1973 BMW 2002

BMW sales during the 1960s increased, allowing the company to re-focus on Motorsports and building 'The Ultimate Driving Machine.' BMW's immensely successful 'Neue Klasse' line of four-cylinder sedans was introduced during the early 1960s and helped return the Bavarian company to profitability.

Following on the success of the Neue Klasse four-door 1500 saloon and its derivatives, the company capitalized with the introduction of a revised two-door range in 1966. Continuing the trend of the earlier cars, the new 1600 (later 1602) employed unitary construction, all-independent suspension and front disc brakes. Power was sourced from the Munich firm's dependable, single-overhead-camshaft, 1,573cc four-cylinder M10 engine, which despite its humble origins would go on to form the basis of a turbocharge 1,000 horsepower Grand Prix unit and Formula 1 World Championship winner.

The 1602 was introduced at the Geneva Auto Show in March of 1966 as the '1600-2' and would remain in production through 1975. It was a two-door car that was less expensive than the four-door saloon on which it was based. The M10 engine powering the 1602 offered 85 horsepower, which was good enough for a top speed of approximately 100 mph, with 60 mph attainable in twelve seconds.

In 1968, BMW introduced the 2002 which was based on the 2-door, 1,600cc 1602. It was the brainchild of New York BMW importer Max Hoffman and available in two-door sedan and three-door Touring guises. The 2002 joined the BMW model catalog for 1968 and was available in the progressively faster 2002 Ti and fuel-injected 2002 Tii specification, culminating in the 2002 Turbo. The high-performance 2002 Tii was introduced in 1971. It wore the same, elegant bodyshell of its two-door counterparts, but was powered by a 2-liter M10-series engine fitted with a mechanical 'Kugelfischer' injection pump with injectors capable of delivering 130 horsepower. In this guise, it could achieve speeds of around 120 mph. The Tii received a larger twin-air filter cylinder box, an uprated alternator, and the chassis of the two-carburetor '2002 Ti' with stiff springs, front and rear anti-roll bars, wider wheels, and larger front disc brakes. It had a slightly closer ratio, 4-speed gearbox, a stronger clutch, and a longer axle ratio which helped to increase its overall top speed.

Production of the Tii would continue until 1975 when it was replaced by the first generation E21 3-Series. It is believed that around 44,478 examples of the Tii were built, with 3,678 receiving right-hand drive configuration.

At the 1973 Frankfurt Motor Show, BMW presented the 2002 Turbo, the company's first turbocharged production car. The engine had a KK&K turbocharger, a Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection system, and a compression of 6.9:1, which helped produce 170 horsepower and 240 Nm of torque. During its brief production lifespan, 1,672 examples were built, and never exported to the United States.

The 2002 Turbo was introduced following a successful racing program in which a Works entered, turbocharged equipped 2002 won the 1969 European Touring Car Championship driven by Dieter Quester.

Along with the introduction of the 2002 Turbo in 1973, the 2002 received revised grille, kidney trim, and tail-lights except for Touring models and in the United States, which had round taillights. The revisions would be applied to U.S. models for the 1974 models. The base 2-door 5-passenger 2002 had a price of $4,500. It came with a single-overhead-cam four-cylinder engine displacing 1990cc and offering 98 (SAE) horsepower.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2019