1974 Bmw 2002 Tii Hard Going in First Gear
The greatest pocket-size sports saloon of its time, the BMW 02 series set the Munich company on the road to the all-conquering 3-series.
A shortened, 2-door version of the New Class (Neue Klasse) saloons that transformed BMWs fortunes in the early on '60s, the 02 was revered as a drivers' car and, in 2002 tii guise, a very fast i.
Nosotros look at the history of a car that brought BMW buying to a new market place.
In the belatedly 1950s, BMW was struggling desperately, with low-volume sales of its luxury cars and but the Isetta microcar to offer those on a budget.
A takeover by Daimler-Benz was averted by fresh investment from industrialists Herbert Quandt and his half-brother Harald, who increased their stake in the visitor from 30 to 50 per cent.
Their cash, and the rear-engined, Michelotti-designed 700 effectively saved the company, but it was the subsequent New Form saloons that saw the emergence of BMW's modernistic reputation as a maker of quality sports-oriented cars.
And the logical decision to produce a cutting down, two-door version of these cruisers produced something special – with better handling, increased performance and a sportier image.
Nascency of the 1600-2
Plans for a smaller version of the four-door New Form saloons were hatched as early every bit 1963, just a twelvemonth after the bigger cars changed BMW's reputation forever.
BMW's design managing director Wilhelm Hofmeister was the brains backside the project, shortening the wheelbase by two inches to produce a motorcar nine inches shorter overall.
The styling followed the visual cues of its bigger brothers, a glassy, three-box design with an aggressive front end, the bonnet jutting out over the inward slanting grille.
The interior was redesigned to fit the smaller car, while most of the running gear was taken straight from the four-door cars.
Under the bonnet was the unmarried Solex carb, 1573cc M10 unit from the 1600 saloon, producing 85bhp at 5,700rpm and propelling the car to a salubrious 102mph.
The new 1600-2 (to denote the two doors) was launched at Geneva Motor Show in 1966, designated as a coupe without remotely looking like one.
It won rave early reviews, earning comparisons with the sporting cars of Alfa Romeo, its cut-down chassis and considerably lighter weight giving BMWs a new-plant liveliness.
"A most sporting saloon"
MotorSport magazine tested a 1600-2 in August 1967, describing a well-equipped, well-built car with an "exceptionally smooth" 4-cylinder engine.
Its price of £ane,298 pitched it against United kingdom'south habitation-grown two-litre cars from Rover and Triumph, simply information technology was meliorate built than either.
"The overall effect of the car…is one of comfort and liveliness," wrote the mag. "Whether accelerating difficult or cruising at speeds approaching 100mph it is quiet and restful, especially with the windows shut.
"With its powerful and fade-free braking system, and a pleasant and fast 4-speed gear-alter, the 1600 feels a nearly sporting saloon."
Autocar was similarly impressed, hailing a "really fast automobile" and eulogising over its costless-revving, four-pot engine.
"We have no hesitation in saying that this version of the engine is past far the smoothest in the whole BMW range…remarkably quiet," it wrote, noting its more than precise handling compared to its larger siblings.
"Autocar now knows BMWs pretty well – we have been running the bigger cars for 18 months – and in many ways we similar the smaller 1600 best of all.
"It is fast (indecently so for its size), economical and extremely well mannered. In the gratis markets of Europe information technology is also good value, just at well-nigh £ane,300 tax and duty paid in the U.k., the appeal obviously lies with the discerning motorist who can beget and capeesh the fine engineering and gain pleasance from it."
Better was to come in the autumn with the inflow of the 1600-2ti, in twin-carb course pushing power upwardly to 110bhp – a seriously lively car, but not available in the UK.
Car magazine pitted the 1600-2 confronting the Alfa Giulia Super, again noting that "import duty means that (both cars) are regarded in this state as cars for the well-heeled connoisseur, rather than equally quality family unit cars as they are in their respective homelands".
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The magazine establish information technology hard to split up the two, the BMW for the "Teutonically inclined, frustrated rally driver, or the Alfa if you are a Latin-minded racer".
Enter the 2002
Not long after the 1600-2 was launched, two of BMW's senior men had, unknown to each other, put 2-litre engines into their cars for personal employ.
When Helmut Bönsch, director of product planning, and Alex von Falkenhausen, designer of the M10 engine, found out they had both had the conversions washed, they put a proposal to BMW for the larger-engine to exist fitted as a production model.
At the same time, USA importer Max Hoffman was pressing for a more powerful model after the 1600 had received rave reviews beyond the Pond.
The 1600ti had failed to meet US emissions targets, just the 100bhp, 2-litre from the 2000 model did comply – and the 2002 was born in 1968.
Bill Boddy, editor of MotorSport, got concur of a examination car in September of that twelvemonth, and loved information technology…
"It is difficult to know which attribute of this BMW to praise starting time," he wrote. "Perchance it is wiser to look at the BMW as a whole, considering information technology is a combination of proficient qualities that makes information technology such an outstanding vehicle.
"So smoothen is this overhead-camshaft power unit that only by lifting the rear-hinged bonnet and seeing the firing lodge set out on the cans cover was I reminded that I had been driving backside a 4-cylinder engine."
The 2002 could hitting 110mph and, at nine.2 seconds, was more than three seconds quicker to 60mph than the 1600.
Boddy described the "sheer driving enjoyment" of the motorcar: "Whether information technology is beingness flung through open bends or manoeuvred speedily through traffic, this is a superbly safe and rewarding auto to bulldoze.
"In one case driven, never forgotten, the BMW 2002 is virtually the finest family-blazon auto available, unless perhaps you are looking for a little more luxury or rather more than of those elusive virtues known collectively as 'character'."
Over in America, Car & Driver's David East. Davis Jr wrote a seminal road test written report urging his compatriots to ditch habitation-built cars or little two-seaters and comprehend this new, automotive powerhouse.
"If the 1600 was the best $2500 sedan C/D always tested, the 2002 is virtually certainly the best $2850 sedan in the whole cotton-picking world," he said.
It'due south worth reading the whole route test to really appreciate how dandy Davis idea this car was.
At that place was as well a twin-carb 2002ti version which produced an extra 19bhp, but was never available in right hand drive and, equally with the 1600-2, and a cabriolet, converted past Baur, plus a touring hatchback.
But information technology was the 130bhp fuel-injected 2002tii that took the car to the side by side level.
The greatest small sports saloon
The 2002tii was launched in 1971, the Kugelfischer indirect injection added to a higher compression ratio providing oodles of extra power and, importantly, torque.
Now, 60mph could be hit in eight.3 seconds, while mid-range dispatch was streets alee of its rivals. Top speed was up to 116mph.
Testing the motorcar in December 1971, Autocar said the tii was "a fast machine by any standards; not and then much in maximum speed equally in mid-range acceleration.
"Information technology has few peers when information technology comes to hustling across state on mediocre roads; none at all, perhaps, if i considers the condolement and quietness which become with it."
Motor Trend described it as BMW's "little super motorcar", which could "devastate almost everything else on the road, hauling down into corners at Porsche 911-like velocities, having the same power reserve to throttle steer as well".
"After three days of mostly flogging the tii over the autobahns and rural byways of Bavaria, we were set to say that information technology was peradventure the nigh fun BMW or anybody has e'er built into a car, certainly the best pocket-sized sedan we've ever tried in its class," the magazine wrote.
"As far every bit quality goes, the BMW, all BMWs, are in a class by themselves."
But even the 2002tii was non the cream of the 02 crop – that honor goes to the 2002 Turbo, Munich'due south, and Europe's, first product turbocharged automobile.
BMW 2002 Turbo
The 2002tii was already alee of the pack of sporting rivals like the Triumph Dolomite Sprint, Fiat 124 Coupe, Ford RS2000 and Alfa 2000GTV.
Just Munich'due south engineers were convinced the 2002's chassis could handle fifty-fifty more power, and Paul Bracq's 1972 concept, featuring gull-wing doors and a turbo-charged M10 engine, showed what was possible.
Information technology never went into production, simply was enough to push work on the 2002 Turbo forward, with a KKK (Kuhnle, Kopp and Kausch) unit of measurement helping to push output up from 130bhp to a stonking 170bhp.
An One thousand-car in all but name, the Turbo was launched at the Frankfurt Motor Bear witness in 1973 – five years before BMW's motorsport division first put its single-letter name to a road machine, the M1.
The new car now moved into a very different echelon of rival – on operation, it was mixing information technology with the considerably more expensive Porsche 911.
You lot had to climb to the even more expensive 911S before there was an appreciable difference in performance.
Autocar timed the car at 7.3 seconds to 60mph in November 1974, rapid for the time.
"It'south amongst the elite of high performance vehicles that can reach 120mph in less than half a minute," it wrote, giving "unreserved praise to the car for its handling".
"The 2002 Turbo is most civilised and sacrifices nothing in the provision of so much performance at a price unmatched by any rivals."
The interior was given a more sporty feel, the rather hard standard seats replaced by more than comfy sports seats, a leather, spoked steering bicycle, turbo pressure gauge and a red facia insert giving all uplifting the previously staid surroundings.
The design team went to town on the bodywork – flared riveted wheel arches, deep forepart spoiler, total-length decals and rear spoiler left some proverb it was "provoking aggressiveness". Well, if you've got it, flaunt it.
This existence 1973, the car suffered from massive turbo lag of upward to iii seconds, and was decumbent to swapping ends in inexpert easily not fully prepared for the inflow of the boost.
Road & Track magazine described this "Jekyll-and-Hyde character", with a "punch to the guts" surge when the turbo kicked in above 4,000rpm.
Thanks partly to the 1973 oil crisis, simply 1,672 Turbos were built, all left mitt bulldoze, with just 12 remaining registered for route use in the Britain today.
The Alpina 02
Back in 1967, while BMW was nevertheless toying with the idea of putting a larger engine in the 1600-2, a minor firm in the Bavarian boondocks of Kaufbeuren was already imbuing the car with sensational ability.
That house was Alpina, which had started out as a manufacturer of typewriters, but moved into vehicle technology thanks to the enthusiasm of Burkhard Bovensiepen who convinced his father – who ran the firm – to let him dabble in his hobby of tuning cars.
BMW was so impressed with his efforts at tuning the BMW 1500, the company honoured the full factory warranty to cars with the Alpina system.
By the time the 1600-2 was launched, Bovensiepen was working solely on tuning, and put a 1990cc engine into the smaller car earlier BMW had a take a chance to launch the 2002.
This machine was short lived, with the 2002 arriving the following year, but the new model gave Bovensiepen the take chances to advance his system starting from a higher base.
He offered a range of modified 2002s, from a straight-frontwards, warmed upwardly Alpina A1, a hotter A2 pumping out 150bhp, and the 158bhp A2S.
In one case the fuel-injected 2002tii arrived, Bovensiepen wrung up to 169bhp out of its 1990cc engine in the A4S – about matching the later factory 2002 Turbo.
The link between Alpina and BMW grew, and continues to this day, with the cars sold and serviced through the BMW dealer network.
Special editions
Over the years, a number of special edition 02s were produced, the best-known beingness the Diana cars and the Elektro, an electric vehicle produced for the Munich Olympics in 1972.
The series of 12 'Diana cars' came about when legendary racing driver Hubert Hahne, who achieved stunning successes for BMW in the '60s, presented his histrion married woman Diana Korner with a special equipment 2002ti as a wedding nowadays.
A BMW amanuensis based in Dusseldorf, Hahne agreed a bargain with the manufacturer to produce a series of 12 cars, all painted dissimilar colours and with a multifariousness of engines including turbos and 6-cylinders.
Badged 'BMW Diana' and 'powered by Hubert Hahne', the cars featured sliding roofs, racing seats, electric front end windows, upgraded headlamps and five-speed gearboxes.
For the Munich Olympics, BMW produced two Inka Orangish 1600-2s, powered by a dozen 12v starter batteries installed in the engine bay.
The batteries alone weighed 772lb, and the cars – used in the opening ceremony and as support cars for the marathon and long altitude walking events – could travel 37 miles at a constant 31mph.
Making way for the 3-serial
In 1975, the 02 series was replaced by the all-new 3-serial, although a base model – the 1502 – continued in production until 1977.
Co-ordinate to the Design Museum London, the E21 three-serial is described as "one of 50 cars that changed the world".
We're not arguing with that, but without the ground-breaking and bright 02 series, it would probably never accept come about.
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