Curves like you’ve never seen: the 1937 BMW 328 Mille Miglia
When a used BMW San Carlos dealer or enthusiast begins talking about on the history of BMW and the reasons for a devotion to the brand, it will likely start out in 1916 with the fawning of Franz Josef Popp and then the inevitable pit stop near the late 1930’s will come where they’ll throw their kudos to the BMW 328. This legendary car, close to 73 years old, is being put up for auction and is arguably one of the most valuable motor vehicles on the market and in the automotive history.
In early 20th century, Italy used to host open-road endurance races better known as the Millie Miglia. Before World War II, BMW was well integrated in sports racing and had significant success with one car in particular, the high performance 328. The 328 won the Mille Miglia in 1938 and was a member of the 1940 championship team. The 328 was also well received by the public, it was lightweight, and had the appeal of a high performance sporting car.
Visually stunning, the 1937 BMW 328 is the only one of its kind, aside from a replica built and housed in the BMW Museum in Munich.
It was once re-engineered in 1939 by the BMW factory racing division where it was used as a model for streamlined bodywork in preparation for the upcoming racing season. The engine and the driveline in the chassis was lowered to reduce the body’s frontal area and lower center of gravity all which helped with improved handling.
Wilhelm Kaiser with his collaboration alongside chief stylist Wilhelm Meyerhuber are credited with the design. The 328 was hand-formed by Blasi Huber in Ernst Loof’s racing department, its composition is that of a lightweight aluminum-magnesium alloy (AL MG 3-4). The same material is often used in high performance aircraft construction. The BMW 328 has unique fenders; aside from their low silhouette and flow the prototype roadster’s fenders had a distinct ridge running aside the tops.
presumptuous
The panels were created over diameter tubing and welded to the twin tube frame you can see that the body structure has rigidity to the chassis while still maintaining a weight of 103 kg. All of the above combined result in a, for those times, progressive racing technology as the car weighed around 725 kgs.
Woodside BMW dealers offer several modern day cars comparable to the 328 in terms of speed and handling, but we can assure you that the 1937 BMW 328 is a hard act to follow and truly . The auction will take place on the first of May.
