Debuting as a race car in 1936, series production of the BMW 328 finally began a year later. Advertising called it a powerful everyday car for travel and sport.
Built between 1936 and 1940, the BMW 328 was one of the most successful sports cars of the age because its design philosophy was exactly the opposite of massive cars from Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union.
The 328 roadster weighed just 780 kilograms and was powered by a modest 80 horsepower 2-liter engine when it entered series production in 1937, but it was an early works racing version that surprised fans 75 years ago today at the Nürburgring.
Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design, and Alfredo Häberli at the Mille Miglia in May 2011.
There were 34 entrants listed in for the International Eifel Race sports car race on 14 June 1936. Seven were entered in the 2-liter class, and five were BMWs. Four were “Typ 319/1” cars; the other was a white 328 driven by BMW motorcycle driver with several world speed records, Ernst Jakob Henne.
Henne set a lap record for all sports cars during the race, and won the non-supercharged class in the rain. It was the debut of what became one of the most successful sports cars on the track. The win was to be followed by more than 200 others with factory sponsored and privateers running 328s into the 1950s.
There were only 464 cars made when BMW halted production in 1940 to pursue military projects, so the BMW 328 remains one of the most sought-after collector’s cars on the market.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
