BMW 328

Template:About Template:Infobox automobile

The BMW 328 was a sports car produced by BMW from 1936 to 1940. Its body design is credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II (although technically the car was designed by Fritz Fiedler).

Specifications

Specifications<ref name="bmwccn.no">Template:Cite web</ref>
Engine	straight-6 OHV (light alloy cylinder head)
Displacement	Template:Convert
Bore × Stroke	Template:Convert x Template:Convert
Compression ratio	7.5:1
Fuel feed	3× Solex 30 JF downdraft carburetors
Power	Template:Convert @ 5000 rpm
Valve train	Pushrod OHV, side cam shaft driven by duplex chain
Fuel capacity	Template:Convert (if needed Template:Convert possible)
Cooling	Pump (7.5 L water)
Transmission	4-speed manual
Chassis	Aluminium body and steel ladder frame<ref name=Norbye48>Norbye, p.48</ref>
Suspension front	Independent with transverse leaf spring
Suspension rear	live axle with leaf springs
Shock absorbers	Hydraulic shock absorbers
Brakes	Template:Convert-diameter hydraulic drum brakes
Wheelbase	Template:Convert
Track	Template:Convert/Template:Convert
External dimensions	Template:Convert × Template:Convert × Template:Convert
Tyres	5.25 or 5.50–16
Unloaded weight	Template:Convert
Top speed:	Template:Convert

Awards

In 1999 the BMW 328 was named one of 25 finalists for Car of the Century by a worldwide panel of automotive journalists.

Motorsports

File:Frank Pratt (BMW 328).jpg

Frank Pratt won the 1948 Australian Grand Prix driving a 328

The 328 was introduced at the Eifelrennen race at the Nürburgring in 1936, where Ernst Henne drove it to win the 2.0-litre class.<ref name="Norbye47" /><ref name=Noakes31>Noakes, p. 31</ref> The 328 had more than 100 class wins in 1937, including the RAC Tourist Trophy, the Österreichische Alpenfahrt, and the La Turbie hillclimb.<ref name="Norbye6667">Norbye, pp. 66–67</ref> In 1938, the 328 won its class at the RAC Tourist Trophy,<ref name=Noakes35>Noakes, p. 35</ref> the Alpine Rally, and the Mille Miglia.<ref name="Norbye6667" />

The 328 won the RAC Rally in 1939<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and came in fifth overall and first in class in the 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans.<ref name="Noakes35"/><ref name="Norbye67">Norbye, p. 67</ref>

Frank Pratt won the 1948 Australian Grand Prix driving a 328.

Mille Miglia

In 1938, BMW 328 became a class winner in Mille Miglia.<ref name="Norbye6667" />

In 1940, the Mille Miglia Touring Coupe won the Mille Miglia<ref name="Noakes35"/><ref name="Norbye68">Norbye, p. 68</ref> with an average speed of Template:Convert.

In 2004, the BMW 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupe became the first car to win both the Mille Miglia (1940) and the modern-day classical version of the race.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Production

After the Second World War, the manufacturing plant in Eisenach where the 328 had been built found itself in the Soviet occupation zone, and automobile manufacturing in Eisenach would follow a state-directed path until German Reunification in 1989.

Influence on Bristol

One of the Mille Miglia 328s (disguised as a Frazer Nash) and BMW's technical plans for the car were taken from the bombed BMW factory by English representatives from the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Frazer Nash companies. Fiedler, the BMW engineer, was persuaded to come, too. Bristol Cars was set up to build complete cars, called Bristols, and would also supply engines to Frazer Nash for all their post-war cars. The first Bristol car, the 400, was heavily based on the BMW plans. This Bristol engine was also an option in AC cars, before the Cobra.