The company Touring in Milan built a particularly light-weight “superleggera” coupé body on the BMW 328 chassis for use in fast long-distance races. The improved aerodynamics were intended to achieve much higher speeds.

The car was first used in June 1939 in the 24-hour race at Le Mans. Max Prinz zu Schaumburg-Lippe and Hans Wencher won the 2-litre sports-car class in a new record time and finished 5th overall. In April 1940, the car driven by Fritz Huschke von Hanstein and Walter Bäumer won a commanding overall victory in the Mille Miglia.

Year of construction: 1939
Engine: 1971 cc, six-cylinder in-line, 136 bhp at 6000 rpm
Brakes: Alfin drums, vented brake, back plates
Weight: 780 kg (1,716 lbs)
Maximum speed: 220 km/h (137 mph) — www.seriouswheels.com

In the hope of competing in the Berlin-Rome race scheduled for 1941, Germany’s National Sports Authority had three existing BMW Roadsters fitted with more advanced aerodynamic roadster bodies by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan.

What ultimately emerged were racing cars that boasted an outstandingly good drag coefficient for the time. The events of the Second World War, however, put paid to any further motor racing events with German involvement.

Year of construction 1937 chassis, 1941 body

Engine 6-cylinder in-line
continue reading "BMW 328 Berlin-Rome Touring Roadster – Famous Sports Car"

In the mid-30s, production roadsters and competition cars were still very similar in technical terms – and motorsport was still the ideal place to prove the performance and reliability of a production car. But to keep up with the competition, BMW soon had to build cars with more power and muscle.

So BMW’s engineers looked for ways and means to significantly increase engine output without increasing engine size. And they found the solution – the M328, the engine powering the legendary BMW 328 sports car in 1936.

Right from the start in its debut at Nьrburgring on 14 June 1936, BMW’s new roadster literally pulverised even the most powerful supercharged competitors.
continue reading "BMW 328 Roadster – BMW’s Final Touch in the Pre-War Period"

BMW’s roots go back to Rapp Motor, which was founded by Karl Rapp as an engine manufacturer. Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH (’Bavarian Motor Works’) was founded as a successor company to Rapp Motor in 1917 and by 1918 was known as BMW.

The blue-and-white roundel BMW logo, which is still used, alludes to the white and blue checkered flag of Bavaria, and is said to symbolize a spinning white propeller on a blue-sky background.

In 1924 BMW built its first motorcycle, the R32. This had a 500 cc air-cooled horizontally-opposed engine, a feature that would resonate among their various models for decades to come, albeit with displacement increases and newer technology.
continue reading "1938 BMW 327 – the End of the Pre-war Cars"

The launch of the 326 in 1936 was soon followed by yet another sensation on the Nurburgring race track on 14 June, when the brand new BMW 328 made its first public appearance: ”It’s amazing what Henne gets out of this new 2-litre engine. What superb acceleration! He shoots off down the long straight and into the turns and bends of the circuit… this sports car is faster than any other car with a super-charged engine! With a clear lead Henne reaches the finishing line…’

What the Motorwelt described so enthusiastically was the result of a rapid development. The engineers, mechanics and designers of the BMW development department in Munich had little time and money to create this sports car.

They had to focus on the essential, and perhaps this is precisely what made this car so successful. Within a short while the BMW 328 acquired a dominating position in its class, often even outperforming competitors with significantly more power. A maximum output of 80 bhp at a weight of only 830 kg helped the elegant series-production version of the roadster to develop impressive power.
continue reading "1936 BMW 328 – The Legendary Sports Car"

Until 1928 BMW’s main line of business was aero engines and it did not make cars until it bought the Dixi company, which made Austin Sevens under licence. Although BMW was late on the scene, it established a towering reputation in a very few years.

A six cylinder engine was made in 1933 and from 1934 onwards its Type 319 sports model began to appear in competition results, first as a 1 litre car, then as a 2.0 litre - in which guise it was capable of over 80mph with road manners to match, courtesy of independent, transverse leaf front suspension and a well-controlled live rear axle - which led the company to look seriously at competition and to explore ways of increasing performance.

Rudolf Schleicher designed a new cylinder head, cast from aluminium, which gave most of the advantages of a dual overhead camshaft head but without major retooling.
continue reading "1935 BMW 319 Sport – the Company’s First Real Sports Car"

After BMW had become automobile manufacturers relatively late, in 1928, by acquiring the “Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach”, a subsidiary of the “Gothaer Waggonfabrik AG”, manufacturers of the Dixi cars, it was content at first to continue to build and improve on the existing 3/15 small car, manufactured under the Austin licence.

Around 1931, BMW began to design its own first car. The new model introduced in March 1932, the 3/20 PS AM 1, appealed to customers because of its space and its high level of quality, despite its barely sufficient engine output. It also suffered from poor front axle design.

The BMW designers’ high standards were by no means satisfied even with this car: in Germany, meanwhile, the national economy was becoming ever stronger and it was becoming possible to sell luxury cars as well.
continue reading "BMW 309 – Launched at the Beginning of 1934"

Designed by Fritz Fiedler, the 303 engine had a chain driven camshaft, with pushrods and rocker arms to vertical overhead valves.

The Type 303 was the first to use the famous “kidney” style grille, a hallmark of BMW’s ever since.

The 303 was produced in saloon and cabriolet models.

Engine: 6-cylinder Displacement: 1175 cc Bore x stroke: 56 mm x 80 mm Power output: 30 horsepower at 3500 rpm Tires: 5.25 x 16 Wheelbase: 2400 mm Year of construction: 1933-34 Number of vehicles produced: 2300 — www.usautoparts.net
continue reading "BMW 303 BMW – the Company’s First Six Cylinder Car"

Bayerische Motoren Werke - was founded in 1916 by the merger of two aero engine manufactures during World War I. The company shifted to motorcycle production in 1923 and followed with automobiles in 1928-29.

The motorcycle had opposed cylinders and shaft drive, which would characterize it for all time. A few prototype cars were constructed using flat twin engines, but none ever reached production.

When BMW automobile production began, its design were from a concept imported from England. Purchasing the Dixi Werke of Eisenach, BMW continued manufacture of the smallest Dixi product, a license-built version of the Austin Seven. In 1929, these cars were given BMW badges. The Dixi name would remain with the marque for six months before being dropped.
continue reading "1931 BMW AM 4 – BMW Started Its Own Design"

With the acquisition of Dixi in 1928, BMW started selling the Austin Seven, which it renamed as 3/15 DA 1.

The name 3/15 indicated the car had three speeds and produced 15 horsepower. The “DA” designation stood for “Deutsche Ausführung”, meaning German Version.

The first 100 cars were supplied as kits, but by December 1928 the first of the official Dixi-manufactured vehicles, the 3/15 DA 1 was coming off the production line.

The main differences between the Dixi 3/15 DA 1 and the contemporary Austin Seven were the addition of Bosch shock absorbers, the placement of the driver’s controls on the left side of the vehicle, and the use of metric fasteners.
continue reading "BMW Dixi 3/15 DA 1, Former Known As Austin Seven"