Borgward is back, with an 'accessible premium' SUV

A few months ago, we told you of the return of Borgward. The once-venerable German carmaker - which reached the height of its fame in the Fifties before bankruptcy struck in 1961 - made much razzmatazz about launching its first car in over 50 years, only to then rather disappear off the radar again.

This, though, is our first glimpse of what’s coming from Borgward. And we’ll cut to the chase: it’s another SUV.

Big off-roady things aren’t all bad, of course. The Range Rover, Porsche Macan and Volvo XC90 all prove that. But are we wrong to feel a little let down that Borgward’s heritage of stylish little coupes (including a Le Mans entrant) hasn’t taken precedence?

Still, the reasoning is very sound. Borgward is apparently – and somewhat ambitiously – targeting 800,000 sales a year by 2020. Quite a number of these are expected to come from China, where some of its production might take place too. And big SUVs and luxury saloons are the key to success in China.

Plug-in hybrid technology is expected to power Borgward’s as-yet-unnamed SUV, teased via the pictures above. We’re presuming a photograph of it during Nürburgring testing is a statement of sporting intent, and a declaration that this is more likely to be battling X5s and Macans than XC90s or Discoveries.

We’ll know more in a couple of months, though, when the rather large cover is whipped off Borgward’s first car for 54 years at the Frankfurt motor show. And if goes down well, expect a whole bunch more Borgwards, the firm saying it “will provide a wide range of products engineered and designed in Germany and will offer its customers accessible premium.”

So perhaps we’ll get those coupes after all. But can a start-up (though one with a historical name, admittedly), really stick it the the Audis and BMWs of this world?