BMW 328 Berlinetta Touring

The BMW 328 Touring was born out of BMW’s desire to replicate the success of Alfa Romeo’s Touring-bodied streamliner, the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B, in the Mille Miglia Race. This led BMW to approach Touring to create a similar vehicle. The result was remarkable: it not only won its class in the Le Mans 24-hour race but also clinched overall victory in the subsequent Mille Miglia. Even as a prototype, the BMW 328 promised an exciting racing career. After its competitive debut and victory in the Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring on June 14, 1936, driven by Ernst Henne, the BMW 328 sports car would go down in history as a legend of motor racing. By the 1950s, at the end of its racing career, it had amassed over 200 victories. No other car in its class could boast such a rich record. Beyond the classic 328 roadsters with standard BMW chassis, the late 1930s saw the production of some racing versions with lightweight structures based on advanced aerodynamic technologies. The most famous model in this exclusive circle was a BMW 328 Coupé commissioned from the renowned Carrozzeria Touring of Milan in 1938/39 to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as the rules now allowed closed cars. The Italian Carrozzeria Touring boasted significant experience and success (with Alfa Romeo) thanks to its “superleggera” structures, aluminum panels, and extremely lightweight tubular constructions. The two companies agreed to adapt the chassis of a BMW 328 with a lightweight covered structure so that it could participate in the 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans. Meanwhile, in Monaco, a BMW 328 engine that normally produced 80 hp was boosted to around 135 hp.