At first glance you would be forgiven for thinking this is the iconic BMW 2002 (0r 1602), as from the front, this larger 1800 “Neue Klasse” looks very similar, except for its headlights being set a bit more inboard. The larger four-door Neue Klasse cars preceded its smaller sibling by some four years, and was of course the critical product that allowed BMW to finally turn the corner and become a viable automaker.
xiao car caught this 1800 coming down the street in Germany, where of course these cars had their biggest success.
I considered myself very lucky to find one of these, in the driveway of the house my son and his GF were then looking at to buy in Portland. That was back in 2010, and my more detailed write up is here. Their sales in the US were tiny compared the huge hit the 1600/2002 quickly became after its arrival in 1966.
These first arrived in 1962, as the 1500. But it wasn’t long before buyers were clamoring for more of that delicious BMW power, and the 1800 was the result. Then came the 1800Ti and the more luxurious 2000/2000Ti. But the 1800 was by far the most popular version, as it gave the best bang for the buck. The 1500 was replaced by a 1600 in 1964 (not the two door, commonly referred to as the 1602).
The wheels on this one do not look original to me; they came with unventilated steel wheels and hubcaps.
These and the Alfa Romeo Giulia were the two hot sedans in Europe in their day, having both arrived in 1962 and offering similar levels of performance, depending on the engine.The 1800 had 90hp; the 1800Ti upped that to 110.
The Giulia came in a bewildering array of versions and engines, but the most common versions had between 90 and 100 hp too. The Giulia did have a slick 5 speed.
Related reading:
“These and the Alfa Romeo Giulia were the two hot sedans in Europe in their day”
I’ll have one of each please. Nothing more need be said……..
I never liked how tacked-on the kidneys looked on these and every mainstream BMW sedan for the next 20 years. It would’ve been better to quietly allude to them by using a split grille so that each “kidney” would be half the width of the car and contain a headlight.
There’s something weird here. The cars I have seen (not too many) and the pictures I have seen, all had either a front with round headlights or larger, horizontal ones, but usually the grille was chromed. I wonder if this one was painted, or else it is a newer model. As Paul says, this one really looks like the late 60’s early 70’s 1602/2002…
The later 1800’s did have the grille like this. I’m not sure exactly what year that started; 1970 maybe?
It’s likely. I like this one much better than the ones I had seen before.
That face looks a bit odd to me because I expect 4 lights on a Neue Klasse 4 door because my parents had a US spec 2000 in the 70s. This was a great small family car for the time with most of the performance of a 2002, plus back doors and the all important center armrest to separate bickering children.
Not to forget the Ti/Sa which is by far the rarest of this model BMW. That car was developed for racing only and won the 1965 Spa 24 hours
@ Rafael, this is a late model, the grille changed and the rear indicators are orange not red.
The one with rectangular headlights is the 2000 model which used the same body.
Sweet find. The rear end on the 1602/2002 was also a refinement, in both the earlier round and later rectangular taillight versions.
Was this the first model to use the Hofmeister Kink as well?
Great find and good to see it in daily use still. Looks great in that colour, even with the wide wheels