was rust. The floor pans tended to rust, particularly underneath the diminutive rear bench. The dashboard was as complete as that of the most costly exotic and beautiful to boot. The rust problem was due to the poor fit of the weatherstripping around around the rear flip-out windows as well as that of the trunk – it was a design flaw. The body was manufactured in Italy.
That mention of a Glas V8 – – – The body did service for years with the BMW 2500/2800/Bavaria. The coupe didn’t last, the sedan helped save BMW.
A friend of my father had one of these and my dad said it was a fantastic car. You don’t see them come available very often.
The gentleman was right. Fabulous.
While living in Germany courtesy of the US Army, in May 1975 I found a very nice looking Glas 1700GT coupe in dark blue, a running & driving car. I paid 200DM for the car, about $75USD. Found out real quick why it was so cheap; it was infested with the dreaded tin worm all over the bottom areas.
Sold it to another US Army chap who used many sheets of surplus sheet metal and pop-rivets to bodge it together, and when I left Germany to go back to America, he was still driving it around.
I always liked the look of the Glas 1700GT, and as I am a full member, of Barn Finds, I can post a photo of what they look like when restored. Hope you like it.
I had 2 of them , both projects. Planned to vintage race one with a BMW 2002 ti engine in it. That was because they were the first car to use a rubber timing belt, and those were unavailable.
I think I still have a spare engine in my barn.