1954
BMW 502 Barockengel
BMW's first post-World War II car was this big, sturdy, German,
middle-class beauty that became the mainstay of their car division
from 1951 until 1964. The car was nicknamed Barockengel (Baroque
Angel) - because its convex lines reminded people of the carved
wooden figures in South German and Austrian churches of the
Baroque period.
Hand-built on a chassis with box section side-members and tubular
cross-members, these cars were fairly advanced for their time.
They had double-wishbone independent front suspension and a
live rear axle located by an A-frame. Torsion bars provided
spring action on all four wheels.
The early BMW 501 (1951-54) had a 1971 cc straight six engine
that initially developed 60 bhp and could peak out at 140 km/h.
It was later tuned to put out 65 bhp. In its last four years
(1955-58) the the BMW 501/3's straight six was enlarged to 2,077
cc.
In 1954, BMW put the world's first aluminum V8 in the
car and called it the BMW 502. A 502 could be had with
one of two sizes of 90° V8 engine. One, a 2580 cc V8 engine
developed 95 bhp. The other was a bigger bore 3168 cc V8 that
put out 120 bhp. The same year also saw beautiful two-door coupe
and cabriolet bodies.
In 1957, the 3168 cc V8 was uprated to 140 bhp and the car was
renamed BMW 3.2 Super. Front disc brakes and servo-assist became
standard on the 3.2 Super in 1959 and on the standard 3.2 a
year later.
In 1961, the 2580 cc BMW 501 2.6 was renamed BMW 2600, given
the servo and front discs and joined by the 2600L with 110 bhp
and better trim. The 3168 cc BMW 3.2 became the BMW 3200L.
The 3.2 Super became the 3200 Super (also known as the 3200S).
Its 160 bhp 3,168 cc V8 made it the fastest family saloon
made in Germany and among the world's fastest back then.
