Sometimes, when asked for a list of significant cars, a marque can be overlooked. It is seldom because the marque isn’t important; rather it is often a case that the marque is thought of as being “modern.” BMW has claimed such an important place in the import car market, that its history is overwhelmed by the company’s modern status. Then an opportunity comes along that brings all that history back into focus. Such was the case for this profile of Lothar Schuettler’s 1937 BMW 328. When the company’s history is researched, the speed of the early development of BMW’s automobiles is impressive, and the 328 represents the apogee of the company’s pre-WWII history. The BMW 328 is a significant automobile in so many ways.
Having experienced the car on the road, it was pleasing to read that others shared the impression that the car imparted. Briggs Cunningham said that he thought the BMW 328 “was probably one of, if not the most advanced two-liter sports car of its time.” Craig Cheatham, in his 2004 book titled Vintage Cars, simply called the BMW 328 “amazingly modern.” So, how modern is the 328 and how is it that a car built in the late 1930s has such a reputation?
