The fine folks at Petrolicious always seem to make great videos about older obscure cars that don’t seem to get the love that they deserve. This 1966 BMW 1600 is one of those cars. The BMW 1600 was part of the Neue Klasse of BMWs, along with the 2002 that followed it. However, the BMW 2002 seems to get all of the love and praise. Deservedly so, as the 2002 is one of the all time greats. But the 1600 was pretty damn great too, as were all of the Neue Klass BMWs, and this owner treats his the way it deserves to be treated. Although, unless my German is incorrect, I think he’s pronouncing “Neue Klasse” wrong. But I digress.
This owners BMW 1600 has a 2.0 liter carbuereted engine in it, likely from a 2002 but he doesn’t specify, and wider steel wheels as well as upgraded suspension bits. This allows him to take his BMW 1600 to the track, drive windy back roads and ultimately just have more fun in it than he could have if it were stock. The exterior of this 1600 is in really good shape and seems to have no visible blemishes, dents or rust, which is nice. The interior is a bit more beat up with the headliner seemingly gone and some dashboard bits messed up, but that’s okay in a car this old. Things are allowed to be rough around the edges. It adds to the character.
BMW apparently marketed this car as it does the 5 Series today. It was designed for a business man to take the wife out to dinner with and then go racing in the next day. It was meant to be both luxurious and fun, to drive properly and like a hooligan. It was the BMW 535i of its time; not crazy fast, but fun when it needed to be and comfortable when you wanted it to be.
This owner found out about the 1600 because his wife bought him a die-cast model of one and after that, he ended up finding one on craigslist and bought it. That’s a pretty remarkable thing, to fall in love with a car because of the model of it and then buying it in real life. That’s a pretty awesome story.
The BMW 1600 was an awesome car and this owner truly appreciates it for what it is, despite the fact that it isn’t the famous BMW 2002. Check it out, it’ll make you want to search for classic BMWs on craigslist.
