1973 BMW 2002 Tii Coupe

1973 BMW 2002 Tii Coupe

The foundation of BMW's post-war resurgence was the Neue Klasse four-door 1500 saloon and its derivatives, the company capitalizing on their success with the launch of a revised two-door range in 1966. Like the earlier cars, the new 1600 (later 1602) featured unitary construction, all-independent suspension and front disc brakes. All variants came with the Munich firm's dependable, single-overhead-camshaft, 1,573cc, four-cylinder M10 engine under the bonnet, which despite its humble origins would go on to form the basis of a turbo-charged 1,000-horsepower Grand Prix unit and Formula 1 World Championship winner. A two-door car, the 1602 was less expensive than the four-door saloon on which it was based. The model made its debut at the Geneva Auto Show in March 1966 as the '1600-2' and remained in production until 1975. As installed in the 1602, the M10 engine produced 85bhp, which was good enough for a top speed of around 100mph, with 60mph attainable in 12 seconds.

Demands for increased power, not least from the firm's US importer, Max Hoffman, led to the introduction of the 2002 in 1968. BMW's director of product planning, Helmut Werner Bönsch, and Alex von Falkenhausen, the M10's designer, had already had 2.0-liter engines installed in their personal 1602s, and proposed to BMW that the company should build a production model along similar lines. Enter the 2002 Tii. The Tii stood for Touring International and Injection. The larger, 1,991cc engine produced 130bhp at 5,800rpm with mechanical fuel injection over its predecessors' 120bhp on twin Webers in the 2002 Ti. Models available on the 2002 platform comprised a two-door saloon, three-door Touring estate car, and a Cabriolet. An immense commercial success for the German manufacturer, some 349,000 BMW 2002s of all types had been sold by the time production ceased in 1976.

Descriptions and pictures by bonhams