BMW 2002 homage: take a look at BMW’s redesigned 2002 Turbo

27 May, 2016

BMW has always been a brand that does some seriously cool things. Throughout their motorsport history they’ve been renowned for building well-balanced machines with an engine up front and power being sent to the rear wheels. It’s a concept they’ve stuck with throughout all of these years, and they’ve produced some pretty exciting models with the idea. They’re also a brand that stay true to their roots, building homage models, and sticking with the unique flair used on the earliest of BMW vehicles. 

One of those exciting models, and one that is very important to the brand, is the BMW 2002. The BMW 1600-2 was first released in 1966 at the Geneva Motor Show as a vehicle that would duly be regarded as a ‘great vehicle for the price’. It had two doors, a short wheelbase, and a 63kW (84hp) SOHC four-cylinder engine, which was produced from 1962–1988. Soon after, in 1967, a higher-performance model was introduced, named the 1600 Ti. It had much higher compression (9.5:1) and ran a dual–Solex PHH side-draft carburettor set-up, which helped bump power up to 82kW (110hp) at 6000rpm. For a 960kg vehicle, things were starting to get a little more exciting. 

However, things didn’t get truly exciting for the brand until BMW’s Director of Product Planning, Helmut Werner Bonsch, and the designer of the M10 engine, Alex von Falkenhausen, both came to the realization that they had both upgraded their personal 1600-2s to a two-litre engine. Soon after, a joint proposal was forwarded to BMW’s board to introduce a two-litre variant, which would be available to the general public. BMW then introduced two two-litre models; one with a single carburettor good for 75kW (101hp), and the other made use of dual carburettors and a bump in compression. Power for the high performance was slightly more than the highest-spec 1.6-litre model, with 89kW (119hp), however, torque, and thus driveability, had increased tremendously. 

In 1971, after the release of the 2002 cabriolet with its two-litre engine, BMW released their first fuel-injected example, which they named the 2002 Tii. Power rose to 97kW (130hp), which also saw a top-speed increase to a respectable-for-the-time 185kph (115mph).

Finally, in 1973, BMW released their first-ever turbocharged production vehicle. The 2002 Turbo was released at the 1973 Frankfurt Motor Show and saw their two-litre engine undergo a major drop in compression to 6.9:1 to cope with boost pressure and prevent detonation. BMW made use of a single KKK turbocharger, a sliding throttle, and Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection to have the two-litre punching well above its weight with 127kW (170hp) and 240Nm of torque. Only 1672 BMW 2002 Turbos were built — thanks to its untimely release right before the oil crisis — as opposed to the 861,940 built without turbochargers. 

BMW have recently released a homage version of the BMW 2002, but from what we’ve seen it looks absolutely bonkers. From the digital renders we’ve been able to have a look at, we can confirm that it will be running a turbocharged engine of sorts. As soon as we hear anything more on this wide-body, fire-breathing, turbocharged monster, we’ll keep you updated. In the meantime, take a look at the gallery and let us know what you think of the design. 

Image credit: BMW

1975 Suzuki RE5

Suzuki had high hopes for its RE5 Wankel-engined bike launched in 1975. It had started looking at the Wankel engine in the mid-60s and bought the licence to the concept in 1970.
Apparently all of the big four Japanese makers experimented with the design, Yamaha even showing a rotary-engined bike at a motor show in 1972. But Suzuki was the only one of the big four to go into production. Like many others at the time, Suzuki believed that the light, compact, free-revving Wankel design would consign piston engines — with their complex, multiple, whirring valves and pistons, which (can you believe it?) had to reverse direction all the time — to history.

Westside story

For the young Dave Blyth, the Sandman was always the coolest car and he finally got one when he was 50. “I have always had a rule. When you turn 50, you buy or can afford to buy the car you lusted after when you were 20. I was 20 in 1979 and the HZ Sandman came out in 1978. It was the coolest of the cool — I just wanted one,” he says. “Back then a Sandman cost $4500 new and a house was worth about $20,000. I made about $30 a week so it was an impossible dream then.”
Dave was heavily influenced by the panel van culture of the time. “I started with an Escort panel van and upgraded to a Holden HD panel van with a 186ci six cylinder. I started a van club, Avon City Vans.