The BMW 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupe.

Somewhat reminiscent of the rare German Adler coupe, the streamlined 328 racing coupe models were a BMW experiment with low-drag aerodynamic bodies. Some of them had an unheard of 0.25 Cd. This is even unmatched by todays production coupes! With 136 bhp on hand, the 1940 sleek slippery streamliners pushed up over 140 mph, nearly 50 mph faster than the production 328 roadsters. These magnificant racers have now been nicknamed the "Mille Miglia" 328 model due to winning the famous 1,000 mile Brescia Grand Prix in 1940. Huschke von Hanstein drove the winning unsupercharged 2 liter touring coupe in that race. It was unfortunately shortened due to the war efforts and a serious crash two years earlier. The first special fastback closed coupe utilized an Italian Superleggera-type body comprised of aluminum laid over a tube frame welded to the chassis. Drilling holes everywhere and using magnesium-frame sling seats gave it a low weight of 1,400 lbs. With special factory competition equipment, larger axel shafts and a 2" lowered engine, the car was very quick, agile and quite reliable.

This gorgeous racing coupe was built in Milano for BMW. A shape of things to come! I photographed it in Pebble Beach, California while on display at the Blackhawk Collection.

The early streamlined 328 coupe version (shown here) with it's Italian Carrozeria Touring body, won a fifth overall and first in class in the 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was piloted by Prince Schaumburg-Lippe and Wenscher and, at the time, sported a third headlight mounted in the center of it's kidney grills. Both the coupe and roadsters streamliners went on that year to finish with a one-two-three formation victory at the Belgium 24 hour Spa Francorchamps race. In later years, the Ruhesteim Hillclimb race of 1946 was won by Hermann Lang (of Mercedes fame) in the Mille Miglia 328 racing coupe.

A nifty attache case featuring the 328 Mille Miglia Touring design drawings.

On the later in-house streamliner coupes, much more attention to body work was necessary to make them even quicker and faster than the streamlined roadsters. With many mathematical calculations and numerous autobahn excursions, Professor Wunibald Kamm and Wilhelm Meyerhuber (without a wind tunnel) developed the aerodynamic priniciples of the BMW built Milli Miglia race winning 328. Its coupe design was quite similar to the Italian version yet followed more closely the early streamlined roadster's body sides. BMW streamlining actually goes all the way back to Eisenach with a rather stout and narrow looking ( kind of like the modern Echo) 1924 sports racing coupe prototype designed by Paul Jaray and built on the popular 6/24 Dixi's chassis. It was quite advanced for its day. Other experimental streamliner coupes were built by Wendlinger on a few 328 chassis'. Only two survived the war unfortunately. They were designed by aerodynamicist Rainhard von Koenig-Fachseneld and also looked somewhat like the Adler coupe, but with large horizontal (twin kidney) styled louvers in the front. It was thought that there were only three Miliie Miglia touring coupes built for racing, but according to factory records, five coupes are known to have been constructed. The two Italian ones were done in a golden/silver (with more extended headlights), a strikingly beautiful white one exists and the golden 328 MM on the tours with Mobile Tradition displays (shown at the San Diego Automobile Museum and Pebble Beach). The in-house saloon version was nicknamed the "Ugly One" (designed by Kamm). A lone black one's whereabouts are still a mystery. Some production 328s were also built as fixed-head coupes which are extremely rare today. With the 328's association in England with Frazer Nash building their own streamliners - and a Mille Miglia 328 held by Bristol Aircraft as a war trophy in England, it's no wonder where the sleek classic 1948 Jaguar XK-120's beautiful lines came from! Bristol also built some fine BMW saloons in those days. The unbeatable 328 is still the heart and soul of BMW's early racing heritage.