Curbside Classic: 1964 BMW 1800

Paul Niedermeyer
by Paul Niedermeyer

Risky business. That defines the car business, and never more succinctly so than in the case of this car. Rarely has a desperate last-minute gamble paid of so handsomely as the “Neue Klasse” BMWs. Today’s new owners of Saab can only dream (hallucinate) about turning their business around so quickly and definitively as this BMW did. But having the guts and money to back the risk taking is only part of the equation. Most of all, it’s a matter of being at the right time with the right product, and having the smarts to recognize it. In 1962, the seemingly impossible wasn’t. Today? Good luck.

In 1959, BMW was about to be liquidated. It was then an unprofitable small maker of a very expensive large sedan and sports car ( 507), a tiny bubble-car ( Isetta), and motorcycles. BMW was the very model of branding muddle, and it was crashing. Herbert Quandt’s family owned a 30% stake in BMW, and he was ready to throw in the towel too. But something got him to change his mind at the last minute. It may have been the pleading objections of the workforce. More likely, it was seeing the early drawings for this very car; well, strictly speaking, the smaller engined but otherwise identical 1500 model. So against the recommendation of his bankers and advisers, he increased his stake to 50%, thus financing the new mid-sized sedan to production. That bold gamble made his family one of the richest in the world. And this car created the whole modern BMW legacy, the proto-Bimmer. It’s the first, if not the ultimate driving machine.

That’s not to say that the BMW 1500/1800 was all that radically new in concept. It borrowed heavily from two other sedans that had identified a substantial niche for a family-sized sedan with sporting ambitions. Alfa Romeo had been at it since the mid-fifties with their popular Giulietta. But that wasn’t exactly mainstream family fare in Germany back then. But the Borgward Isabella was.

Appearing in 1954, the Isabella was a very modern and highly regarded sedan with a 1500 cc engine, and slotted in just below Mercedes’ solid but stolid 180. When the higher output (75 hp) TS model appeared in 1955, the formula for the future BMW 1500 was realized: OHC four, independent suspension all-round, and a harmonious balance of performance, handling, room and affordability. Unfortunately, the Isabella had early teething problems, and the unforgiving Germans punished Borgward. In 1961, Carl Borgward’s whole empire was forced into a highly controversial bankruptcy, because it turns out the firm really wasn’t insolvent. Some have even speculated that the Quandts might even have played a role in that.

Coincidentally, or not, the first BMW 1500 rolled off the lines in 1962, about the same time the last Isabellas were rolling off theirs. Borgward enjoyed a reincarnation in Latin America of sorts, but the new BMW was happily embraced back home. It hit the sweet spot, and just at the right time. Germany’s Wirtschftswunder was in high gear, and a growing number of VW owners were ready, willing and able to move up a step or two. The BMW 1500 was there to accommodate both their driving ambitions and family hauling requirements, given that the two-car family was still a distant concept.

The 1500 featured a family-friendly tallish and boxy body, with plenty of room for Oma and the kids in back, and their luggage in the trunk. And of course, it featured the first use (on a BMW) of that famous Hofmeister kink in the C-pillar. Its styling certainly wasn’t particularly original, being a blatant copy of 1960 Corvair themes, except for that roof line and a few other details.

Suspension was by MacPherson struts in front, and semi-trailing arms in back, a formula BMW used as late as the nineties. And the over-square short-stroke SOHC hemi-head four was designed to accommodate future increases in size and power, although I doubt the engineers envisioned it putting out some 1500 horsepower in its turbocharged F1 evolution. Yes, that engine did use a block based on the production M10 engine, and won the 1983 GP championship.

The 1500 wasn’t exactly brimming with power, with all of 80 hp. Zero to sixty took some 15 seconds. But that was reasonably brisk compared to many cars of the times. And the engine was a masterpiece from the get-go, and revved happily to 6,000 rpm. But within a year, in 1963, the 1800 came along with bigger bore and a longer stroke to generate 90 hp. But its improved torque and all-round performance balance hit the right note, and quickly made the 1800 the most popular of the Neue Generation BMWs. A 1600 variant took over the weak-chested 1500 in’64, and a more luxurious 2000 followed in 1966.

But the real fun started in 1964 with the 1800TI (touring international). Using a twin-carb setup and hotter cam developed by Alpina, it spun out 110 hp. And a racing-oriented 1800TI/SA with Weber side-drafts upped that to 130hp. The whole sporting future of BMWs to come started with this 1800. And what a future that turned out to be.

I have fond memories of these cars, riding in them and watching them race when I spent a long summer in Austria in 1969. The Bergrennen (mountain climbs) sent the 1800TI/SAs and their arch-rival Alfas tearing within reach of an outstretched hand through the tiny Alpine villages. No barriers of any kind; I can still feel my hair get blown by their draft, and the sound and smell of their hard-charging fours.

These Bimmers were ruggedly handsome, but exactly graceful in the Italian idiom (which was largely defining beautiful cars at the time): mighty Germanic and a bit klunky. No wonder BMW had Michelotti style the smaller 1602/2002 a few years later. But they suited the needs of their time perfectly, offering maximum interior space for the least amount of weight and real estate. And they soldiered along until 1972, when their iconic successor, the 5 Series appeared. But the M10 engine stayed in production until 1987.

By 1963, the year the 1800 went into production, BMW was already well turned around, and paid its first dividend. And it’s never stopped. But anyone back then daring to imagine BMW someday outselling Mercedes would have been accused of having a psychotic event. Saabsters: those hallucinations are good!

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Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer

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  • TAP TAP on Mar 09, 2010

    I once knew a guy in Oklahoma with an 1800 who would brag about his 100mph blasts across that state. Last call was the sad tale of blowing his engine far from home. Also remember a neighbor's Isetta. He was 6'6" and loved getting in and out of THE door just to wow the rest of us. Fun guy! The Saab brand has a massive amount of potential??

  • Timlocke Timlocke on Mar 10, 2010

    In 1965 I worked pumping gas at a station in Portslade in the UK. The BMWs of the time were unloaded at the port there and the delivery drivers used to stop at the station for gas. Many different ones. 1500,1600,1800 and IIRC convertibles of all three.

  • Rick T. If we really cared that much about climate change, shouldn't we letting in as many EV's as possible as cheaply as possible?
  • Slavuta Inflation creation act... 2 thoughts1, Are you saying Biden admin goes on the Trump's MAGA program?2, Protectionism rephrased: "Act incentivizes automakers to source materials from free-trade-compliant countries and build EVs in North America"Question: can non-free-trade country be a member of WTO?
  • EBFlex China can F right off.
  • MrIcky And tbh, this is why I don't mind a little subsidization of our battery industry. If the American or at least free trade companies don't get some sort of good start, they'll never be able to float long enough to become competitive.
  • SCE to AUX Does the WTO have any teeth? Seems like countries just flail it at each other like a soft rubber stick for internal political purposes.
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