BMW 700

BMW
BMW 700 sedan
BMW 700
Production period:	1959-1965
Class :	Small car
Body versions :	Sedan , coupe , convertible
Engines:	Otto engines : 0.7 liters (22-29 kW)
Length:	3540-3860 mm
Width:	1480 mm
Height:	1270-1360 mm
Wheelbase :	2120 mm
Empty weight :	640-690 kg
Previous model	BMW 600

BMW 700

The BMW 700 is a small car produced by the automaker BMW from 1959 to 1965 , which was built as a coupé , four-seater sedan and as a 2 + 2-seater convertible . Baur manufactured the convertible in Stuttgart. The car has a fan-cooled rear engine . The BMW 700 is partly based on the BMW 600 , but unlike the latter, it is the first at BMW to have a self-supporting body, which Giovanni Michelotti helped design . The BMW 700 was in direct competition with the VW Beetle and primarily appealed to drivers who wanted to stand out from the crowd.

Development history

As early as the end of 1957, before the start of the BMW 600, the new BMW board had given the order to develop and build a conventional small car in cooperation with an Italian body manufacturer. In July 1958, the Viennese BMW importer and car designer Wolfgang Denzel presented his car designed by Michelotti in Starnberg. In October 1958, the decision was made in favor of this design, on the basis of which BMW, on its own, further developed the two body variants coupé and sedan until they were ready for series production. With the 700 series, BMW abandoned the futuristic shape of the BMW 600 and returned to the conventional style with a classic front, side doors and notchback. The fan-cooled two - cylinder boxer engine with a light alloy crankcase installed in the rear was derived from the motorcycle, as in the BMW 600. Back then, the rear-engined concept was still widespread in small and lower-middle class cars, even if it was not sustainable. Series production of the BMW 700 began in August 1959.

Executions

Production began with the coupé, soon followed by the sedan. The smooth front trunk offered space for two standard suitcases with a length of 70 cm and some small luggage. The fuel tank was located in front of the front axle under the trunk area; in front of the trunk and the tank was the spare wheel, tilted slightly forward. The tank held 32 liters, the standard consumption at 90 km / h was 5.9–6.0 l / 100 km. A two-circuit ventilation system on the BMW 700 was a progressive feature which enabled the footwell to be heated while at the same time allowing cool fresh air to flow into the head area. For a BMW car, it seemed unusual that the 700 lacked the characteristic two-part BMW kidney grille on the front of the vehicle; with a rear engine, however, there was no technical necessity for this grille. The 700 Coupé was the last one without the typical C-pillar of the BMW Coupés with the “ Hofmeister-Knick ”, which was introduced with the BMW 3200 CS .

The first version developed 22 kW (30 hp) at 5000 rpm. The coupé was also available in sporty versions with 40 hp from 1960  . The convertible produced from 1961 was also equipped with this engine. In 1962 the "LS" model appeared, a further development of the BMW 700. In terms of dimensions, this version differed considerably from the previous model, the wheelbase was lengthened by 16 cm. The increased space for the engine was used to improve the supply of intake and cooling air, so that the operating temperature was significantly reduced despite the omission of the pipe oil cooler. The engine and rear suspension have also been improved. Even if the procedure seemed ingenious insofar as the BMW 700 LS was adapted to higher requirements with little effort, the rear engine concept reached its limits. Trying to find a technically optimal engine arrangement, the result was an unfavorable space ratio between the interior and the rear area, which was also reflected externally in somewhat unbalanced proportions, which were particularly noticeable in the coupé. Unlike the sedan, however, the coupé was still produced with the shorter wheelbase.

Based on the BMW 700 (luxury), the Belgian company Carrosserie Jacques Coune designed a station wagon version; Depending on the source, Coune built two copies or just one in 1965. A characteristic feature was the relatively strongly rounded rear window adopted from the sedan model. It is not known whether one has survived to this day.

A planned four-cylinder engine was no longer realized. Production ended in September 1965. Of all 700 and LS models combined, 181,411 vehicles were built.

• 

  BMW 700 Cabriolet

• 

  Convertible with the roof open

• 

  BMW 700 Sport

• 

  Rear view

• 

  Luigi Colani in 2004 in front of his 1963 BMW 700

Technical specifications

Vehicle type:	BMW 700 (1959–1962) BMW 700 Coupé (1959–1964)	BMW 700 Sport / CS (1960–1964) BMW 700 Cabriolet (1961–1964)	BMW LS Luxus (1962–1965) BMW LS (1963)	BMW LS Coupé (1964-1965)
Engine:	Two-cylinder boxer in the rear, light-alloy crankcase
Displacement :	697 cc
Bore × stroke:	78 mm × 73 mm
Performance at 1 / min:	22 kW (30 PS) for 5000 from 1963 23.5 kW (32 PS) for 5000	29.4 kW (40 hp) at 5700
Max. Torque at 1 / min:	50 Nm (5.1 kpm) at 3400	51 Nm (5.2 kpm) at 4500	50 Nm (5.1 kpm) at 3400	51 Nm (5.2 kpm) at 4500
Compression:	7.5: 1	9.0: 1	7.5: 1	9.0: 1
Valve control:	Bumpers and rocker arms, central camshaft
Cooling:	Air by means of a fan (fan wheel on the crankshaft)
Transmission:	Four-speed with reverse gear (middle shift)
Front suspension:	Pushed longitudinal swing
Rear suspension:	employed longitudinal swing
Suspension:	Coil springs
Body:	Self-supporting steel body
Track width front / rear:	1270/1200 mm
Wheelbase :	2120 mm		2280 mm
Wheel size:	5.20–12 ″	5.20–12 ″ /5.50–12 ″	5.20–12 ″ /5.50–12 ″	5.50–12 ″
Dimensions L × W × H:	Sedan 3540 mm × 1480 mm × 1345 mm, Coupé 3540 mm × 1480 mm × 1270 mm	Coupé 3540 mm × 1480 mm × 1270 mm Cabriolet 3540 mm × 1480 mm × 1290 mm	3860 mm × 1480 mm × 1360 mm	3860 mm × 1480 mm × 1300 mm
Empty weight (without driver):	640 kg	Coupé 650 kg Cabriolet 685 kg	680 kg	690 kg
Top speed:	Saloon 120 km / h Coupé 125 km / h	135 km / h	120 km / h	135 km / h
Price:	Saloon 1959: 4,760.00 DM Limousine Luxus 1961: 4,995.00 DM Coupé 1959: 5,300.00 DM	Sport 1960: DM 5,850.00 Cabriolet 1961: DM 6,950.00	LS Luxus 1962: 5,320.00 DM LS 1963: 4,785.00 DM	1964: DM 5,850.00

Motorsport

BMW 700 RS

Martini-BMW in the 1000 km race

BMW Höreich RS in the hill climb

BMW 700 Sport Coupe as a racing car with 60 hp

The BMW 700 Coupé was used in rallies, mountain and circuit races from the start. The engine output was increased to up to 44 kW (60 HP) at 8000 rpm (compression 9.8: 1). The mixture was prepared by two Solex downdraft carburetors 34 PCI. The curb weight has been reduced to around 600 kg compared to the production model. Depending on the gear ratio, the vehicles reached a top speed of 155 km / h.

Hans Stuck Sr. won the German hill climb championship again in 1960 at the age of 60 in a BMW 700 .

Two even more powerful racing models were created for the BMW works: the BMW 700 GT in 1960 and the BMW 700 RS a year later. The BMW 700 RS was first used on June 18, 1961 in the Roßfeld hill climb. At this premiere, Hans Stuck was behind the wheel of the roadster with a wheelbase of exactly 2 meters. It had a tubular space frame with an aluminum body, a 70 hp vertical shaft motor and weighed less than 600 kg. Depending on the gear ratio, the BMW 700 RS reached a top speed of 150 to 200 km / h.

After Walter Schneider ended his active career as a motorcycle racing driver at the end of the 1959 season , he returned to motorsport a short time later on four wheels. He immediately won all races for which the BMW race management nominated him. Just a year later, he justified the hopes placed in him by the factory and became German circuit champion in 1961. With the BMW 700 RS, Walter Schneider became German mountain champion in 1961 on the Schauinsland course near Freiburg, and in Davos he won the Swiss mountain championship in the same Year, and also in 1961 he was able to drive out the Austrian mountain championship for the BMW racing team when he took part in the Gaisbergrennen with the car .

The BMW 700 RS remained in use until 1964 and served as a development vehicle, racing car and toy for the engineers in one. The car was last used in racing on August 16, 1964 at the Munich-Neubiberg airfield race. Alexander von Falkenhausen drove the car to victory in the sports prototype class up to 1,300 cubic meters.

The BMW dealer Willi Martini († 2001) did not limit himself to improving the standard 700 series BMWs, but instead constructed a racing coupé with a platform frame, tubular steel structure and load-bearing plastic body in 1962 using standard parts. At the ADAC 1000 km race on the Nürburgring on May 19, 1963, this car, weighing just 470 kg, was driven with both the 60 hp OHV engine and an 80 hp engine with an overhead camshaft ( OHC ) , which enabled a speed of over 200 km / h with the longest gear ratio.

BMW eventually sold both BMW 700 RSs to Willi Martini, who further developed the cars and continued to use them in races together with his self-made plastic. Because of the Martini lettering on the hood, the widespread opinion stems from this period that the BMW 700 RS is also a Martini BMW. In 1973 BMW bought back a car for its own collection. The car with the serial number RS ​​1 went to a private collector.

Significance for the continued existence of the company

After BMW did not meet the need for full-fledged small cars in the 1950s, but instead offered auxiliary vehicles such as the BMW Isetta or unaffordable representative cars such as the V8 models , the 700 series has now succeeded in gaining a foothold in the small car segment the subsequent orientation towards the middle class , which expanded rapidly in the 1960s, proved to be correct. This change of course was essential at the time to ensure the survival of the BMW brand. In this respect, the BMW 700 is regarded as the savior of BMW AG at the time, which was about to be taken over by Daimler-Benz in 1959 . This takeover was thwarted by employees and small shareholders at the general meeting in December 1959 because the balance sheet was flawed: The annual loss and profit statement included the total of 12.5 million marks in development costs for the new BMW 700, although these would be for several years to come need to be distributed. The sales success of the sporty and affordable BMW 700 stabilized the company and enabled the realization of the “ New Class ” medium-sized car, whose development went back to 1953/54.

literature

• Reinhard Lintelmann: The scooters & small cars of the fifties . Podszun, Brilon 2000, ISBN 3-86133-136-5 .
• Werner Oswald : BMW 700 (=  The engine test . No. 20 ). Motor-Presse, Stuttgart 1961.
• Werner Oswald, Paul Simsa : All BMW automobiles 1928–1978 - history and typology of the brands Dixi and BMW . Motorbuch, Stuttgart 1978, ISBN 3-87943-584-7 .
• Martin Pfundner, Friedrich Ehn: Wolfgang Denzel - His sports car and the BMW 700 . Hollinek, Purkersdorf 2008, ISBN 978-3-85119-314-5 .
• Siegfried Rauch : My car is called the BMW 700 and LS. A manual for the BMW 700 . Motor-Presse, Stuttgart 1963.
• Georg Seeliger: Cars that made history - BMW small cars: Isetta, 600 & 700 . Motorbuch, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01500-5 .
• Wolfgang Thierack: Racing legend Willi Martini . Delius Klasing, Bielefeld 2005, ISBN 3-7688-5781-6 .

Web links

Commons : BMW 700  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• BMW 700. In: BMW History. BMW AG, accessed on December 15, 2015 (dossier in the BMW Group archive with technical data). 
• Spare parts list BMW 700 L, 700 LL, LS, LSL, 700 C, 700 CS, LS Coupé, 700 Cabrio. In: BMW history. BMW AG, October 1967, accessed on December 15, 2015 (spare parts list with pictures, 398 pages). 
• Isetta Club eV Competence for the BMW Isetta, BMW 600 and BMW 700. Accessed on July 27, 2012 . 
• The Israel Motor Industry - BMW 700, the Haifa Version. BMW 700 - assembly and assembly plans in Israel. Retrieved July 27, 2012 (English). 
• Information page on the BMW Höreich RS. Retrieved September 20, 2016 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Time horizon - a guided tour through the BMW Museum. ST / D / 15 / 04.98.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Manfred Grunert: The BMW 700. The Savior turns 50. Press release BMW Group PressClub Germany, June 3, 2009, accessed on July 24, 2012 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Hans-Roland Zitka: BMW 700 - The foundling from Vienna . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung . No. 20 , May 17, 2009, ISSN  0174-4909 , p. V8 ( FAZ.net [accessed July 24, 2012]).
4. ↑ Two-circuit air conditioning in the small car. In: Motor Vehicle Technology 05/1961, pp. 203-204.
5. ↑ From the small to the light intermediate car. In: Motor vehicle technology 07/1962, pp. 291-293.
6. ↑ Roger Gloor: All Cars of the 60s. 1st edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-613-02649-0 , pp. 82 and 391.
7. ↑ The Coune BMW 700 Luxus Estate on the coachbuild.com web portal , accessed on March 9, 2019 (English).
8. ↑ der-bmw-700-der-retter-wird-50 3rd paragraph
9. ^ ^{A b c} Gregor Schulz: BMW 700 RS - The Little Unknown . In: Oldtimer Market . No. 9 , September 2009, ISSN  0939-9704 , p. 36-43 .
10. ↑ Walter Schneider. In: BMW history. BMW AG, accessed on December 4, 2019 (dossier on Walter Schneider in the BMW Group Archive). 
11. ↑ BMW is out of the red . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . September 30, 1961, ISSN  0174-4909 , p. 9 .
12. ↑ AUTOMOBILES - BMW - "Schräger Otto" . In: Der Spiegel . No. 42 , October 11, 1961, ISSN  0038-7452 , p. 91–94 ( Spiegel Archive [accessed July 23, 2012]).
13. ^ BMW - "Bavaria's Gloria" . In: Der Spiegel . No. 8 , February 17, 1965, ISSN  0038-7452 , p. 62–66 ( Spiegel Archive [accessed July 23, 2012]).
14. ↑ Dr. Karlheinz Lange: "From the saucepan to the new class" - BMW projects and products of the 50s . Johann Kleine Vennekate, Lemgo 2010, ISBN 978-3-935517-51-5 .