BMW 2002

BMW 2002 hit the floors in the 1960's and contributed to the success of BMW to a huge extent. The company enjoyed great success with this car. Soon before the onset of 1963, the company discussed about its planning to enter niche markets. For this, it planned to launch 2-door cars that will be light compact and powerful. If your idea is to purchase BMW 2002, then you will also be interested to know the car's background beforehand to make an informed decision.

A follow-up for agile and powerful cars, BMW 2002 had set a new standard for mini cars. This BMW car was a most preferred choice for numerous drivers. It successfully stood on the top among touring races held worldwide, trying to build a solid foundation for sporting cars.

As BMW thought, the need for a wheelbase car having 2 doors might bring many advantages. The car's lighter body might help in the improvement of performance while the 2-door idea would just offer the car unique sporty look. 2-door saloon took less time in designing with model wheelbase (New Class) of 4 door, shortening it to 2 inches or 98.4 inches. Wilhelm Hofmeister re-designed the interior. The car's front received minor facelift. 4-door saloons supplied running gear and there was rear axle of narrow track that made the rear and front tracks equal on 2-door model.

BMW-How it Emerged?

The car was soon about to launch, empowering it with 1,573cc "1600" engine. It got its identity as 1600-2 of which, 2 stands for the 2 doors. Finally, in 1966, 1600-2 saw its launch. It received great acclaim and emerged a winner. Lighter body of the car improved its speed, which was comparatively good than 1800 Sedan. The car's excellent handling was new to the car. In 1967, Frankfurt Motor Show announced another sportier version. It was the 1600ti, which displayed dual carburetor engine of 105 hp.

The late 1960's had BMW think about the possibility of offering the 2-door vehicle, a different engine as 2-litre relative of 1600ti's 4 cylinders. Soon after the announcement of 1600-2, Alex von Falkenhausen fitted a two-liter engine into the vehicle for self-use. Planning Director of BMW, Helmut Werner Bonsch made similar conversion on his own car. These two men had no idea about each other's car. BMW workshops had both the cars one day arriving together. The two men were fond of the two-liter 2-door car. Each planned to put before BMW board, a proposal stating the model was ready to undergo production.

As the Sales Director of BMW, Paul Hahnemann had thorough knowledge about what the US market required. As such, the sales director took decision in favor of the two-liter version despite opposition. This gave birth to BMW 2002. it had 3 distinct generations in its production life that lasted for almost 9 years. 1st generation cars came into being in 1968. cars of model 71 or the 2nd generation took to manufacture in 1971. Lastly, model 73 or the 3rd generation established in 1973. It lasted until 1976, which was end of the production. The BMW 2002 had many advanced features and was an upgrade of earlier versions of the car models.