Munich Masterpiece

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The term ‘Modernism on wheels’ could be applied to a number of cars from the 1930s, but if Peugeot’s 02 series catered for the family market and the Tatra 77 was the statesman’s limousine, the BMW 328 was the Modernist sports car. The lightweight, streamlined bodywork with faired-in headlights and rear-wheel spats looks highly advanced for a car that first appeared in 1936, although looks could be deceptive in the 1930s when radical styling sometimes disguised a rather pedestrian chassis.

BMW 328

There’s no playing fancy-dress where the 328 is concerned, though. It has the intelligent engineering to match its looks, with a compact 1971cc straight-six which will nudge it past the ton and which, to the uninitiated, appears to be a dohc unit. Actually, those two covers conceal the inclined overhead valves. The vertical inlet ports were an innovation, too.

On its competition début at the 1936 Eifelrennen, the 328 set a new sports car lap record round the 14-mile Nürburgring. After some refinement, it proved itself a very able competitor in the two-litre class. The restored example seen here is far too pretty to race, but it’s still good for some rapid road runs, which Delywn Mallett affirms as he takes it for a spin in the June issue of The Automobile, on sale now.

Words by Zack Stiling. Photographs by Tony Baker.

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