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 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, 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 o ...
, the
Österreichische Alpenfahrt, and the
La Turbie hillclimb.
[ Norbye, pp. 66–67] In 1938, the 328 won its class at the RAC Tourist Trophy,
[ Noakes, p. 35] the
Alpine Rally, 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 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 driving a 328.
Mille Miglia
In 1938, BMW 328 became a class winner in
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 ...
.
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,
the manufacturing plant in
Eisenach 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) 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
Bristol Cars were manufacturers of hand-built luxury cars headquartered in Bristol, England. After being placed in receivership and being taken over in 2011, it entered liquidation in February 2020.
After the Second World War, the car division ...
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, was heavily based on the BMW plans.
This Bristol engine was also an option in
AC cars, 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
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External links
BMW 328 specificationsJalopnik BMW 328Carsguide - 75th Anniversary of BMW Roadsters - Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bmw 328
328
__NOTOC__
Year 328 ( CCCXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ianuarinus and Iustus (or, less frequently, year 1081 ' ...
Sports cars
1930s cars
Cars introduced in 1936
24 Hours of Le Mans race cars
Mille Miglia