MODEL HISTORY
BMW had a difficult starting position after World War II. Production, due to the seizure of their production equipment, was launched three long years after the war thanks to the restoration of the motorcycle manufacturing mainly from spare parts located in depots of their business partners. Following production, except for some rare exceptions, was initially based on pre-war models.
BMW's new family of models called Neue Klasse (translated as New Class) served them to enhance their image and portfolio. The first representative of this group was the model 1500 in 1961. From the four-door sedan was then, in 1966, derived series 1600-2, later simply named 1602, which became the basic model of the brand. Two-door sedan/coupe were very elegant and their design elements can still be found on today's BMW cars. The engine was a 1.5L four-cylinder, which, however, was subsequently replaced by more efficient 2L M10 unit outputs from 101 hp to 132 hp (variant 2002tii).
In 1974, a new model was added - Europe's first mass-produced car with a turbocharger - 2002 Turbo, who preceded the famous Porsche 911 (930) 3.0 Turbo ahead of a year and a Saab 900 Turbo by 5 years. The initial basic M10 engine from model 2002 has been supplemented by a KKK turbocharger and an oil cooler. The car was developed by BMW Motorsport division thanks to their experience with turbocharging in motorsport and, although it is not denoted by the letter M, together with (E9) 3.0 CSL, is considered a full member of the M family.
As far as the appearance of the 2002 Turbo, it is easily recognizable compared to other variants. In was only available in two colors - white base Polaris, which most of the vehicles have, and then in Chamonix optional silver, which our car has. The characteristic feature of the model is then painted front spoiler, rear wing and, of course, screwed plastic skirts. Military vehicle color in traditional tricolor, accompanied by lettering 2002 Turbo on the front bumper, which was horizontally reversed to make them more readable in mirrors, seemed very charismatic. This color was not recieved well from journalists and representatives of the German government, because it seemed too martial, which was a sensitive subject in Germany. In light of this, reverse inscriptions were offered as an option. The interior was characterized by the red decor around the gauges, three-spoke steering wheel and leather sports seats, which were optional. For obvious reasons, a VDO boost indicator was added to the dashboard.
Production of BMW 2002 Turbo ran on standard production line in Munich and, in retrospect, we can say that the car came to market in the most inconvenient time of the oil crisis, which, naturally, impacted the number of units produced. In total, in 1974-1975, after less than a year of production, 1,672 units of 2002 turbo, including 12 pre-production cars produced between July and December 1973.
OUR CAR
The car was produced July 30, 1974 and in August 14, it was handed over from Hammer BMW Dealer in Mönchengladbach to the first German customer. In Germany, it then went through hands of many other owners until we bought it in 2014 as a barnfind. This car is unique by being equipped with a roll cage, sports steering wheel and ALPINA wheels - all homologated and listed in the original German vehicle registration.
During 2015, the car underwent a complete renovation in our Rallied & Raced facility. It was disassembled to individual components and everything was built back into the state, in which the car was, when it left the production line. Hundreds of documentation photos are available in case of another renovation.
The car is fully operational and is currently equipped with Czech veteran registration.
Excellent piece of a Certified BMW Classic in Note 1 state.
DOCUMENTS
- Vehicle registration CZ+DE
- DEKRA document
- TÜV protocol+certificate
- Operations manual 2002+2002 Turbo
- 2002 Turbo Catalogues
- BMW 2002 turbo Club e.V. sticker
- FIA homologation
- BMW Classic certificate of origin+vehicle evaluation
