BMW

2002 (Série 02)

The BMW 2002 appeared in January 1968 as the most powerful member of BMW's compact "02 Series," a range of two-door saloons that grew out of the earlier 1600-2 and went on to rescue the Bavarian firm's fortunes. The recipe behind the BMW 2002 was beautifully simple: BMW's engineers, encouraged by US importer Max Hoffman and journalist Bob Lutz, dropped the larger 2.0-litre M10 four-cylinder engine into the light, nimble body of the small two-door, and the result was a car with sparkling performance and crisp handling that effectively created the sports-sedan template. The standard BMW 2002 produced 100 horsepower, but the range quickly expanded to include the twin-carburettor 2002 ti and, from 1971, the fuel-injected BMW 2002 tii with 130 horsepower, which is the version most prized by enthusiasts today. In January 1974 BMW unleashed the wildest model of all, the BMW 2002 Turbo, the first turbocharged production car built in Europe, with around 1,672 examples built before tightening emissions and the oil crisis ended its run in 1975. Early "roundie" BMW 2002 cars are recognised by their round tail lights, while a 1973 update brought larger square tail lights to the later cars. Light, characterful and endlessly tunable, the BMW 2002 built the foundation for everything BMW became, and clean examples, especially the tii and the rare Turbo, are now blue-chip modern classics.