BMW 2002—1968-1975

The BMW 2002 is, perhaps more than any other, the car responsible for BMW’s reputation as a driver’s car. The later BMW E30 M3 was a big contributor, and the BMW 328 that first appeared in 1936 took over 100 wins and put BMW on the map, but the 2002 is the car that helped turn around BMW’s failing fortunes with its siblings in the “New Class” line in the late 1960s.

The creation of the BMW 2002 was essentially a result of great minds thinking alike, and some very lucky timing. The 1600cc BMW 1602 was released in 1966 but it was a car that always yearned for more power. Both Helmut Werner Bönsch (BMW’s director of product planning) and Alex von Falkenhausen (designer of the BMW M10 engine) had independently installed the 2 liter version of the M10 engine into their respective 1602s – resulting in what was essentially a sports car hidden within a sensible two-door sedan.

Little did they know that this configuration would become a core tenet of the BMW model line from then on.

(Description courtesy of Silodrome Gasoline Culture)