It is the mid-1930s: the still young BMW company has already made a name for itself in motorsport with the 315/1 and 319/1 models, but the competition is not asleep and threatens to overtake the Munich company technically.
In the small but highly motivated racing department under the leadership of Fritz Fiedler, a project was born that was to change everything: the BMW 328. The Roadster made its debut in June 1936 at the Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring – a real turning point, which was followed by the start of series production in the spring of 1937 for a whopping 7.400 Reichsmarks. This was the beginning of an era in which almost no race in the two-liter class ended without a 328 on the podium.
From a stylistic point of view, the 328 marks a departure from the classic “blocky design”. Although its sporty ancestors can still be recognized, aerodynamics now dominate. The shapes are smoother and the lines more fluid. As the first model with a lightweight tubular frame, it adopts the rounded radiator grille introduced with the BMW 326. A key design feature is the integration of the headlights into the front wings – a modern look that characterizes the brand’s image until the 1960s.
The heart of the vehicle is a 1.971 cm³ inline six-cylinder engine. The engineers used the proven block of the two-liter engine, but supplemented it with a completely new cylinder head made of aluminum alloy. The design is ingenious for the time: the intake valves are driven by a side camshaft via pushrods and levers, and the exhaust valves are activated via additional horizontal bumpers. In the production version, the engine develops 80 hp, which, with a weight of only around 830 kilograms, ensures excellent acceleration. The racing versions develop, depending on the setting, between 118 and 135 hp and accelerate the car to a speed of 220 km/h.
In addition to the standard roadster, custom-made bodies were also available for more affluent customers. Companies such as Ludwig Weinberger or Gläser produced elegant convertibles, while Wendler in Reutlingen even produced a coupé with a removable hardtop. Of particular interest were Wendler's aerodynamic cars, designed by the "pope of aerodynamics", Baron Koenig-Fachsenfeld.
Interesting: Wind tunnel measurements in 1978 showed a drag coefficient (cW) of 0,44 for the 328. This is due, among other things, to the characteristic air slots in the bonnet. If they had been reduced, as originally planned, this value would have fallen even below 0,40. These bodies are built in the classic hand-made way: a wooden frame forms the skeleton to which the sheet metal is attached with countless small nails.
The name BMW 328 is inextricably linked with the Mille Miglia. For the 1939 Le Mans race, BMW commissioned the Milanese coachbuilder Touring to build coupés in the patented “Superleggera” (super light) construction. This involved extremely thin aluminum sheets welded onto a tubular lattice frame – a truly high-tech construction at the time.
After winning their class at Le Mans, a grand triumph followed in 1940: Fritz Huschke von Hanstein and Walter Bäumer won the Mille Miglia in a Touring Coupé with a 15-minute lead over much stronger competition. The remaining team members took third, fifth and sixth place with three special “Mille Miglia” roadsters. Only the experimental Kamm Coupé was eliminated and later scrapped – it was not until 2010 that BMW presented a sophisticated reconstruction of this car.
After the war, the 328 engine experienced a second boom and became the savior of German motorsport. It was almost the only competitive engine in Germany and was a perfect fit for the new Formula 2. Brands such as Veritas and AFM dominated the racing scene with BMW technology. Even in the GDR, at the former factory in Eisenach, they continued to refine the 328 concept under the name EMW.
Internationally, the British Bristol Aeroplane Company secured the design documentation and even the designer Fritz Fiedler. The BMW engine thus became the basis for all Bristol models until 1961, powering Lotus, Cooper and AC racing cars.
The spectacular concept cars from 2006 and 2011 prove that the 328 remains unforgettable today. Based on the Z4 (E85), they reinterpret the spirit of the original with modern CFRP – even though the modern successor to the roadster is a good 400 kilograms heavier than its 1936 ancestor. The BMW 328 remains what it was back then: the car of the century. Congratulations on your 90th birthday!
