The BMW Coupé 1600 of 1967 is a rare exotic. The origin of the car is the former Glass Company in Dingolfing, which was taken over by BMW in 1966 and is now one of the most important locations for BMW. The 1600 GT was equipped with a new transmission, a faster engine and embodies Italian design. It stands for the foresight of expansion from BMW of the 60’s.
The car was first presented as the Glas 1300 GT in September 1963 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, with volume production starting in March 1964. The much rarer cabriolet version appeared in May 1965 and a larger engined 1700 GT in May 1965.
With the BMW acquisition of the Glas business, the GT was refitted to accommodate the 1,573 cc BMW engine already fitted in the BMW 1600. The BMW “new class” models introduced in 1962 had attracted press comment concerning the fact that the engine was canted over at an angle of 30 degrees from the vertical plane, permitting a lower bonnet/hood line, and this feature was retained when the engine was fitted in the Glas GT body to create what was now branded as the BMW 1600GT.
By using the BMW engine the car also acquired a further increase in power output, now up to 77 kW (105 PS). Handling was improved by applying the BMW’s relatively sophisticated semi-trailing arm rear axle with coil springs in place of the more old fashioned rigid rear axel and leaf spring configuration previously employed by the Glas GT. BMW also took the opportunity to fit “new” round rear lights – being those that from 1966 also featured on the BMW 1602, and to reconfigure the front grill to incorporate the BMW “twin kidney” grille.
