Here in the US, when we see this iconic shape, we naturally think “2002”. Well, that was by far the most popular version of the 02 Series, especially in the US. But the 02 was available with no less than six different engines, of which only half made it to the states.
The original was the 1600-02, badged just “1600”, and it was the only one when it arrived in 1966. In 1971, it was rebadged “1602”, for clarity, like this one shot by Benoît, but by that time the 1600 was no longer available in the US, where the 2002, which arrived in 1968, reigned supreme until the hotter fuel injected 2002tii arrived in 1971 as a more expensive alternative.
But in Europe, there was also an 1802 and 1502, as well as the legendary 2002 Turbo.
This 1602 is from 1973 or later, when it received a bit of a restyle that included the rectangular tail lights and blackout grille. Curiously, these changes only arrived in MY 1974 in the US, along with the unfortunate 5-mile bumpers.
The 1600 was rated at 85 DIN PS, 96 gross SAE hp. It was pretty zippy for its time and low price; R&T tested one (links at bottom) and got a 0-60 time of 11.6 seconds, which actually was just about exactly as quick as the desmogged 2002 they tested a year or so later.
There was also a 1600ti, which arrived for MY 1968, but only in Europe, as its high-performance engine was not suitable to be desmogged readily. It was rated at 105 PS, or 104 hp, presumably net, a considerable increase over the 1600. The 1600ti was replaced in 1968 by the 2002, and as such was the rarest of the engine variants, with just 8,670 built, except for the Turbo of course, of which only 1,672 units were built.
Update: There was also a 2002ti (not available in the US), rated at 120 PS.
The 1802, which was rated at 90 PS (about 89 net hp) arrived in 1971 and sold in reasonable numbers (83,351). It seems a small step up from the 1602, but such was the way of the European market, similar to what the American one had been in its heyday, when cars like a Chevy were available with 6, 7, or more different engines, often in modest hp increments.
In response to the energy crisis and resulting recession, BMW like almost all European manufacturers offered “downsized” versions, with smaller engines and lower prices. The 1502, with 75 PS (74 net hp) arrived in 1975, but its number badge was deceiving (the first one from BMW?) as its engine had the same 1573cc capacity as the 1602, but it had a lower compression ratio, allowing it to run on European regular fuel. 72,632 of them were built.
Related reading:
Vintage R&T Road Test: 1967 BMW 1600 and 2000 Tilux – A Brilliant New Smaller BMW And An Excellent Older One
Vintage R&T Road Test: 1968 BMW 2002 – “But Where Did The Extra Horsepower Go?”
Vintage Review: 1968 BMW 2002 – Car and Driver’s David E. Davis Picks Favorites
Curbside Classic: 1975 BMW 2002 – Freshly Squeezed
Curbside Classic: 1972 BMW 2002 Tii – Fifty Years Of Unbeatable Success
BMW was cheating that far back on model designations? Yes, as an former-BMW owner, I am particularly bothered about the mess that is their model designations nowadays.
When I was stationed in mid-60s Germany, the 1600 sedans were everywhere. Did the “2” represent a 2 door model?
Yes. But as noted in the post, originally the 1600 two door was badged as just “1600”. Which led to potential confusion with the 1600 four door. So starting in 1968 with the 2002, the “02” was added to the other versions. So there’s both “1600” and “1602” badged versions of the same basic car.
The ones I saw back in the day were faded dark colors, so it’s a little shocking to see some shiny and light-colored. 320is are stuck in my mind as always medium blue or blue-gray. Can we stick the blame on them and Honda for that trend, which seems to have killed the market for medium blue cars since?
I wonder if anyone has attempted a time-chart of car color sales like there is for baby names. Even if only for a single brand, it might be illuminating.
Engine variant number eight was the 2002ti (16448 built from September 1968 to April 1971) with dual carburetor and 120 PS.
Of course there was;, prior to the 2002tii how did I miss that here? I’ve updated the text. Thanks.
I’ll take the green one with those BBS deep dish wheels. Also worth mention is that funky orange Mini Cooper truck conversion. I’ve only ever seen them used by Red Bull with a giant can on the back. They clearly liked it enough to have it repainted bold orange.
In the 2nd picture of the beige Portugese licensed 02 you can see a maroon Facellia parked behind it.
Perhaps the most surprising about the 02 series is that they were actually made.
Austrian born Max Hoffmann asked or advised BMW to make a 2 door or coupe version of the neue klasse 1500 series (the car that saved BMW)
Oddly enough they listened to Hoffmann, who recommended BMW before to produce the very unsuccessfill 507 series to rival Mercedes’ 300 SL.
The 507 had cost BMW a fortune!