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History of the BMW 2002 Series
The following is a multi-part story on the development of the BMW 2002.
It is not yet complete, but under development (hey it's a lot of
history here!)
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PART I: The 1600 Is Born...
Dateline 1964: The BMW we know today had not yet achieved real status as a major
German car manufacturer by the 1960s. From 1945, the Munich based
company had fought very hard to survive all forces working against it in
post-war Germany. Near bankruptcy at the end of the
1959, and held off a takeover by Mercedes Benz when the wealthy Quandt family
stepped in to save it financially. The company which made fine engines struggled with an identity -
it was caught between the low end (Isetta & BMW 700) to the high end market
which were hard to make and expensive to build. It held a mere 2.8% market
share of all cars produced.
BMW found itself on a path to recovery with it's first model aimed at the
family market with the Neu Klasse (New Class) 4 door models, beginning with
the 1500. Sales of this line allowed BMW some breathing room, and
financially able to consider new projects.
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In 1965, production of its two door 700 model, a small car based on its BMW
motorcycle power plant ceased. It became obvious to the visionaries of the
company that a model range existed below it's four door line which was
sportier, a "sports sedan" model based on learning from the 1800ti model
offered.The BMW design department, led by Wilhelm Hofmeister
(father of the Hofmeister "kink", the shape of C pillars in
all BMWs today) was working on the new look of this car based
upon the tooling of the basic Neu Klasse structure. A design by Georg
Bertram was approved and development soon began.
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Preparations were now underway for BMW's 50th birthday celebration. It's
manufacturing plant which was nearly destroyed during WWII had been
converted into a modern auto manufacturing plant. It's vehicles were modern
and attractive, and production figures and turnover were on the rise since
1962. When invited guests arrived at the Opera House in Munich on March 9,
1966, they were greeted with a surprise: the new BMW 1600 was shown prior to
it's world unveiling at the Geneva Car show one day early.
The press was delighted with the "scoop" and crowds of curious onlookers
soon engulfed the car!
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The BMW 1600 was a typical drivers car, or as one journalist called it, "a
Sports Car in a Sunday Suit". As expected, the new BMW 1600 earned great
praise from car testers all over the world. Car and Driver voted it the best
compact sedan in the world.
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Production was set to start March 1966 with an output of 150 cars per day, shipped at the target price of DM
8500.00 to buyers.
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In it's first year of production, over 13,000 of the new 1600s came onto the
road, almost as many as the BMW 1800 4 door sedan sold that year. |
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