BMW 2002
In the mid-1960s BMW perceived a market for a smaller, more affordable, two-door version of its four-door New Class executive sedan. Corporate design director Wilhelm Hofmeister assigned the project to staffers Georg Bertram and Manfred Rennen, who produced an attractive and sporty car 5 cm (2 in) shorter in wheelbase and some 25 cm (10 in) shorter in length, mainly by shortening the rear deck. The resulting 1966 production 1600-2 was less well-appointed than the New Class, but lighter, faster, and better handling.
The larger displacement 2002 directly derived from it in 1968 would go on to establish a new reputation for BMW as a maker of high-quality affordable performance vehicles.
Helmut Werner Bönsch, BMW's director of product planning, and Alex von Falkenhausen, designer of the company’s M10 engine, each independently had a two-litre version of the M10 installed in a 1600-2 for their personal use. When they realized they had both made the same modification to their own cars, they prepared a joint proposal to BMW's board to manufacture a two-litre version of the 1600-2.
As per the larger coupe and 4-door sedan models, the 2.0 engine was initially sold in two states of tune: the base single-carburetor 2002 producing 100 PS (74 kW; 99 hp) and the dual-carburetor high compression 2002 ti producing 120 PS (88 kW; 118 hp). The 2002 ti was replaced in 1971 by the 2002 tii, which used the fuel-injected 130 PS (96 kW; 128 hp) engine from the 2000 tii, delivering a top speed of 185 km/h (115 mph).
BMW 2002
In the mid-1960s BMW perceived a market for a smaller, more affordable, two-door version of its four-door New Class executive sedan. Corporate design director Wilhelm Hofmeister assigned the project to staffers Georg Bertram and Manfred Rennen, who produced an attractive and sporty car 5 cm (2 in) shorter in wheelbase and some 25 cm (10 in) shorter in length, mainly by shortening the rear deck. The resulting 1966 production 1600-2 was less well-appointed than the New Class, but lighter, faster, and better handling.
The larger displacement 2002 directly derived from it in 1968 would go on to establish a new reputation for BMW as a maker of high-quality affordable performance vehicles.
Helmut Werner Bönsch, BMW's director of product planning, and Alex von Falkenhausen, designer of the company’s M10 engine, each independently had a two-litre version of the M10 installed in a 1600-2 for their personal use. When they realized they had both made the same modification to their own cars, they prepared a joint proposal to BMW's board to manufacture a two-litre version of the 1600-2.
As per the larger coupe and 4-door sedan models, the 2.0 engine was initially sold in two states of tune: the base single-carburetor 2002 producing 100 PS (74 kW; 99 hp) and the dual-carburetor high compression 2002 ti producing 120 PS (88 kW; 118 hp). The 2002 ti was replaced in 1971 by the 2002 tii, which used the fuel-injected 130 PS (96 kW; 128 hp) engine from the 2000 tii, delivering a top speed of 185 km/h (115 mph).