Iconic BMW designs: the 2002tii

There are some cars that with a huge slice of luck I have driven and that have really stuck with me. There are others I have only been able to stop and stare at. And then there are others still that made such a strong impression on me when I was growing up, that the smells, noises and sights are still with me decades later.

One such car is the BMW 2002tii. In ‘70s favourite Inka Orange, it belonged to my god mother’s boyfriend, Jim. A strapping 6’6” Aussie crane operator, I recall his particular skill with his pride and joy was to warm the engine before driving off. However, Jim’s execution method was a little questionable, revving the nuts off it until the temperature gauge moved into the “she’s nice and warm now” window, was his typical approach. I still cringe thinking about it.

Styled under the then BMW design director Wilhelm Hofmeister by staff designers, Georg Bertram and Manfred Rennen, the 02 – so named to signify it was a two-door – came along several years after the initial BMW Neue Klasse car. Those first Neue Klasses were penned by Hofmeister himself and were first introduced at the 1961 Frankfurt motor show as the 1500 saloon and 3200CS coupé. The significance of these cars in BMW’s history and the positive effect they had commercially on BMW’s financial solvency should not be forgotten.

When the 02 came along in 1966, its objective was to further build upon the Neue Klasse range by providing a more economical yet sportier model. Complete with the now-famed ‘Hofmeister kink’ in the rearmost pillars (named after the man himself), and the forward-leaning grille, now known as the ‘shark nose’, the 02 design language was the start of the unique BMW look that lasted decades and which is still recognisably BMW today.

As per its initial design brief, the 02 sprouted sportier models during its lifespan, first with the “tii” and then the wild 170bhp 2002 Turbo in 1973. With its boisterous KKK turbocharger (a first for a European production car), Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection, deep front air dam and BMW Motorsport go-faster stripes emblazoned liberally over the bodywork, it was not for the faint hearted. But, as much as I love the iconic Turbo, it’s still the simpler and less powerful naturally-breathing 2002tii that I would choose.