BMW 328 Roadster

BMW 328 Roadster

The BMW 328, produced from 1936 to 1940, is arguably the most important sports car in BMW's history and one of the most significant automobiles of the pre-war era. In a period when sports car engineering was advancing rapidly, the 328 represented a quantum leap in design sophistication that left its competitors scrambling to catch up. Its innovative engine, lightweight construction, and exceptional handling made it virtually unbeatable in its class, establishing BMW as a world-class manufacturer of performance automobiles.

The 328's most revolutionary feature was its engine. Engineer Rudolf Schleicher designed an ingenious cylinder head for BMW's existing 2.0-liter inline-six that used a cross-pushrod system to actuate hemispherical combustion chambers from a single, low-mounted camshaft. This brilliantly simple arrangement achieved the efficiency benefits of a hemispherical head — superior breathing, better flame propagation, and higher compression ratios — without the complexity, weight, or cost of overhead camshaft designs. The result was 80 horsepower from just two liters, an extraordinary specific output for the 1930s, achieved with remarkable reliability.

The engine breathed through three Solex downdraft carburetors and used a relatively high 7.5:1 compression ratio. In racing trim, with higher compression and larger carburetors, the engine could produce over 130 horsepower. The powerband was unusually wide for the era, pulling strongly from 2,000 RPM to over 5,500 RPM, making the 328 both tractable in traffic and devastating on the track.

The chassis was a tubular steel frame fitted with independent front suspension using transverse leaf springs and wishbones, while the rear used a live axle on semi-elliptic leaf springs. Hydraulic brakes on all four wheels were a significant advantage over competitors still using mechanical or cable-operated systems. The 328's light weight of approximately 830 kilograms, combined with its flexible engine and responsive handling, created a car that was greater than the sum of its parts.

The body, designed by Peter Szymanowski, was a flowing, organic shape with integrated headlights, a recessed kidney grille, and sweeping fenders that managed to look simultaneously elegant and purposeful. Built from steel over a wooden frame by Ambi-Budd Presswerk in Berlin, the bodywork was notable for its unified design at a time when most cars had visually separate fenders and running boards.

On the racetrack, the 328 was dominant. From its competition debut at the Nurburgring Eifelrennen in June 1936, where it won on its first outing, the 328 accumulated an astonishing record of victories. It won its class at every major European event: the Mille Miglia, the Tourist Trophy, the Le Mans 24 Hours, and innumerable hillclimbs and circuit races. The most famous achievement came at the 1940 Mille Miglia, when a specially bodied 328 Kamm coupe with aerodynamic bodywork by Carrozzeria Touring won the race outright against cars with significantly larger engines.

Production was cut short by the Second World War after only 464 cars had been built. The factory in Eisenach found itself in the Soviet occupation zone after the war, and production never resumed under BMW. However, the 328's engineering legacy lived on: the Bristol Car Company in England acquired the 328's engine designs as war reparations, and the Bristol 400 and its descendants used developments of the BMW cross-pushrod inline-six for decades.

Today, the BMW 328 is recognized as one of the most important sports cars ever built. Its combination of engineering innovation, racing success, and design elegance places it alongside the Bugatti Type 35, Mercedes-Benz SSK, and Alfa Romeo 8C as one of the defining sports cars of the pre-war era. Surviving examples are extraordinarily rare and valuable, with prices reflecting the car's historical significance and extreme scarcity.