The BMW 328.
Born: 1936 Died: 1940
BMW's 328 was produced at a time when Germany was on its upwards roll towards Hitler's ambition to be the dominating nation of Europe. In a very apt timing, what was to become acknowledged as one of the most successful sports cars of its decade was unveiled in the year of the Berlin Olympics. On June 14th, 1936, it was given its first competition outing, at the famous Nurburgring race circuit in Germany, and won. That presaged a string of racing wins which were still to echo through the post-war racing scene of the late 1940s, and the decade of the 1950s.
The car came as something of a surprise, as it had been quietly designed by BMW's Fritz Fiedler to replace the 319/1, which was no longer competitive on the racing circuits which were deemed to be so important in marketing terms by most key manufacturers. The car was a short-wheelbase two-seater, with leather straps across its bonnet and integrated headlamps that were ahead of their time in style terms but added significantly to the overall clean bodywork and its attendant good aerodynamics. Its tubular space frame was an advanced element of its design. The radiator style incorporated the two-part grille which is still BMW's signature today, but in a very tall format which gave the car great distinctiveness on both track and road.
The engine was a 1,971cc six-cylinder unit, with 80hp output in its basic form and fed by three Solex carburettors. Among the details of the engine was its aluminium cylinder head, and innovative valve gear, and its hemispherical combustion chamber. The four-speed gearbox had syncromesh on all cogs, itself important in terms of the reliability of the unit under competition conditions, and it was integrated with the engine unit itself.
Though it was never to be a volume car - just 464 units were built, most of them in roadster form -- the 328 became an instant hit, and in works and private versions won more than 130 races until the Second World War paused its progress. Among these were the RAC Rally in 1939 and a first-in-class in the Le Mans 24-Hour of the same year.
The car was also the instrument by which Helmut Polensky won the 1939 German Sports Car Championship title.
A number of special bodies were produced for the racers, including the magnesium-alloy version developed for the Mille Miglia road race, considered one of the most important contests of its time. The 328 won the Mille twice, with a class win in 1938 and achieving first, third, fifth and sixth places in the 1940 race.
One of these latter cars was a special streamlined coupé version in which Baron Fritz von Kanstein reached a top speed of 139mph and set a course record of a 103.4mph average. The story goes that von Kanstein stopped his car a few kilometres from the finish and handed over the wheel to his navigator Walter Baumer, allowing him the honour of crossing the finish line. At the height of its competition success, the 1,971cc engine was pushing out 140hp, very high for a 2-litre class car of its era. But it was the power-to-weight ratio which gave the car its competition edge.
It is widely known that the 328 plans and actual models, taken from BMW's bombed factory after the war, were the basis for the post-war Bristol 400 series cars, under the direction there of Fritz Fiedler himself. The engines were supplied also to Frazer-Nash and AC cars, as well as being used by a number of private racers through the 1950s. The 328 was also a big influence on the design of the Jaguar XK 120 in 1948.
BMW recently revealed a Concept Coupé Mille Miglia 2006, which has modernised elements of its famous 328 forebear.