BMW 501/502

BMW
BMW 502 V8
501/502
Production period:	1952-1964
Class :	Upper class
Body versions :	Sedan , coupe , convertible
Engines:	Gasoline engines : 2.0-3.2 liters (48-118 kW)
Length:	4730 mm
Width:	1780 mm
Height:	1530 mm
Wheelbase :	2835 mm
Empty weight :	1340-1490 kg
Previous model	BMW 326 and 332 for the BMW 501 (6-cylinder), BMW 335 for the BMW 502 (8-cylinder)
successor	BMW 2500/2800

Rear view

The BMW 501/502 are cars of the luxury class of BMW . The vehicles built from 1952 to 1964 are known as " Baroque angels" because of their curved lines . In addition to the sedans , a few convertibles and coupes were also produced. The type 501 was the first BMW car from Munich, all previous ones were manufactured in Eisenach .

In 1954, the BMW 502 was added to the first model, the BMW 501 with a six-cylinder in - line engine and 2 liter displacement , which was powered by the first eight-cylinder engine that was newly designed in Germany after the Second World War . The V8 engine from 1954 had a displacement of 2.6 liters. This version was supplemented by a 3.2-liter version for the BMW 502 in 1955. The power was 120 hp and was increased to 140 hp in 1957. A further increase in output to 160 hp learned of the 3.2-liter V8 in the 1961 BMW 3200 S . All vehicles had rear-wheel drive and a fully synchronized four-speed gearbox with steering wheel shift , from February 1963 stick shift .

The drive and chassis of the BMW 502 and 3200 S were also used for the BMW 503 , the BMW 507 and the BMW 3200 CS ("Bertone").

history

With the loss of the previous car production facility in Eisenach and the total destruction and dismantling of the factories in Munich, BMW was particularly hard hit by the consequences of the war. While in Eisenach under Soviet administration from November 1945 BMW cars were again produced to pay off reparation claims (later renamed EMW ), everything at BMW Munich had to be newly built. Development of the new car began in 1948. In addition to the design by the former operations director of the Eisenach plant, Peter Szymanowski, on the technical basis of the pre-war type BMW 326 , a small car project with the designation 331 and an alternative, very modern design by Pininfarina , one of which was also pursued Prototype was built. Ultimately, however, only the BMW 501 with a Szymanowski body design was further developed, the production of which was approved by the commercial director, Hanns Grewenig, appointed by Deutsche Bank, and which the board of directors and the board of directors opted for.

"BMW cars should be the calling card of German society."

- Hanns Grewenig : The mirror

The frame construction was retained: The designer Alfred Böning, who was successful in motorcycle development at BMW, constructed a robust box frame with torsion bars as spring elements, which was later marketed under the term "full protection frame". The "M 337" engine was a further development of the six-cylinder engine from the BMW 326 .

On April 7, 1951, BMW finally announced the resumption of car production with a letter to the trade press for the IAA 1951 and published a sales brochure for the BMW 501 on April 30, 1951 . But it was not until November 1952 that the first vehicles could be delivered to dealers.

General

The representative vehicles were very expensive for the post-war period with prices between 11,500 DM ( 501 , as of July 1956) and around 22,000 DM ( 3.2 liter Super , 1960–1963), so that in the almost twelve-year construction period only a little more than 23,000 units were sold, including around 280 cabriolets and coupés with bodies from Baur in Stuttgart and Autenrieth in Darmstadt .

Fire brigades and the police drove the BMW 501/502 as an emergency or patrol car (known from the TV series " Funkstreife Isar 12 " with Wilmut Borell and Karl Tischlinger ). The body factory Binz & Co. in Lorch (Württemberg) built a comfortable ambulance on the basis of the BMW 502 on behalf of the Bavarian Red Cross, which, however, remained a one-off.

Was planned series production of a Pullman limousine , which at the Motor Show 1955 in Frankfurt as the BMW 505 was introduced. This 5.10 meter long car with a partition and intercom between the passenger and driver areas, fold-out writing surface, drinks bar etc. was intended to compete with the Mercedes-Benz 300 as a "state car" . However, after Chancellor Konrad Adenauer could not get in without taking off his hat and therefore continued to prefer the Mercedes, the BMW 505 did not go into series production; it remained with two exhibits.

The prestigious but loss-making BMW eight-cylinder models 502/503/507 were one of the reasons why, in the late 1950s, BMW was almost taken over by its main competitor at the time, Daimler-Benz . However, this was prevented by small shareholders in the 1959 general meeting . Since the industrialist Herbert Quandt, with his considerable financial and personal commitment, played a large part in the renovation of BMW, he received a BMW 3200 CS convertible as a thank you . BMW recovered economically thanks to the success of the Isetta , the BMW 700 and the "New Class" ( BMW 1500 ) presented in 1961 .

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  BMW 501 (1957)

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  BMW 502 Coupe

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  BMW 502 Baur Cabriolet

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  cockpit

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  BMW 502 V8 Autenrieth -Cabriolet (two-door, 1957)

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  BMW 502 V8 Autenrieth-Cabriolet (four-door, 1960)

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  BMW 502 V8 Autenrieth Cabriolet (four-door), side view

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  BMW 3200S representative vehicle

Technical specifications

Vehicle type:	BMW 501 (1952–1954)	BMW 502 (1954–1961)	BMW 3200 S (1961–1963)
Engine:	Six cylinder in - line engine	Eight cylinders - V engine
Displacement :	1971 cc	2580 cc	3168 cc
Bore × stroke:	66 × 96 mm	74 × 75 mm	82 × 75 mm
Power:	65  hp (48  kW )	100 hp (74 kW)	160 PS (118 kW)
at 1 / min:	4400	4800	5600
Max. Torque at 1 / min:	13.2 kpm (129  Nm ) at 2000	18.4 kpm (180 Nm) at 2500	24.5 kpm (240 Nm) at 3600
Compression:	6.8: 1	7.0: 1	9.0: 1
Valve control:	Tappets, bumpers and rocker arms
Cooling:	Pump, 10 l of water
Transmission:	Four-speed gearbox, steering wheel shift (stick shift from February 1963.)
Front suspension:	Double wishbones, longitudinal torsion bar springs, telescopic shock absorbers
Rear suspension:	Rigid axle on wishbone (lengthways) above and the support levers of the longitudinal torsion bar springs below (across, via short connecting rods)
Steering:	Bevel pinion, acting on crown wheel sector, pitman arm
Brakes:	Hydraulically operated drum brakes on all wheels	Hydraulically operated drum brakes on all wheels; standard from 1961 (from 1960 at extra charge) front writing brake	front disc brakes, rear drum brakes
Body:	Box frame and tubular cross member, welded to the floor of the all-steel body
Track width front / rear:	1322/1408 mm	1330/1416 mm	1330/1416 mm
Wheelbase:	2835 mm	2835 mm	2835 mm
Wheel size:	6.40–15 ″	6.40–15 ″	6.50 / 6.70–15 ″
Dimensions L × W × H:	4730 × 1780 × 1530 mm
Empty weight:	1340 kg	1440 kg	1490 kg
Top speed:	135 km / h	160 km / h	190 km / h
Price:	15,150.00 DM	17,450.00 DM	21,240.00 DM

The torsion bar springs were available in different diameters for sporty or comfortable suspension.

In addition to the engine versions presented as examples in the table, there was also a six-cylinder in-line engine with a displacement of 2077 cm³, which was built from 1955 to 1958; Power 72 HP (53 kW) at 4500 min ^-1 . It is said to have been in the program for government vehicles until 1964 or until the end of production of the BMW 502/506.

In addition, at the IAA 1961, the performance of all models was increased with a larger Zenith carburetor - with almost the same fuel consumption. The output of the 2.6 rose from 95 to 100 hp, that of the 2580 cm³ engine (2.6 Luxus) mentioned in the table above from 100 hp to 110 hp, while both 3.2-liter machines even increased by 20 hp each : with the 3.2 Luxus on 140 HP and on the 3200 S on the 160 HP mentioned in the table

Verdict of the press

Radiator grille of a BMW 501

BMW 3200 L (1962)

The Auto- und Motorrad-Welt of March 20, 1953 wrote about the BMW 501 with a two-liter engine, among other things: “A top-class German car with a line on par with the best Italians and the well-known BMW face. The favorable aerodynamic drag coefficient of the body results in low consumption even at high speeds. ”In the data sheet, the standard fuel consumption is given as 10.3 l / 100 km. The ingenious heating and ventilation of the car and the suspension with "easily adjustable torsion bars" are particularly emphasized. About the six-cylinder engine it says: “The engine developed from the BMW 326 [note: 1936–1941] has been significantly improved: modified intake ducts, tulip valves, an improved combustion chamber that allows higher compression with the same knock resistance, and a reinforced crankshaft with an output of 65 HP an excellent engine elasticity. The hydraulically operated clutch avoids chattering when starting. "

About the last “Baroque Angels” (BMW 502 and BMW 3200) can be read in the catalog “Die Auto-Modelle 1963/64” (Vereinigte Motor-Verlage GmbH, Stuttgart): “As impressive as the performance, however, are also the smoothness, balance and Elasticity of eight-cylinder engines. You can hardly call them overly economical [note: approx. 15 l / 100 km], but experience shows that this does not play a major role in this car class. The buyer of such representative automobiles appreciates the solid and stable workmanship all the more, as it is only found in rare exceptional cases these days. Corresponding to its external shape, about the courtesy of which opinions differ widely, the car also appears quite conservative on the inside. After all: there is far more space than you might think from the outside, and there is little to complain about in terms of comfort or more modern accessories. "

At the same time as the 502 there was also an 8-cylinder version of the 501, intended as an entry-level model under the V8. The trade magazine krafthand wrote about the V8 version at the time: “No sensible person will sneak through the area at 20 km / h in a direct walk. This eight-cylinder engine can put up with that, as we have been able to determine in repeated attempts, and then accelerates smoothly and almost silky smooth to its peak. "

The first eight-cylinder from BMW

Engine compartment BMW 502 from 1957

The engine of the BMW 502 was the first eight-cylinder engine built by BMW and at the same time the first eight-cylinder car from German production after the Second World War. Since production of the Czechoslovak Tatra 87 with a light electronic engine was discontinued in 1950, the engine of the 502 was also unique in Europe as a standard light alloy V8 engine until the introduction of the Tatra 603 with an aluminum engine in 1956. The overall design of the BMW 502 and BMW 3200 resulted in two elements that were useful for passive safety, which was still neglected at the time: on the one hand, a relatively short steering column and, on the other hand, the tank, which is protected over the rear axle.

literature

• BMW 501 - a new two-liter car from Munich in: Motor vehicle technology 5/1952, pp. 150–151
• The BMW type 501 car . In: Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift . 1/1953, pp. 19-25.
• Werner Oswald : All BMW automobiles 1928–1978. 2nd edition, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1979, ISBN 3-87943-584-7 .
• Ingo Seiff: BMW - The pleasure of driving. Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 2000, ISBN 3-8289-5374-3 .

Web links

Commons : BMW 501/502  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• BMW 501. In: BMW history. BMW AG, accessed on July 3, 2016 (dossier in the BMW Group archive with technical data). 
• BMW 502. In: BMW history. BMW AG, accessed on July 3, 2016 (dossier in the BMW Group archive with technical data). 
• Photo album BMW 502 at scalenews.de

Individual evidence

1. ^ Werner Oswald: All BMW automobiles 1928–1978. 2nd edition, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1979, ISBN 3-87943-584-7 .
2. ↑ ^{a b} BMW 501. In: BMW history. BMW AG, accessed on July 3, 2016 (dossier in the BMW Group archive with technical data).  
3. ↑ BMW 501 prototype bodywork Pininfarina. In: BMW history. BMW AG, 1951, accessed on July 3, 2016 (document in the BMW Group Archive): "One-off with a body in the style of the Alfa Romeo 1900 Berlina."  
4. ↑ Bavaria's Gloria . In: Der Spiegel . No.  3 , 1960, p. 20-30 ( Online - Jan. 30, 1960 ).
5. ↑ Cover letter: Press documents for the BMW car 501. In: BMW history. BMW AG, April 7, 1951, accessed on October 18, 2016 (document in the BMW Group archive): "To the gentlemen of the specialist and daily press. [...] Dear Editor!"  
6. ↑ BMW 501 two-liter 60 hp. In: BMW history. BMW AG, April 30, 1951, accessed on July 3, 2016 (document in the BMW Group archive): "As good as thousands of its predecessors."  
7. ↑ Presentation of the BMW 501 at the IAA 1951 as the first post-war car. In: BMW history. BMW AG, accessed on July 3, 2016 (document in the BMW Group archive): "In November 1952 the first cars will be delivered to the dealers."  
8. ↑ https://bmw-grouparchiv.de/research/detail/index.xhtml?id=3914826
9. ↑ bmw-v8-club.de: Technical data 502
10. ↑ The curb weight according to the standard at the time was the weight of the fully fueled car in running order (excluding the driver's weight).
11. ↑ The "standard consumption" according to DIN 70030 was determined with a constant three-quarters of the maximum speed, but no more than 110 km / h, on a level route, so that the values ​​were always higher in practice.
12. ↑ Upscale drive comfort in a refined dish - BMW 501 V8 (the historical test) Historical test from the magazine powerful hand with many historical pictures on zwischengas.com (last visited Aug. 8, 2017)
13. ^ BMW 502. In: BMW history. BMW AG, accessed on July 3, 2016 (dossier in the BMW Group archive with technical data).  
14. ↑ Time horizon - a guided tour through the BMW Museum . Ed. BMW AG Munich, BMW Mobile Tradition, print number ST / D / 15 / 04.98, p. 29.