BMW 335

Last updated
BMW 335
BMW-335-Front-view.JPG
BMW 335 4-door Berline (sedan/saloon)
Overview
Manufacturer Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW)
Production1939–1941
420 built (estimated)
Designer Fritz Fiedler
Body and chassis
Class Full-size luxury car
Body style 4-door saloon, 2 & 4-door cabriolets
Layout FR layout
Related BMW 326
Powertrain
Engine 3485 cc OHV M335 Straight 6
Transmission 4-speed manual [1]
all- synchromesh
Dimensions
Wheelbase 2,980 mm (117 in)
Length4,840 mm (191 in)
Width1,700 mm (67 in)
Height1,690 mm (67 in)
Curb weight 1,300 kg (2,900 lb)
(measurements approximate)
Chronology
Successor BMW 501

The BMW 335 is a six-cylinder sports sedan produced by the Bavarian firm BMW between 1939 and 1941.

Contents

Conception

BMW 335 4-door cabriolet BMW 335 Cabriolet, Bj. 1939.jpg
BMW 335 4-door cabriolet
BMW 335 4-door Berline rear BMW-335-Rear-view.jpg
BMW 335 4-door Berline rear

Commercial success for the BMW 326, introduced in 1936, encouraged a move upmarket. [2] This would involve BMW in challenging the dominance then enjoyed by Mercedes-Benz over a lucrative sector, with their 320 and 340 models.

BMW were producing, in their Eisenach plant, the model that would form the basis for the larger car. The 326 had already spawned successful sporting derivatives. The 335 was also to be based on the 326, but with the wheelbase and chassis extended to accommodate a 3485 cc M335 six-cylinder in-line engine. [3] Despite clearly reflecting the approach taken with existing BMW units, this was an entirely new design. Claimed maximum power output of 90 bhp (67 kW) [4] was lower than the values advertised for comparably sized and powered Jaguars of the period, it achieved full power at only 3500 rpm. With 90 bhp (67 kW), the car had top speed of 145 km/h (90 mph). [5]

The engine’s additional weight prompted the fitting of larger brake drums and wheels than on the 326. The 335 sustained BMW’s reputation for innovation, being the first car to offer a four-speed gear box with full synchromesh on all ratios.

The car was sold as a four-door sedan and as a two- or (more unusually) four-door cabriolet. [2]

Launch

A prototype 335 was first presented at London in 1938. [3] The car was branded for these purposes as a Frazer Nash. [2] There had been close relations between BMW and England ever since BMW had established themselves in the small-car market by building a version of the English Austin 7. Frazer Nash had been BMW’s English importers since 1934, [2] and after the war BMW design chief Fritz Fiedler, the man primarily responsible for designing and developing the 335, would for several years work with Frazer Nash’s successor company in London.

The production version was launched on the German market as the BMW 335 in 1939. [2]

End of production

The German invasion of Poland in September 1939 triggered the Second World War. Initially, aspects of Germany's peacetime economy persisted, and BMW were able to produce 335s at their Eisenach facility. Perfect production records are thought not to survive, but it appears by the time passenger car production ceased in 1941, more than 400 had been assembled.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW 328</span> Motor vehicle

The BMW 328 was a sports car offered by BMW from 1936 to 1940, with the body design credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Cars</span> Manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars

Bristol Cars was a British Manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars headquartered in Bristol, England. It was formed from the car division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company after the Second World War and later became independent as Bristol Cars Limited. After being placed in receivership and being taken over in 2011, it entered liquidation in February 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW 3 Series</span> Motor vehicle

The BMW 3 Series is a line of compact executive cars manufactured by the German automaker BMW since May 1975. It is the successor to the 02 Series and has been produced in seven generations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audi 80</span> Motor vehicle

The Audi 80 is a compact executive car produced by the Audi subdivision of the Volkswagen Group across four generations from 1966 to 1996. It shared its platform with the Volkswagen Passat from 1973 to 1986 and was available as a saloon, and station wagon — the latter marketed by Audi as the Avant. The coupé and convertible models were not badged as members of the range, but used a derivative of the same platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW 3 Series (E30)</span> Motor vehicle

The BMW E30 is the second generation of BMW 3 Series, which was produced from 1982 to 1994 and replaced the E21 3 Series. The model range included 2-door coupe and convertible body styles, as well as being the first 3 Series to be produced in 4-door sedan and wagon/estate body styles. It was powered by four-cylinder petrol, six-cylinder petrol and six-cylinder diesel engines, the latter a first for the 3 Series. The E30 325iX model was the first BMW to have all-wheel drive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW 5 Series (E39)</span> Motor vehicle

The BMW E39 is the fourth generation of the BMW 5 Series range of executive cars, which was manufactured from 1995 to 2004. It was launched in the sedan body style, with the station wagon body style introduced in 1996. The E39 was replaced by the E60 5 Series in 2003, however E39 Touring models remained in production until May 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW New Class</span> Motor vehicle

The BMW New Class was a line of sedans and coupes produced by German automaker BMW between 1962 and 1972. These models ensured BMW's solvency after the company's financial crisis of the 1950s and established the identity of BMW automobiles as sports sedans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fritz Fiedler</span>

Fritz Fiedler, was an automotive engineer. His projects included the BMW 328 sports car, the ex-BMW Bristol straight-six engine, and the BMW New Class sedan.

Henry Meadows, usually known simply as Meadows, of Wolverhampton, England were major suppliers of engines and transmissions to the smaller companies in the British motor industry. Founded in 1920 in Park Lane, Wolverhampton, as a car gearbox maker, they expanded into petrol engines in 1922 and in the 1930s built a large factory in Fallings Park, Wolverhampton.

The Automobilwerk Eisenach (AWE) was an automobile manufacturer in Eisenach, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW 303</span> Motor vehicle

The BMW 303 was a small family saloon produced by BMW in 1933 and 1934. It was the first BMW motor car with a six-cylinder engine and the first BMW motor car with the "kidney grille" associated with the brand. The platform developed for the 303 was used for several other BMW cars, including the BMW 309, a four-cylinder version of the 303, the BMW 315, a 1.5-litre version of the 303 which replaced it in 1934 and was built until 1937, the BMW 319, a 1.9-litre version of the 303 produced alongside the 315 from 1935 to 1937, and the BMW 329, a development of the 319 with styling based on the newer, larger BMW 326, that briefly replaced the 319 in 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of BMW</span>

The official founding date of the German motor vehicle manufacturer BMW is 7 March 1916, when an aircraft producer called Bayerische Flugzeugwerke was established. This company was renamed to Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) in 1922. However, the BMW name dates back to 1917, when Rapp Motorenwerke changed its name to Bayerische Motoren Werke. BMW's first product was a straight-six aircraft engine called the BMW IIIa. Following the end of World War I, BMW remained in business by producing motorcycle engines, farm equipment, household items and railway brakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW 501</span> Motor vehicle

The BMW 501 was a luxury car manufactured by BMW from 1952 to 1958. Introduced at the first Frankfurt Motor Show in 1951, the 501 was the first BMW model to be manufactured and sold after the Second World War, and as the first BMW car built in Bavaria. The 501 and its derivatives, including the V8 powered BMW 502, were nicknamed “Baroque Angels” by the German public. The BMW 502 was the first postwar German car to be manufactured with a V8 engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW 326</span> Motor vehicle

The BMW 326 is a medium-sized sedan produced by BMW between 1936 and 1941, and again briefly, under Soviet control, after 1945. The 326 was BMW's first four-door sedan. It had an innovative design and sold well despite its relatively high price. It also had an unusually involved afterlife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW 327</span> Motor vehicle

The BMW 327 is a medium-sized touring coupé produced by the Bavarian firm between 1937 and 1941, and again produced after 1945. It sat on a shortened version of the BMW 326 chassis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW 340</span> Motor vehicle

The BMW 340, subsequently rebadged as the EMW 340, was a large six-cylinder four-door passenger saloon produced at Eisenach initially in the name of BMW. Five-door 340 station wagons were also manufactured. It was described in 1948 as the first new car model produced in Germany after the war: despite new body panels, under the skin it was a modified version of the BMW 326 with which it shared its engine and wheelbase, and which had originally been commercialised in 1936. The 326 had nevertheless been an innovative and well regarded product and the 340, which incorporated several improvements, was seen as a desirable car well into the 1950s. Early years were dogged by disputes centred on ownership of the plant where it was assembled and its manufacturers’ rights to use the BMW name. The cars later appeared badged as EMW 340s, and it was under this name that 340s continued to be sold until at least 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW 321</span> Motor vehicle

The BMW 321 is a compact six-cylinder automobile produced by the Bavarian firm between 1938 and 1941. After 1945, production of the 321 resumed at the Eisenach plant and continued until 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW OHV V8 engine</span> Reciprocating internal combustion engine

The BMW OHV V8 is an overhead valve V8 petrol engine produced from 1954 to 1965. It is BMW's first V8 engine, and BMW did not produce another V8 automobile engine until the BMW M60 in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honda Civic (fourth generation)</span> Motor vehicle model, 1987–1991

The fourth-generation Honda Civic is a Japanese sub-compact automobile. It was produced by Honda from 1987 until 1991 with the wagon continuing in production in some markets until 1996. The suspension had a new double-wishbone suspension in the front and an independent suspension in the rear, the wheelbase was increased to 250 centimetres (98 in) from that of the third-generation Civic, and the body was redesigned with a lower hood line and more glass, resulting in less drag. The redesigned Civic was introduced in 1987 for the 1988 model year. The fourth-generation Civic would be available in three variants; 3-door hatchback, 4-door sedan and 5-door wagon with various trim levels offered in each variant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talbot Baby</span> Motor vehicle

The Talbot Baby is a six-cylinder executive sporting car launched by the French Talbot company in 1936. Three standard body types offered were a "coach", a two-door four-seater "cabriolet" and a two-door two-seater "cabriolet". The Baby was one of the first new models to appear after the French part of the Anglo-French Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq combine was purchased, in 1935, by auto-entrepreneur Tony Lago. Production slowed with the onset of war and had ended completely by mid-1942 when the manufacturer's Suresnes plant was converted for war production.

References

  1. "1939 BMW 335". conceptcarz.com. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Odin, L.C. World in Motion 1939 - The whole of the year's automobile production. Belvedere Publishing, 2015. ASIN: B00ZLN91ZG.
  3. 1 2 Hart, Roger (July 23, 2012). "A Taste of Luxury". Autoweek . 62 (15): 20–21. ISSN   0192-9674.
  4. Martin, Keith (September 2012). "Como to Goodwood, in Style". Sports Car Market . 24 (9): 48–50.
  5. "Technical specifications of 1939 BMW 335". carfolio.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-12.