BMW 328
  Opinions and personal views
of the car and its historical context.

by Manuel Eliçabe


BMW was, in the thirties, a very small company, especially if compared with the two German monsters of the time: Mercedes Benz and Auto Union.
The company started manufacturing aircraft engines (this explains the logo representing a moving propeller), afterwards produced motorcycles and finally entered the car industry with the Dixie BWW 3/15, a license of the English Austin Seven, considerably small and humble.
As the decade went on, the BMW automobile division slowly started to grow and to extend its model range, adding two sport models, the 315/1 and the 319/1.
When they decided to work in the project of the 328, the BMW engineers counted with poor resources and that is why, the obtained solutions and final results are even more amazing.
The most graphic demonstration of these practices is the engine. The idea was to make a double overhead camshaft six cylinder engine, but this implied great costs and developments in a completely new plant and the small BMW company could not afford it. Therefore they chose to use the old six cylinders push-rod block of previous models, and design an ingenious cylinder head made of light alloy, in which transverse push-rods controlled the V–shaped overhead valves above the camshaft, achieving a hemispherical combustion chamber. This engine turned to be a great success and was used in Formula One (to be more precise, in 1952 and 1953 F2) in the Cooper Bristol cars.

Another important aspect of the 328 is the variety of solutions applied, for, even though none of them was new, the summing up of all of them generated an excellent product. In broad outlines, these characteristics were: tubular chassis, independent front suspension, rack and pinion steering, multi-carburetion (3 Solex) , hydraulic brakes, modern design with integrated headlamps and small and lightweight construction, especially if compared to the prewar sports cars, more voluminous and heavy.


The car also followed the last chassis trends: a rigid structure (this explains the tubular chassis) which would not twist, and softened or articulated suspension (in this case the independent front suspension). We should remember that the usual practice in the early thirties were the ladder chassis - of great flexibility and excessively rigid suspensions. The P3, the Monzas and almost all sports cars were made this way, this is to say, with flexible chassis. Some time later, this tendency changed, the chassis became more rigid and the suspension was articulated instead. This can be appreciated with great success in the German Grand Prix cars(Mercedes Benz and Auto Union) and less successfully in the Alfas (8C-35, 308, etc.).
All these solutions made an explosive cocktail: the 328. Due to this car, the sports category up to 2 liters turned to be the 328 one-marque category; who wanted to participate, had to have one. The sporting achievements were numerous (Le Mans, 1940 Mille Miglia among others) and did not obtain more due to the outburst of the Second World War.


It was a huge success, and to be able to consider it today in its appropriate dimension, we must mention two facts. First, it was the car that launched BMW in the motor racing world map and which earned BMW its fame of manufacturing cars “for drivers”. Second, today it is considered as the first modern sports car, for it inspired all the others which followed, even in style, just consider the Jaguar XK 120.
It is, of course, a pleasure to drive it, and it immediately gives the sensation of a car at least ten years ahead of its time. It is agile, nervous and really fast.


This paragraph refers to the 328 in Argentina, During the thirties and forties, Ricardo Nasi raced in a 328 with modified fenders in Fueza Libre. Emilio Soulas, Eduardo Harrington and Nicolás Dellepiane also raced in 328.
An important fact in the 328 history in Argentina is that Nicolás Dellepiane´s car insignia served as inspiration to create the badge for the Club de Automóviles Sport de la Argentina, in 1948.
A beautiful prize for a car that combined all what a true sports car really means.