| Before World War II, BMW had a growing reputation as a
manufacturer of agile motorcycles and a series of modest, if
sporting, automobiles. Their success supported the engineering
of a cleverly conceived, hemi-headed, six-cylinder
engine that became the heart of a very successful two-liter
sports roadster called the 328. A variation of that model
even won the abbreviated 1940 Mille Miglia. That brief
moment aside, the ensuing war years were ruinous, and
when the conflict ended in 1945, the remains of the company's
manufacturing facilities were split between the two
postwar occupied Germanys. Much of the remaining hardware
had been carpet-bombed to little more than rubble.
Thankfully, Adolf Hitler's insane order to burn Paris was
disregarded by a brave general; similarly, der Fuehrer's
directive to destroy the Milbertshofen BMW plant was
delayed (at great personal risk) by BMW's technical director,
Kurt Donath. Thankfully, Paris and BMW survived.
Our story deals with a romantic, but unsuccessful, venture
en route to BMW's successful status today. BMW's
comeback was arduous and not always certain. Postwar car
production first consisted of rebuilding prewar models.
BMW had enjoyed considerable popularity among
cognoscenti in Britain before the war, when H. J. Aldington
marketed right-drive 328s as Frazer-Nash BMWs. Britain's
postwar Bristol Aircraft Company annexed BMW's pushrod
operated, hemi-head, in-line six, engine technology as
one of the "spoils of war." Conveniently, Aldington was on
the Bristol board of directors. In fact, he'd secured the
release from prison of Dr. Fritz Fielder, the 328's designer,
in order to help with the born-again Bristol 400, a model
based on prewar efforts that was updated and improved for
postwar competition. Donath wooed Fielder back to
Germany, retained Pinin Farina to design a new saloon,
decided to use an in-house concept instead, and by April
1951 the new BMW 501 debuted in Frankfurt.
Even though its successor, the Model 502 emerged with
a 95 bhp, 2.6 liter cast alloy V-8 that could top 100 mph on
the autobahn, BMW was forced to build the odd, but affordable,
Isetta bubblecar under license to make ends meet.
With two widely disparate models, the Müncheners
offered a curious marketing dichotomy. They should have
been aiming for the middle of the market, which they later
did successfully with the "Neu Klasse" 1500 and subsequently
the 1600/2002. Inexplicably, BMW clung to delusions
of its prewar grandeur and instead elected to introduce
pricey sports cars. Legend has it that Donath was in the
hospital when his juniors conceived the 503 and 507 models.
He reportedly wasn't pleased at first, although he went along
with the plan. A sportier model was needed, or so thought
BMW's young turks. Stories vary as to the origins of
the 507 concept, but there's a common thread linking US
importer Max Hoffman, designer Count Albrecht von
Görtz and BMW management's keen desire to compete
successfully with Mercedes-Benz, as well as to recapture
the 328's stature.
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