The BMW 328 was a

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

offered by BMW from 1936 to 1940, with the body design credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II (although technically the car was designed by Fritz Fiedler).

Specifications

Awards

In 1999 the BMW 328 was named one of 25 finalists for

Car of the Century The Car of the Century (COTC) is an international award that was given to the world's most influential car of the 20th century. The election process was overseen by the Global Automotive Elections Foundation. The winner, the Ford Model T, was anno ...

by a worldwide panel of automotive journalists.

Motorsports

The 328 was introduced at the Eifelrennen race at the Nürburgring in 1936, where Ernst Henne drove it to win the 2.0-litre class.

Noakes Noakes is a surname of English origin. It means "near the oaks". Notable people with the surname include: * Andrew Noakes, British academic and writer * Benedict Grant Noakes (born 1965), British television producer * Catherine Noakes, British engi ...

, p. 31 The 328 had more than 100 class wins in 1937, including the

RAC Tourist Trophy The RAC Tourist Trophy (sometimes called the International Tourist Trophy) is a motor racing award presented by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) to the overall victor of a motor race in the United Kingdom. Established in 1905, it is the world's ol ...

, the

Österreichische Alpenfahrt The Österreichische Alpenfahrt (also known as the Austrian Alpine Rally or the Rally of Austria) was a rally that was part of the inaugural World Rally Championship in 1973. History Modelled on the German Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt, the Alpenfahrt was ...

, and the

La Turbie La Turbie (; oc, A Torbia; in Italian "Turbia" from ''tropea'', Latin for trophy) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. History La Turbie was famous in Roman times for the large monument, the Trophy of Augus ...

hillclimb. Norbye, pp. 66–67 In 1938, the 328 won its class at the RAC Tourist Trophy,

, p. 35 the

Alpine Rally The Alpine Rally, also known by its official name Coupe des Alpes, was a rally competition based in Marseille and held from 1932 to 1971. In the 1950s and the 1960s, it was among the most prestigious rallies in the world and featured an internat ...

, and the

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...

. The 328 won the

RAC Rally Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calen ...

in 1939 and came in fifth overall and first in class in the 1939

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

. Norbye, p. 67 Frank Pratt won the

1948 Australian Grand Prix The 1948 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Point Cook Aerodrome,Programme, Australian Grand Prix, Australia Day 26 January 1948, Point Cook Aerodrome a Royal Australian Air Force base at Point Cook, just outside Melbourne in Victo ...

driving a 328.

Mille Miglia

In 1938, BMW 328 became a class winner in

. In 1940, the Mille Miglia Touring Coupe won the Mille Miglia Norbye, p. 68 with an average speed of . In 2004, the BMW 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupe became the first car to win both the Mille Miglia (1940) and the modern-day classical version of the race.

Production

After

the Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the manufacturing plant in

Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...

where the 328 had been built found itself in the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a ...

, and automobile manufacturing in Eisenach would follow a state-directed path until German Reunification in 1989.

Influence on Bristol

One of the Mille Miglia 328s (disguised as a

Frazer Nash Frazer Nash was a brand of British sports car manufactured from 1922 first by Frazer Nash Limited founded by engineer Archibald Frazer-Nash. On its financial collapse in 1927 a new company, AFN Limited, was incorporated. Control of AFN passed t ...

) and BMW's technical plans for the car were taken from the bombed BMW factory by English representatives from the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Frazer Nash companies. Fiedler, the BMW engineer, was persuaded to come, too. Bristol Cars was set up to build complete cars, called Bristols, and would also supply engines to Frazer Nash for all their post-war cars. The first Bristol car, the

400 __NOTOC__ Year 400 ( CD) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus (or, less frequently, year ...

, was heavily based on the BMW plans. This Bristol engine was also an option in

AC cars AC Cars, originally incorporated as Auto Carriers Ltd., is a British specialist automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest independent car makers founded in Britain. As a result of bad financial conditions over the years, the company was re ...

, before the Cobra.

Gallery

File:BMW 328 'Fachsenfeld' Coupe (1937) 1Y7A6227.jpg, 1937 BMW 328 „Fachsenfeld“ Coupé File:Adolf Brudes im BMW 328 Mille Miglia am 14.08.1976.jpg, 1940 BMW 328 „Mille Miglia“, with Adolf Brudes as the driver File:BMW 328 6-Zylinder-Motor.jpg, Picture of BMW 328 engine File:BMW 328 Bj 1938 - Heck.jpg, BMW 328, production year 1938

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

BMW 328 specifications

Jalopnik BMW 328

Carsguide - 75th Anniversary of BMW Roadsters - Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bmw 328 328 Sports cars 1930s cars Cars introduced in 1936 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars Mille Miglia