The
BMW 327 is a medium sized touring coupé produced by
the Bavarian firmBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
between 1937 and 1941, and again produced after 1945. It sat on a shortened version of the
BMW 326The BMW 326 is a relatively rapid medium sized sedan produced by the Bavarian firm between 1936 and 1941, and again briefly after 1945. It had an innovative design and sold well despite its relatively high price...
chassis.
Launch
The first 327, launched in 1937, was a cabriolet. In 1938, this was joined by a
fixed head coupéA coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
version. The car was shorter and lower than its sedan counterpart, but shared the famous BMW grill and a streamlined form representative of the more progressive designs of the 1930s.
Technical
Mechanically, the car utilised the hydraulic brake control, gear box, clutch and front suspension system first seen on the 326, along with the
live axleA live axle, sometimes called a solid axle, is a type of beam axle suspension system that uses the driveshafts that transmit power to the wheels to connect the wheels laterally so that they move together as a unit....
used on the
BMW 320The BMW 320 was a saloon car manufactured by BMW from 1937 to 1938. It replaced the 319-based BMW 329.The 320 was built on a shortened BMW 326 chassis and used a 326 engine with a single carburettor and an output of...
and
BMW 328The BMW 328 is a sports car made by BMW between 1936 and 1940, with the body design credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II ....
. Also shared with the 326 was the 1971 cc straight 6 power plant, although the 327 boasted a modest power increase to 55 bhp. The advertised top speed of 125 km/h (78 mph) constituted a useful performance advantage for the shorter car.
A higher-powered model, the 327/28, was offered with the
BMW 328The BMW 328 is a sports car made by BMW between 1936 and 1940, with the body design credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II ....
's 80 hp engine. 569 of these high-powered 327s were built up to 1940.
Commercial
Among some enthusiasts, the 327 has subsequently been overshadowed by its more uncompromising sibling, the 80 bhp
BMW 328The BMW 328 is a sports car made by BMW between 1936 and 1940, with the body design credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II ....
which appeared in April 1938. In its day, however, the 327 was the bigger seller, with 1,396 built between 1937 and 1941, and significant further production after 1945.
Afterlife
During the 1930s,
EisenachEisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated between the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest and the Hainich National Park. Its population in 2006 was 43,626.-History:...
was the centre of BMW’s automobile manufacturing. In 1945, Eisenach was occupied by
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
forces. However, the wartime allies had already agreed that
ThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
would fall within the
Soviet occupation zone. BMW's automobile factory in Eisenach was not fully destroyed, and assembly of the 327 resumed. Clear production figures are hard to obtain, but many of the 327s surviving with collectors into the twenty-first century were post-war products. After the war, it became clear that the Soviets would not return the Eisenach factory to BMW. BMW-branded automobiles produced between 1946 and 1951 were therefore being produced outside the control of BMW headquarters in
MunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. This cause a protracted dispute concerning title to the BMW brand and other assets, but in 1952 it was determined that
EisenachThe Automobilwerk Eisenach was an automobile manufacturer in Eisenach, Germany.-Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach:Heinrich Ehrhardt founded the Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach in Eisenach on 3 December 1896 as a stock company...
-produced models such as the 327s should be badged as EMW (Eisenacher Motoren Werke) rather than as BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke). EMW changed their badge from BMW's blue and white roundel to a red and white roundel.
It is not clear how many of the post war 327s were branded as BMWs and how many as EMWs, but probably more than 500 were produced with one or other of the badges.