Jul
31
The Isetta really has a great story. It was born the brainchild of Renzo Rivolta of Iso refrigerator fame. He thought a nice, small microcar would be a big seller. His engineers designed the little bubblecar with a front-hinged door and it was introduced in 1953 as the Iso Isetta. It was propelled by a small 9.5 hp motorcycle engine and had chain-drive through a 4-speed transmission. Read More
Jul
26
The BMW 2002Tii is one of those seminal cars that everyone loves. In fact you love the tought of one even if you haven’t had any seat time. It’s called brainwashing. If you are of age, you read the buff books going on and on about how great the 2002 is. And my god, when the Tii came out, you thought the Beatles reunited for one last concert. Does it deserve the accolades? Yup, we guess it does. Read More
Jul
22
We have seen a few of these in Coupe form but no Cabriolets. So we did a little research and this is what we came up with.
The 700 is one of several models credited with having rescued BMW from being swallowed up by Mercedes-Benz. When production ended, over 188,000 had been produced, and that level of commercial success enabled the company, supported by a major share holder named Herbert Quandt, to block the threatened take-over. The cutesy styling was by Giovanni Michelotti – with a little resemblance to the Triumph Herald. A coupé and a cabriolet like today’s featured car, were also produced, with bodies made by Karosserie Baur of Stuttgart. It was powered by a 2-cylinder, air-cooled engine of 697 cc from the BMW R67 motorcycle.
Jun
27
Some of the world’s greatest cars are happy accidents. The BMW 2002 is one of them. Helmut Bönsch, BMW’s director of product planning, and Alex von Falkenhausen, designer of the M10 engine, each had a two litre engine installed in a 1600-2 for their personal use. When they realized they had both made the same modification to their own cars, they prepared a joint proposal to BMW’s board to manufacture a two litre version of the 1600-2. Read More
May
20
The BMW New Six is a line of six cylinders produced by BMW from 1968 to 1977. The series was introduced as BMW’s response to Mercedes Benz’s domination of the large luxury car segment. The New Sixes were very important in establishing BMW’s reputation as a maker of sporting, luxury sedans. A Coupe version was produced alongside and it too has a loyal following. The sedans had the internal name E3, while the coupes are E9. The 6-cylinder engine designation is M30 and a sweet engine it is. 
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Apr
15
The BMW New Six is a line of six cylinders produced by BMW from 1968 to 1977. The series was introduced as a response to Mercedes Benz’s domination of the large luxury car segment. The New Sixes were very important in establishing BMW’s reputation as a maker of sporting, luxury sedans. A Coupe version was produced alongside and it too has a loyal following. The sedans had the internal name E3, while the coupés are E9. The 6-cylinder engine designation is M30 and a sweet engine it is. Read More
Apr
7
Some of the world’s greatest cars are happy accidents. The BMW 2002 is one of them. Helmut Bönsch, BMW’s director of product planning, and Alex von Falkenhausen, designer of the M10 engine, each had a two litre engine installed in a 1600-2 for their personal use. When they realized they had both made the same modification to their own cars, they prepared a joint proposal to BMW’s board to manufacture a two litre version of the 1600-2. Read More
Apr
2
Renzo Rivolta, the Iso refrigerator magnate, created a curious four-wheeled Isetta powered by a two-stroke two-cylinder engine. It was a bit odd, with a front-opening door and a steering wheel that hinged to it. Renzo went on to build some amazing super cars with doors in the usual places. BMW was looking for an economical car to help them out of a financial jam so they called up Renzo and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Read More
Mar
24
During the 1950s, BMW made luxury cars with displacements of two litres or greater, economy cars, powered by motorcycle engines, and motorcycles. With their luxury cars becoming increasingly outdated and unprofitable, BMW needed a car in the 1.5 to 2 litre class to become competitive. In 1960, the Quandt Family invested heavily in BMW, and gained a controlling interest in the company. That year, the “Neue Klasse” project was begun. Read More
Mar
20
Who is Metric Mechanic and why do we care? We care because they provided the guts that make this build special. Metric Mechanic was created out of necessity when the founder, Jim Rowe, set out to build an indestructible transmission for his autocrossing efforts. He was so successful it became a business. And that business grew to include complete drive trains – all race quality built. This ’75 BMW 2002 has a Metric Mechanic engine (details on the listing) , dual 45 DCOE Webers, Tii mechanical advance distributor, MSD 6AL and plug wires, IE Motorsports step header, 325I lightened flywheel with 228 mm clutch. The transmission is a rare dog-leg 5-speed conversion from Metric Mechanic with limited slip differential, new drive axles and drive shaft. Read More
Mar
9
The BMW 2002 was the it car of the late 1960s. It started a revolution is small packaging and set BMW up for the success it enjoys today. The 2002 was great but the Tii was the German GTO of its day. The tii’s 140 horsepower doesn’t seem a lot today, but it was plenty in the early 1970s. The secret was its mechanical fuel injection, which allowed for precise fuel metering at all rpm ranges. The transmission was a straightforward four-speed manual. The 2002’s basic architecture and component usage set the standard for what most automakers still employ 35 years later.
We never do this but there are not one but 2 nice BMW Tii Roundies on eBay. Both profess to be good runners with Kugelfischer injection intact. One silver and one Colorado orange. If you are an extrovert, we know you’ll pick orange.
The Colorado Orange car is set-up nicely with rear seat delete, headers and ANSA exhaust. The front has a set of Hella Rallye lights too. It appears well cared for and all set to go. You can see the auction by clicking here.
The Silver car is a solid, west coast car from new. The body and bottom is said to be Mint. The engine was gone through 24,000 miles ago by the previous owner. Here we go with the “everything works but”. In this case, the horn. The horn is a nice Tii touch so we would attend to it. How hard can that be? You can see the eBay auction by clicking here.
Feb
2
It has 40,375 miles on it but the clock doesn’t work anymore so I think we’ll pass. NOT! This is one of the best preserved early BMW 2-doors we’ve encountered since we began posting. 
Okay, it had 1 repaint in the original Florida Green so it it is not all original but let’s not argue the point and miss this opportunity. It is a fully documented 1600 with great original paperwork, keys you name it, it is original. 
The veritable little elderly lady’s pride and joy. Read More
Jan
11
German / Preferred / 32 Comments
David E. Davis’s seminal BMW 2002 review brought the brand to the attention of American enthusiasts. In it he states unequivocally that the BMW 2002 is “most certainly the best $2850 sedan in the whole cotton-picking world.” The German newspaper Auto Bild called it “the whispering bomb”. And that referred to the 2002 back in 1969. This California Bimmer is a 2002tii. I fear what Auto Bild might have called this one. Okay, I like the color although the interior may be a little too much blue for my taste. But I wouldn’t turn down this one for monochromatic-ness if that is a word. Its got everything including a sunroof (mine didn’t and I missed it) and A/C (a Cali necessity). And if it all works, as it should, this could be the one to catch.
And this is a fully documented California car with a good amount of paperwork to support continued attention to maintenance and subtle upgrades. The seller states it is a 5-speed and although nice to have on highway cruises, it didn’t come that way. But that, like the blue interior wouldn’t turn me away. Read More
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