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In the 328 Roadster, BMW produced a car which became a legend of sportscar and racing history. Like scarcely another sportscar beside it, this compact two-seater with leather straps across the bonnet came to dominate the racing scene in Germany and around the world in the second half of the thirties. The bodywork of the 328, with remarkably clean and sleek styling for its time and integrated headlamps, set a trend which was to survive well into the fifties. The handful of 328 models with streamlined aluminium bodies even became a styling model for an entire generation of road sportscars in the postwar era.

BMW 328

BMW 328

When the 328 came onto the market, BMW had just seven years of car manufacturing to look back on. In 1935 the BMW board decided to develop a car which could stand up to more powerful rivals in the international racing circuits, such as Alfa Romeo. However, the fledgling car company lacked both the financial resources and the time to develop a completely new sports racer in the targeted two-litre class. The existing two-litre 319/1 Roadster, though, offered BMW an excellent basis for further development.

For the new roadster model to fully exploit the popular two-litre class, the 319 engine originally designed by Rudolf Schleicher was bored out by a millimetre to give a displacement capacity of 1971 cc. Furthermore, hemispherical combustion chambers and sticking valves arranged in V-position were essential for enhancing performance in a high-powered engine. This led to the construction of a new aluminium cylinder head with vertical inlet ports for triple Solex downdraught carburettors.

Financial constraints, however, meant that the far from ideal valve operation using a camshaft positioned underneath had to be retained. Developing the sophisticated new cylinder head had already taken a huge bite out of the tight budget. In an attempt nevertheless to preserve the advantages of an overhead-type engine, a rather unorthodox solution was found, one considered by some experts as entirely unworkable. With the help of intermediate transverse pushrods, the exhaust valves were also controlled via the rocker shaft of the intake valves. Visually the result was more or less indistinguishable from a DOHC power unit, which led to some confusion in the motoring press.

Though not entirely new, this technical solution sparked off controversial discussion. But the BMW constructors were ultimately vindicated by the engine's success. This power unit, which freely delivered 80 bhp, allied to the lightweight chassis developed by Fritz Fielder and the 328's almost graceful, open bodywork proved a virtually unbeatable combination. The BMstylists had indeed wrought an extraordinary achievement with their bodywork design for the new roadster model. At first sight the 328 displayed a clear kinship with its 319/1 forerunner: the low-slung basic design with its flowing wings seemed to have been retained. On closer inspection, however, the 328 revealed a completely new body. The bonnet was considerably longer and hinted at the power contained in the six-cylinder beneath, while the car as a whole had a much more stretched and also more pounded profile. One highly fashionable feature were its headlamps, which were sunk into the cowling and, together with the covered rear wheels, reflected the design's enhanced aerodynamics. The cockpit, tailored around the driver and co-driver and bristling with switches and attractive instruments, exuded elegance and racing flair at the same time. No frills or frippery distracted from the essential purpose of the BMW 328: functionality reigned supreme.

Even as a prototype the BMW 328 Roadster was to gain its first important victory. Ernst Henne, the famous motorcycle world record holder, drove the new BMW home to a supreme win at the Eifelrennen at the Nurburgring on 14 June 1936. Almost two-and-a-half minutes elapsed before the runner-up, a turbocharged Alfa Romeo, crossed the finishing line. Private buyers had to wait until spring of 1937 before taking delivery of the first batch of BMW 328's. Priced at 7,400 reichsmarks, the BMW 328 was not exactly a bargain basement offer: one of Opel's popular six-cylinder saloons could be had for less than half that sum, and even the BMW 326 saloon came almost 2,000 reichsmarks cheaper. But with a top speed of just over 150 km/h (93 mph) and lively acceleration, the BMW 328 ranked among the truly fast cars in the land and soon came to be the dream car of the seriously sporty motorist. But you could just as easily snuggle into the 328 Roadster and take a spin around the countryside, or indeed go on holiday with it: it had very persuasive touring qualities and was far from being exclusively a sports machine.

And yet the BMW 328 was to be spotted more often on the racetrack than on the highways and byways. In later years BMW published a brochure in honour of this legendary roadster which cited no less then 200 victories and 100 gold medals. Apart from the factory teams, numerous privateers would enter their 328's in racing events where, for lack of competition, the starting grids in the two-litre class were almost invariably monopolized by this model. It was a BMW 328 that won the 1937 Grand Prix de Frontieres at Chinay in Belgium, as well as victories at the Finnish Grand Prix and at the ADAC Eifelrennen, with three BMW 328's taking the first three places, to mention only the most significant successes.

BMW 328 Mille Miglia Roadster

The 4th of March 1938 saw a very special triumph in Brescia when three works BMW 328's and a privately entered model all clinched class victories in the world's longest race - the Mille Miglia. Apart from the quartet of BMWs, four other cars in the two-litre class were lined up at the start: a Riley, an Aston Martin, a Fiat and an Alfa Romeo - none of which completed the race. Englishman A.F.P. Fane, who was at the wheel of the winning car, had even dispensed with a relief driver and managed to clock up an average speed of 119.2 km/h (74 mph). When one considers the hazardous nature of the Mille Miglia route at the time, which went along unclosed public roads, across mountains and through numerous towns and villages, the extent of this achievement is all the more astonishing.

Meanwhile the 328 Roadsters had become so dominant while their engines had been systematically tuned to deliver a great deal more than the original 80 bhp, that BMW was able to set its sights on overall victory in all classes at international race events. The lightweight BMW 328's were now pitting their strength against bolides which frequently drew twice as much output from three or four-litre engines. BMW countered this raw power with lighter and more streamlined bodywork.

In Munich, where all BMW models were developed while production was carried out at Eisenach, work had already begun on a closed lightweight body in 1938, partly in anticipation of the forthcoming approval of closed-top models for endurance races such as the Le Mans 24 hours or the Mille Miglia. An extremely lightweight tubular steel frame was developed to support a state-of-the-art aluminium body built by pioneering aerodynamicist Wunibald Kamm in Stuttgart. When it become evident that the new car would not be ready in time for the Le Mans race, BMW simply turned heel and approached the specialist coachbuilders Carrozzeria Touring of Milan. They swiftly constructed a Superleggera body, and the completed Coupe with just over 120 bhp went to win a resounding class victory in this classic event, coming 5th in the overall placings.

BMW 328 Touring Roadster

Among the cars that lined up for the 1940 Mille Miglia were three alloy roadster developed by BMW - strikingly attractive cars with the further refined, superior technology of the BMW 328. These three contenders ended up in 3rd, 5th and 6th place, with the Touring Coupe gaining overall victory.

The Supreme National Sports Authority of the German Reich, or ONS, also turned to Touring of Milan to supply Superleggera bodies for three 328 Roadsters for its motoring corps. But the Second World War put paid to any racing ventures on the part of these outstanding cars, of which just one appears to have survived through the decades. In 1996 it was restored by BMW Mobile Tradition, and went on to make a comeback in the Mille Miglia race.

In all, just 464 copies of all BMW 328 versions were produced. Besides the two alloy racing coupes, several independent coachbuilders tried their hand at coupe bodies over the years, some of which were positively attractive. But the fascination of the 328 Roadsters remained unrivalled. The BMW 328 Roadster was to have a profound influence on international sportscar construction well into the postwar period, with manufacturers such as Veritas, AFM, Frazer Nash, AC, Bristol, Cooper and Arnolt-Bristol profiting from the BMW 328 phonomenon - three magical numbers which will forever symbolize the sporting core of the BMW marque.