To Be OFFERED AT AUCTIONEstimate:
$500,000 - $600,000
- A rare example of a significant, successful BMW racing icon;
one of 464 built
- 80 bhp, 1,971 cc overhead-valve inline six-cylinder engine;
four-speed manual transmission
- Racing 'aero' windscreen, tonneau cover, period-correct BMW
transmission, and tool roll accompany sale
- Rally, tour, and vintage racing veteran for three decades
- Offered with extensive documentation attesting to careful
maintenance
- Eligible for the Mille Miglia and other top-level historical
rally events
Please note that this lot is titled as a 1940.
The prewar era produced no small number of glorious competition
machines from the likes of Bugatti, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, and
Alfa-Romeo; these were powerful cars possessed with incredible
performance, but also incredible complexity and often unpredictable
temperament. Onto this scene raced the BMW 328. Meticulously
engineered, lightweight, well-balanced, and surprisingly
user-friendly in a time when that quality was rarely applied to
racing cars, the 328 debuted in 1936 and quickly established a
winning reputation-and, with its forward-looking approach to
performance, put offerings from better-established marques on
notice.
Initially solely a manufacturer of motorcycles and aero engines,
BMW only entered automobile production in 1929 after acquiring the
German firm Dixi, which was already building licensed versions of
the four-cylinder Austin 7. In 1932, BMW began developing its first
proprietary inline six-cylinder engine, which was initially
produced as a 40 horsepower, 1.5-liter unit in the company's Type
34.
Undergoing gradual enlargement over the next few years, the motor
received its most important upgrade in 1936 with the application of
a new hemispherical head with lateral inclined intake valves and
crossover push-rods for the exhaust. These innovations easily
lifted power to 80 horsepower, notably making the motor one of very
few that doubled its initial output capabilities and was considered
very advanced for the day.
Now displacing nearly two liters, the hemi-headed engine was
dropped into a lightweight two-seat roadster built around a
tube-frame chassis with an independent front wishbone suspension.
While of a smaller scale, the factory coachwork was stylish yet
more aerodynamic than any of the roadsters concurrently produced at
Sindelfingen or Molsheim.
Officially entering production in April 1936, the BMW 328 was
extensively campaigned by the factory, with chassis number 85001
debuting to a 1st overall finish at the Eifelrennen N�rburgring
while driven by Ernst Henne. In April 1937, the first customer cars
were delivered, and both factory and privateer entries racked up
wins by the end of the year, with additional checkered flags taken
at the El�intarhanajo in Finland, the GP des Frontieres, the
Bucharest Grand Prix, and the Eifelrennen N�rburgring again.
In 1938, the 328 really hit its stride, winning some 125
events-including 1-2-3 finishes at the Mille Miglia, International
Avusrunnen, GP des Frontieres, and two victories at the
N�rburgring. These successes were followed by a three-car team
entry at Le Mans in 1939 (which finished 5th, 7th, and 9th), and
outright dominance at the shortened 1940 Mille Miglia, where team
cars finished 1st and 3rd and privateers finished 5th and 6th. By
this time, the 328 could be tuned to reach 60 mph from a standstill
in 8.8 seconds, and a top speed of over 110 mph. British BMW
importer and privateer H.J. Aldington was once clocked hitting 117
mph at Brooklands.
By September 1939, 464 examples of the 328 had been produced, and
the model would remain dominant in club racing though the 1950s,
with many receiving engine upgrades from England's Bristol after
the airplane company was granted the rights to the design as World
War II reparations. Bristol-built and upgraded 328 motors soon
became a favorite of British club racers, powering a spate of
chassis from ERA, Connaught, and Cooper.
Today, the 328 is overwhelmingly considered the most important and
collectable pre-war BMW, claiming innovation in engineering and
styling, and a lengthy pedigree of world-class competition
successes.
CHASSIS NUMBER 85351
This late-production 328 is very well known among historic racing
enthusiasts, having been a regular participant at vintage events
for several decades. While 85351's early history currently remains
unknown, by the late 1980s, the car had come into the care of Ralph
Day, the former owner of a BMW dealership in Concord, California.
Mr. Day was known to frequently enter the roadster in major events,
including the 1988 Mille Miglia Storica, and the 8th Interstate
Batteries Great American Race in 1990, a Gumball Rally style
coast-to-coast marathon that ran from Westchester County, New York,
to Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
This routine was maintained by its next caretakers, who purchased
the 328 in 1996 and spent many hours over the following two decades
participating in vintage tours and races, including several
runnings of the California Mille and the Colorado Grand. The car
competed in the Monterey Historics in 1999, 2000, 2005, 2011, and
2012; and ran in the Classic Sport Racing Group's Thunderhill in
1999 and 2000; and at Concord Hill in 1999. It also appeared at the
2000 Sears Point Wine Classic, the 2007 Wine Country Classic, and
the 2012 Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival.
Greatly enjoyed and consistently maintained over the last 35 years,
this BMW is documented with service and restoration invoices dating
to 1998. It features a proper period BMW engine in 328
configuration, rebuilt by expert Shawn Thomas, complete with later
updates for improved power and reliability. Notably, it has been
equipped with a lovely Volvo synchromesh gearbox (though a
period-correct BMW gearbox is included with the car). While the 328
is currently fitted with a two-piece windshield, it is offered with
a driver's-side racing windscreen and tonneau cover.
As one of only 464 examples produced, and one of far fewer
roadsters that remain in competitive racing condition, this rare
328 represents a rare opportunity for any collector with an eye out
for a sorted pre-war event car-in this case an iconic model in its
most user-friendly form.
Please note that an import duty of 2.5% of the purchase price is
payable on this lot if the buyer is a resident of the United
States.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction,
please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mo20.