BMW (Germany) 1928 to date
When BMW bought the Dixi car works at Eisenach ( East Germany),
they also acquired the license for the Austin Seven. They were soon
building the "Wartburg" this sports car had a two-seater body and
an 18 hp engine, which gained the first racing successes on four
wheels for this Munich-based company.
The first true BMW design was an ohv 788cc four-cylinder in 1931.
Other versions with 845cc and, in 1933, the first six-cylinder BMW
an 1173cc Fritz Feidler design-followed. The 1490cc six-cylinder
developing 34 bhp was built also as a two-seater 40 bhp sports car
and, from 1936 onwards, a 1911cc six-cylinder was made. Most famous
version was the 328, developing 80 bhp at 4500 rpm, which won many
races with drivers including Prince Bira and Dick Seaman. The last
pre-war model was a 3485cc six-cylinder touring car with 90bhp at
3500 rpm. In England BMW cars were sold by Frazer Nash and also
raced under the Frazer Nash name.
As a result of the war BMW lost the Eisenach works, but bought the
Glas car works at Dingolfing in 1966 they also built a new factory
there. The first post-war car was the 501 with a 1971cc six-cylinder
engine, built from 1952 onwards. Improved versions-and also a 2077cc
model followed. A V-8 appeared in 1954; first with 2580cc, later
with 3168cc and up to 160 bhp at 5600 rpm. Using modified 246cc
single-cylinder ohv motorcycle engines, from 1955, BMW built the
Italian Isetta bubble cars under license. There was also a 298cc
model and a 582cc BMW-Isetta, which used an ohv flat-twin of BMW's
own manufacture. New small cars with 697cc flat-twin engines appeared
on the market in 1959. They saved BMW during a depression, when
even motorcycle sales slumped.
New, bigger car models came into production in 1962 with four-cylinder
ohc engines of 1499cc,1573cc, 1773cc and 1990cc capacity and subsequently
ohc six-cylinder engines of 2494cc to 3295cc. All these engines
came in a variety of models. Among later models were the 316, 318,
320 and 320i with 1573cc, 1766cc, 1990cc and 2315cc ohc engines
and the 518, 520, 520i, 525, 528/530i range which also included
six-cylinder ohc in-line engines of 1990cc, 2494cc and 2788cc. The
630 and 633 Csi cars use 2986cc and 3210cc engines developing up
to 200 bhp, while the 728, 730 and 733i are powered by 2799cc, 2986cc
and 3210cc six-cylinder ohc engines.
1938 BMW 328 roadster
1939 BMW 327/28
1957 BMW Isetta 600
1958 BMW Isetta
1959 BMW Isetta 600
1969 BMW 2002 TI
1973 BMW 3.0 CS
1975 BMW 2002
1981 BMW M1
1989 BMW Z1
1989 BMW 750 IL
©VEA
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