Munich. Legendary model premieres, trailblazing
innovations, top sporting performances and pioneering decisions – the
history of the BMW Group is full of milestones that have shaped the
development of the company for the past 104 years. And behind each
historic event, there are fascinating stories of people, technologies
and products. They are all about the courage to dare to do something
new, creativity in the search for unique solutions and the willingness
to compete with the very best. In 2020, a host of anniversaries offer
opportunities to narrate these stories. As a taster for the many
different historic events that are worthy of attention in 2020, BMW
Group Classic presents four very special anniversary stories below.
The Boxer engine – unsurpassed for 100 years: How the young
engineer Martin Stolle brought BMW to the motorcycle.
Martin Stolle was a talented young engineer in the development
department of BMW and he was having great fun riding his motorcycle
from the British marque Douglas. After the First World War, his
employer – like all German companies – was prohibited from producing
aero-engines. They kept their heads above water with
large-displacement four-cylinder inline engines for trucks, tractors
and boats. A new product needed to be created in order to secure a
permanent future. Martin Stolle had the brilliant idea. Inspired by
the engine powering his Douglas machine, he designed a 500 cc,
air-cooled twin-cylinder engine with horizontally opposed combustion
chambers. This type of engine arrangement was already known as a Boxer
engine, in which the pistons always operated “one against one” similar
to boxing competitors in a fight. The power unit impressed aficionados
with its outstanding smooth-running performance right from the start –
a quality that continues to excite fans of BMW motorcycles powered by
Boxer engines to this day.
In 1920, production of the new engine was launched. At that time,
Stolle was just 34 years old and his design of the Boxer engine was
based on smooth-running and reliability. In his initial design, he
settled for generating 6.5 hp at 4 500 rpm. The new power unit was
supplied to various motorcycle manufacturers under the sales
designation “Bayern-Kleinmotor” (Bavaria Small Engine). And soon
Stolle’s development was installed in motorcycles of the brands
Helios, Bison, SMW (Stockdorfer Motoren Werke), Corona and Hoco. The
most successful motorcycles were manufactured by Nürnberger
Victoria-Werke, whose KR 1 model powered by the “Bayern-Kleinmotor”
from BMW attracted a large number of purchasers. More than 1 000
examples of the first Boxer engine from BMW were installed in this
model alone.
Two years after the launch of sales for the new BMW bestseller,
Martin Stolle followed in the footsteps of “his” engine. He switched
companies and moved to Victoria-Werke where he was involved in other
successful motorcycle developments. In Munich, his legacy was not only
a groundbreaking engine concept but also a pioneering inspiration for
the future of BMW. The company was destined to move forward on two
wheels. The development of a complete motorcycle had already begun. In
September 1923, the BMW R 32 was presented – naturally powered by a
Boxer engine.
First in every respect: “Bobby” Kohlrausch and his victories
in the BMW 3/15 PS DA 3 “Type Wartburg” 90 years ago.
Motorcycle races were quite simply too dangerous. For this reason
alone, the young engineer Robert Kohlrausch was given a sports car by
his father in 1930. From that point onwards, his son enjoyed a
sensational career of speed on four wheels. In his first race on 15
June 1930, Kohlrausch took victory in the Kesselberg Race competing in
the sports-car class up to 750 cubic centimetres.
The vehicle that assisted the rookie in achieving success from a
standing start came from Eisenach like the driver himself. This was
where BMW produced its first roadster on wheels just one year after
its debut as an automobile manufacturer. The BMW 3/15 PS DA 3 “Type
Wartburg” – named after the city’s landmark castle – was ideal for
driving fast laps with engine performance enhanced to 18 hp and a
weight of just 400 kilograms. “Bobby” Kohlrausch was the first driver
to understand how to make the most of these qualities. He accelerated
from one victory to another, winning a total of 27 national and
international races with the first BMW roadster up until 1933. This
string of wins enabled him to lay the foundation stone for the
reputation of the brand in motor sport.
Simultaneously, the “Type Wartburg” laid the tradition of BMW
roadsters 90 years ago. Its successors, the BMW 315/1 and the
BMW 319/1, also continued the successful racing heritage, along with
the BMW 328, which went on to become the most successful German sports
car of all time. The BMW 507 was presented in 1955 and also raced in a
number of competitions but the car’s primary fascination to this day
has been its aesthetic appeal and legendary flair as a dream
automobile. Sheer driving pleasure defines the story of the BMW
roadster in all its facets to the present day. It ranges from the BMW
Z1 designed as a technology platform, through the BMW Z3 produced for
the first time in the USA and the BMW Z8 which swiftly took on the
mantle of a classic, to the BMW Z4 that is now continuing the
tradition of open-top sports cars at BMW meanwhile in the third generation.
80 years ago: victory at the Mille Miglia, a spontaneous driver
change and an eternal record.
The first competition also happened to be the first victory for the
BMW 328. At the Eifel Race in 1936 held on the Nürburgring, it was the
fastest vehicle in the two-litre class. Four years later, the car
competed in a race that transformed the BMW 328 into a motor-sport
legend. Two men raced to a spectacular triumph. The duo of Fritz
Huschke von Hanstein and Walter Bäumer drove in the Mille Miglia held
in 1940, a race which entered the annals of motor sport and the
company BMW – and this only had a really perfect ending as a result of
a surprising stopover shortly before the finishing line.
In 1938, the BMW 328 had already made its mark with a class victory
in the Mille Miglia. Two years later, BMW set its sights on overall
victory. Three roadsters and two closed versions of the BMW 328 were
entered in the race. The BMW 328 coupé had been styled with an
aerodynamically streamlined body by Italian specialist coachbuilder
Touring. The young drivers von Hanstein and Bäumer were nominated as
drivers. Both of them had started their racing careers on motorcycles
and at the beginning of the 1930s they had both achieved initial
successes with BMW models in automobile racing. Bäumer had already
been successful driving the BMW 3/15 PS DA 3 “Type Wartburg”, and in
1938 von Hanstein became the German Sports Car Hillclimb Champion in
the BMW 328. They were the dream team for the Mille Miglia in 1940.
When the race started on 28 April 1940, the two closed BMW 328 cars
lived up to expectations and took the lead right from the start. But
after just seven laps, the BMW 328 Kamm coupé had to retire from the
race with technical problems. Now it was up to von Hanstein and Bäumer
to secure success for BMW. Their Touring coupé unerringly ate up the
miles and continued to expand its lead over the Italian competitors
who had achieved many racing victories. Only the constellation in the
cockpit gave the team management a real headache. Fritz Huschke von
Hanstein was so fixated on victory that he continuously pushed forward
the change in drivers that had actually been agreed. And Bäumer soon
found it extremely difficult to suppress his impatience. The team
management ordered him to remain in the passenger seat. Shortly before
the finishing line, the drivers undertook a manoeuvre that took
spectators’ breath away. Von Hanstein brought the BMW 328 to a stop on
the open road and Bäumer took over the steering wheel. There was
undoubtedly ample time for the late change in driver. When Bäumer
crossed the finishing line, the BMW 328 Touring coupé had a lead of a
quarter of an hour over the second-placed Alfa Romeo. Von Hanstein and
Bäumer also set up a speed record with an average speed of 166.7 km/h
that went down as an eternal record never to be equalled in the
history of the Mille Miglia. The three BMW 328 roadsters that had
lined up at the start took third, fifth and sixth places to earn the
team award for the team from Munich alongside overall victory.
60 years of MINI model diversity – and the special by American
Nicholas Upton.
The classic Mini has always been a source of inspiration for Nicholas
Upton from the US. He has restored a wide range of examples of the
British original small car. And Upton has been dreaming of a Morris
Mini Traveller for a very long time. A very special type of
restoration project has been coming to fruition at his workshop in
California. Upton has combined the engineering of a classic Mini
Cooper S with the body of a Morris Mini Traveller and created an
estate car that never even existed. The little runabout from the West
Coast of the US is not going to win any prizes for authentic
restoration, but it will be a genuine eyecatcher at any meeting of
classic cars. Upton’s custom special is one of the topics in the
video-clip series “Work in Progress” in which BMW Group Classic
presents unusual classic fans and their vehicles – you can watch it on
the YouTube channel of BMW Group Classic.
A wealth of different versions is a constituent element of the
tradition of the MINI brand. 60 years have now elapsed since it was
launched. Even then, it was obvious that the revolutionary concept of
the classic Mini was good for more than one model. The inventive
genius of the engineers and the brand diversity of the British Motor
Corporation (BMC) paved the way for this. As early as 1960, BMW
presented a Mini Van alongside the classic Mini. The closed delivery
van was the ideal company vehicle for workmen and tradespeople. An
estate car with all-round glazing followed and this was marketed as
the Morris Mini Traveller and the Austin Seven Countryman. A Mini
Pick-up completed the line-up of small commercial vehicles in the
following year. And the desire for more finesse was soon satisfied.
The Wolseley Hornet and the Riley Elf provided an individual profile
with distinctively upmarket radiator grilles, an extended luggage
compartment and swallow-tail wings at the rear.
In addition, a version was created in 1961 that would contribute to
the legendary status of the classic Mini like no other. The Mini
Cooper met the desire for enhanced driving fun with output increased
from 34 to 55 hp and appropriate chassis modifications. The sports-car
designer John Cooper had identified the sporting talent of the classic
Mini at an early stage. Ultimately, power was further enhanced with
the Mini Cooper S packing 70 hp. It formed the platform for those
racing vehicles that enabled the classic Mini to take three victories
at the Monte Carlo Rally – and delivered the inspiration for Nicholas
Upton’s unique version of the Morris Mini Traveller.