BMW

In 1933, BMW discontinued of unprofitable compact car production and began development and production of new automobile types with 6-cylinder engines ranging 2.0 to 3.5 liter capacity. The first vehicle of this series was the BMW 303 Cabriolet. Following on from this, such well-known models as the BMW 315, BMW 319 and BMW 327 were built in Eisenach up to 1941.

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BMW 328

Due to time constraints, the bodies two of the three BMW 328 Roadsters entered in the “1 Gran Premio Brescia delle Mille Miglia” in 1940 were built to BMW specifications by the Touring company in Milan. Like the BMW 328 Coupé, this extremely aerodynamic and lightweight body was made up of an aluminum shell fitted on a tubular frame. The car was equipped with Alfin drum brakes.

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BMW 501

The BMW 501 was an exclusive luxury model, initially equipped with 6-cylinder engines and later with V8 engines. Its curvy body style attracted the nickname “Baroque Angel.” Production of this car was so time-consuming and expensive, that BMW took a loss of around DM 4,000 on each car sold. A further problem in the history of BMW was the rapid decline in motorcycle sales from the mid-fifties. The Isetta micro-car, that went into production in 1955, under license from the Italian ISO Group, was not sufficient to avert the rapidly deteriorating financial situation. An article in the German weekly, “Der Spiegel,” commented in 1959 that the company made cars for “bank managers and day laborers.”

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BMW 502

The BMW 502, sister model to the 501, which was still predominantly based on pre-war technology, introduced a genuine innovation: the first volume-produced light alloy V8 engine in automobile history. Designated type 502, the Baroque Angel was fitted with a 2.6-liter V8 engine, developing 100 bhp, and sported a prestigious chrome-plated “V8” on the trunk lid. This beefed-up model was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1954. Two years later, the engine was upgraded to 3.2 liters, developing 140 bhp. The sedan now had plenty of power and prestige, but commercial success evaded BMW. Sales stagnated at 22,000 units – the model was expensive and not everyone's choice of styling. The wolf was kept from the door only by sales of the micro-cars (Isetta 600 and 700). The cabriolets were mostly hand-built and priced at DM 21,900. Back then, only Daimler-Benz made more expensive cars – the 300 series. The 501 and 502 cabriolets were removed from the range after one year. With fewer than 100 units sold, these big BMW cabriolets are still prized collectors' items.

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BMW 503

The BMW 503 Coupé, launched in 1955, also featured the famous light alloy V8 engine. This muscle made the coupé a match even for thoroughbred sports cars. From 1956, BMW introduced an even more exclusive model, the 503 Sports Cabriolet, costing nearly DM 30,000. Developed under the influence of designer Albrecht Graf Goertz, the 503 Cabriolet had an aluminum body with an electrically operated roof – only 139 were built. In his childhood, Graf Goertz had preferred drawing and day-dreaming to paying attention at school. He failed to complete high school and didn't even finish his traineeship with Deutsche Bank in Hamburg. He nevertheless became a very successful designer in the US – initially of everyday items, such as fountain pens, cigarette lighters, harmonicas, pots and pans, etc. Then in 1954 he was commissioned by BMW to create the sporty BMW 507 Roadster and the luxury BMW 503. Goertz worked three years for Bayrische Motorenwerke (BMW), before his services were discontinued due to cost considerations.

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BMW 507

In 1954 the BMW Supervisory Board started to hear rumors that Daimler-Benz was planning a supercar, based on the 300 SL racing car. BMW had no intention of standing by as a spectator, so the company started planning along the same lines. When Ernst Loof heard about the BMW project to build another sports car – and that the first drafts had come from an outside designer – he asked the BMW hierarchy for permission to build another prototype for the sports car. With approval given, a second body was hand-built on to the chassis and engine provided by BMW. It was built by Baur in Stuttgart. While not having the perfected styling of Graf Goertz's design, Loof's car would have been significantly more rational in production, because the design was much simpler. A total of 251 BMW 507s were built with the Graf Goertz body styling between 1956 and 1959.

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BMW 2000C

The “new class” BMW luxury coupé premiered at IAA 1965 and immediately attracted attention with its innovative design and understated elegance. It was built by Karmann in Osnabrück from 1965 to 1970. Particularly noticeable were the horizontal light clusters: the 2000 Coupé was one of the first production cars to group all lights under a single cover. This gave it a very different appearance from the contemporary round headlights, prevalent in the sixties. The BMW 2000C was equipped with the first ZF 3 HP 12 automatic transmission, developed – and initially produced – in Friedrichshafen. Automatic transmission production was later relocated to Saarbrücken. The plant there now turns out more than one million units annually. Automatic transmissions coming off the line.

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BMW M1

Introduced in Paris in autumn 1978, the M1 was the fastest road sports car in Germany at the time and also the first independent car produced by BMW Motorsport GmbH. 453 units of the M1 were built between 1978 and 1981, including 54 for the “Procar” race series. The cult car could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62.5 mph) in 5.6 seconds. To become the proud owner of one of these beauties cost exactly DM 100,000. In the motorsports versions, the power of the M1 was boosted to 490 bhp – and for Group 5 up to as much as 1,000 bhp.

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