On the other 'Austin 7' thread there's a bit of pre war history. But, did you know, Rebodying BMW's is not a recent idea?
Read that other Austin 7 thread then come back here
Austin 7 - BMW Dixi
Around 1930 and the Austin Licence was due to expire. Instead of renewing it BMW decided to have a crack at designing their own car. The car they come up with wasn't great. Total redesign away from the Austin 7 but engine was derived from it - but had better crank bearings and some other mods so had 5 more horse power.
It was only a year or so later that they made the 303. The first car with the kidney grills.
Chief engineer, I think, was a guy, Ernst Loof who took design through 303, 315 to the 328. The 328 was a nice car.
After WW2 BMW had lost its factory and Ernst Loof, a car guy with no car factory, quit BMW and set up his own company where he took customer's or scrap pre war 328's and chopped them up and rebodied them
So, you see, we rebody'ers are not all that wierd.
Come ere, there's more.
A few years later BMW wanted to compete with Mercedes SL business especially in the USA. Their USA importer was nagging them for a roadster. So, BMW, in true lazy boy style couldn't be arsed to design one. So they pulled up their big boy leder hosen (again) and went off to find a company to acquire. They landed on ernst Loof's place and bought it - so BMW bought the shed that was rebodying BMW's -in the hope of making the 507. They even asked Ernst Loof, employed again by BMW, to design it for them and it was basically one of his rebodies.
But the USA importer (Hoffmann) hated Loof's body so suggested Albrecht von Goertz who did design what became the 507 - and the rest is history.
A few of Ernst Loof's 507's did get built. Dunno where they are but they're out there.
So you see. The 507 is basically a rebody on a 502/503 long before any of us thought about rebodying a BMW. We're not all that weird after all.
Read that other Austin 7 thread then come back here
Austin 7 - BMW Dixi
Around 1930 and the Austin Licence was due to expire. Instead of renewing it BMW decided to have a crack at designing their own car. The car they come up with wasn't great. Total redesign away from the Austin 7 but engine was derived from it - but had better crank bearings and some other mods so had 5 more horse power.
It was only a year or so later that they made the 303. The first car with the kidney grills.
Chief engineer, I think, was a guy, Ernst Loof who took design through 303, 315 to the 328. The 328 was a nice car.
After WW2 BMW had lost its factory and Ernst Loof, a car guy with no car factory, quit BMW and set up his own company where he took customer's or scrap pre war 328's and chopped them up and rebodied them
So, you see, we rebody'ers are not all that wierd.
Come ere, there's more.
A few years later BMW wanted to compete with Mercedes SL business especially in the USA. Their USA importer was nagging them for a roadster. So, BMW, in true lazy boy style couldn't be arsed to design one. So they pulled up their big boy leder hosen (again) and went off to find a company to acquire. They landed on ernst Loof's place and bought it - so BMW bought the shed that was rebodying BMW's -in the hope of making the 507. They even asked Ernst Loof, employed again by BMW, to design it for them and it was basically one of his rebodies.
But the USA importer (Hoffmann) hated Loof's body so suggested Albrecht von Goertz who did design what became the 507 - and the rest is history.
A few of Ernst Loof's 507's did get built. Dunno where they are but they're out there.
So you see. The 507 is basically a rebody on a 502/503 long before any of us thought about rebodying a BMW. We're not all that weird after all.
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