BMW was in Bad Shape in the 1950s. It had a limited range of Models That Were Outdataed and Didn’t Meet Customer Needs. In Those Reconstruction Times, There Was More Demand for Small, Affordable Cars than for the V8 Limousines BMW sacrificed. The Survival of the Car Division Hung by a Thread. A Shareholders’ Meeting was a convened to file for bankruptcy. However, it was decided to try to turn the tide by capitalizing on the then-popularity of microcars, such as the messerschmitt cabin roller and heinkel kabine. There was no time to develop its own model, so bmw bought a license for the iso isetta, a two-seater bubble-car from Italy. The Model was Given a BMW Badge and a modified motorcycle engine from its own production, and proved reasonably successful. It was joined by the 600, a microcar with four seats. But between those covered motorcycles and the stately 502, which looked somewhat like the jaguar mk2 and was called barockel gel in germany becoause or is lush shapes, there was an enormous gap. The Arrival of the 700 in the Compact Class Brought Relief.
Wilhelm Hofmeister Designs Mid-Range Model
The Elegant Model, Designed by Michelotti, would later be Prove to Be the Savior of the Brand. Its Success Provided BMW with the Means to Develop A Mid-Range Model, which was Increasingly in Demand with the Increasing Prosperity. The Four-Door Model was Given A Distinctive, Angular Appearance, Designed by Wilhelm Hofmeister, Who Applied His Famous Kink to this Model for the First Time, advised by Michelotti. They started with a clean slate, as there was no predecessor to take into account. The Technology was also new and developed in-house. The Model was equipped with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder Engine with overhead camshaft, which is Delivered 80 HP to the Rear Wheels and Enabled the Car to Reach A Top Speed of 150 km/h. In 1961, the Model Made its debut as the BMW 1500 at the IAA in Frankfurt, and Production started in 1962. To indicate that the model was a radical departure from the past, BMW Spoke of the Neue Class (New Class). That name also indicated that there were more models in the pipeline. First, 1.8 and 1.6-liter Engines Became available, then the Beautiful 2000 Coupe Came Out. In Early 1966, The Corresponding Sedan, The 2000, Appeared. In contrast to the 1500-1800, the 2000, Rectangular Headlights and Taillights had that made it appear Wider, Althegh the Chassis and Body Were Identical. Also in Early 1966, a two-through sedan complete the series. This 1600 was the beginning of what would later be called the 02 series.
Neue Class Sells Well
The neue class with a need and sold well. The four-through models Were particularly Popular with businessmen, directors, professionals, academics and technology enthusiasts, the two-through model was as special with young career makers and sporty family men.
Over the years, More Powerful Engine Variations Became available. In mid-1966, A Sporty Variant, The 2000 Ti, Came In The Guise of the 1800, Ie with the Round Headlights and Narrow Taillights. The simultaneous lion released 2000 Ti-Lux (later Tilux) was a luxurious version of the 2000 and did its wide lights, but also the 120 HP Engine of the Ti. We have an example of the latter in this test.
Neue class versus old class
Opposite The Neue Klasse is the old class which, in Addition to Ford, Opel, Mercedes and Volvo, Includes Lancia. The latter fire has a reputation as a manufacturer of innovative, fast, elegant and comfortable cars. In the 1930s, Lancia caused a sensation with the lambda, which was the first to have a self-supporting body and an ingenious ‘sliding pillar’ front suspension. Later came the streamlined Aprilia with the ardea derived from it. After WWII, The Brand Used the Aurelia Series As A Strong Asset, With the First V6 and the First Gran Turismo in the World, The B20. The Baton was tasks about by the fff series in the Late 1950s: Flaminia, Flavia and Fulvia. The Flaminia is the Top Model, The Flavia The Mid-Range Model and the Fulvia The Compact Model.
Lancia 2000 End-of-Life Flavia Series
The Lancia 2000 in this test is an end-of-life model of the flavia series. We take a closer look at the flavia, Named After An Old Roman Road. The Spacious Four-Door Model was launched in 1961 and developed under the leadership of professor Antonio Fessia, Who Held Idiosyncratic Views and Strongly Emphasized Safety. That is why the flavia was the first Italian car to have front-wheel drive and a boxer engine because of the low center of gravity. Also, The Engine Does Not have More Than 1.5 Liters, because excessively high speeds are unsafe. That Engine Delivers 78 HP with a Car Weight of Almost 1,200 kg, Good for a top speed of 148 km/h. The Car Has A Dual Dunlop Braking System with Disc Brakes All Around. The Angular Design was a drawn in-house by Pietro Castagnero.
Althegh the Car was Well Received, there was immediate demand for more power. Soon, A 1.8-liter Engine was Therefore available, which Delivered An Output or 92 HP and Made A Top Speed of 160 km/h Possible. In 1967, The Model was Facelifted, Making It Smarter and Less Angular.
Lancia No Marshall Aid Due to Delivery to Italian Army
Lancia Has Now Run Into Financial Problems. That has its origins in Various events. To start with, after WWII, Unlike Alfa Romeo and Fiat, The Brand Did Not Receive Mashall Aid. Duration the War, Lancia had developed a reconnaissance vehicle for the Italian Army, The Lince, which was Mainly Used by the Germans, Including Against the Italian Population. MoreOover, in the 1950s, the brand participated intensively in racing, wh andriner reach formula 1, but then had to sell its racing stable to ferrari, which is continued to achieve success with the d50 f1 developed BY Lancia. Lancia was then tasks about by a cement manufacturer, p helpsi, and recovered somewhat. Now things are going wrong again and p helps no longer has capital. This time the problem is the Too Broad Range of Model Variants That Are Sold in Relatively Small Numbers. The Models are Becoming outdated, but there is no money for developing new models and so a downward spiral has started. For a moment, Ford is in the Picture to Incorporate the Brand, But Italian Politics Find That Unacceptable. That is how Fiat Takes over the brand in 1969 with a mountain of debts, including some from p helpsi.
Fiat Removes Name Flavia
Fiat Removes The Name Flavia. The Model Undergoes Another Facelift and from 1971 is only available with the 2-liter Engine. The Carburetor Version (115 HP, 175 km/h) Continues AS 2000 Berlina, which Puts It More Sharply Against the Similarly Named Model From Direct Competitor Alfa Romeo. The Version with Injection Engine (125 HP, 180 km/h, Five-Speed Gearbox) Appears on the Market A Year later AS 2000i.e., Referring to Bosch’s Electronic Injection System. We have an example of the latter version in this test.
Clearly Contemporaries
Put them next to each other and you immediately see that they are contemporaries. Both Have a Sleek, Angular Shape, Lots of Glass and Similar Sizes. Seen from the side, the bmw has the shape of a parallelogram, with its sloping nose to which the rear runs parallel. The Lancia is More Square and Therefore Looks More Massive. Both cars some something in the grille that refers to the external radiator that cars used to have. In The BMW, these are the ‘Kidneys’, in Lancia the Pentagonal Shield in the Middle. Characteristic of the BMW is that the engine and trunk member open to the hip line of the car. Both cars sacrifice an enormous luggage space.
Chic interiors
Open A by and in Both cars you see a spacious, chic, velour-covered interior with wood on the dashboard and, in the case of the bmw, also at the top of the by trim. So far, Both test candidates are virtualy the same. Only the Lancia Has Standard Headrests and the BMW does not. MoreOover, The Lancia Has Curtains for the Rear Window, which prevent the sun from Damaging the Upholstery of the Rear Seat, but which can also Serve to Protect the Privacy of the Rear Passengers. Partly for this Reason, The Car was popular in Italy Among Dignitaries from the Government, The Church, The Business Community and … The Mafia.
If you take a Seat Beind the Somewhat Cheap-Looking Two-Spoke Steering Wheel, The Lancia Comes Across As More Modern Than The BMW. This is partly Due to the center console in which the gear liver is included, the square ‘with cheerful colors in the dashboard and a styling that breathes the spirit of the 70s, while the interior of the bmw with its its lever, levertens, thines, decorative edges.
If you drive a Lancia 2000 you will experience the age
The Engine Sound of the Lancia is very characteristic. It has a somewhat raw boxer rumble that you don’t immediately expect with this appearance. Despite its 70s looks, as soon as you start driving, you feel that the lancia was developed in the 60s. This is Mainly Due to the Leaf Springs Under The Car. As a result, it springs rather smoothly, causing it to roll in the corners. The Nose also Tends to Wallow Easily, Especiate Since The Engine is in Front of the Front Axle. As a result, the car is also QUITE Understeered. The Steering Wheel Has to make QUITE A FEW REVOLUTIONS To Change The Course of the Large, Square Nose. But The Road Holding and Directoral Stability Are Excellent for Covering Long Distances at High Speed. You can Easily Drive It For Hours at 140-150 km/h.
The Braking and Steering Systems Are Power-Assisted, The Shifting is Light, and the Clutch also Requires Little Force. There is no play anywhere in this copy, you can feel the low mileage. The Operation of Most Functions is the same as now, with a Few Minor Deviations here and there.
Also BMW Feels More Old-Fashioned Than It Looks
The BMW also Feels More Old-Fashioned Than You would Expect Based On Its Sleek Appearance. The enormous strokes that the liver makes from left to right are particularly striking, as is the lack of liver guidance, whichich makes shifting more or an educated guess than an accurate placement. Very unexpected if you consider that bmws Later Virtuelyy Foolproof Shift Guidance. Furthermore, The Car Drives Excellently; Braking, Accelerating and Clutching Require Little Force and Are Actually Just Like Today. Only the Large Steering Wheel Betrays Its Age, Although the Car Does Not Steer Heavily. Standardization had not yet struck at bmw, by the way. For Example, The Direction Indicator is on the right of the steering column, The Left Lever Operates The Light, and You Operate The Windshield Wipers with a Pull Button on the Dashboard. The Engine Sound is very typical; There is a child of howl in it that Becomes Stronger as the Engine Speed Increases.
Much Visiality All Around
It is striking that the visibility all Around is excellent in Both cars thanks to the lots of Glass and the Thin Window Styles. It is also noticeable that they bothready Have Rear Rear Window Heating, in Bothes with much thinner Heating Wires than Today.
Which one do you want in your own garage? They are both chic five-seater touring cars with lots of luggage space, excellent road holding and enthusiastic engines. They are very equally matched, so it mainly comes down to taste. The Lancia is Closer to the Present Time, the BMW Takes You Back to Bygone Days More Quickly. We have a slight preference for the more modern shifting of the lancia, but we would not be grief if we recedived the bmw as a gift.
Technical Data
Model History BMW 2000
After the Introduction of the BMW 1500 in 1962, The Model Became Avarable Less than a year later as the BMW 1800 with 90 HP and as the 1800 Ti (Turismo Internazionale) with 110 HP thanks to a Double Carburetor. In 1964, A 1.6-liter version of the four-by sedan also came out, while the 1.5-liter version Version Went out of production at the end of that year.
In 1965, The 2000 C (s) Appeared, With A Two-Liter Engine and One (C) OR Two (CS) Carburetors. The body of which is build at karmann. At the beginning of 1966, The Sedan Version of This Came On The Market. In Addition, in that year the two-through 1600 came out, which is Unofficially referred to as 1600-2 to avoid confusion with the four-through 1600.
In mid-1966, the 2.0-liter Engine Became available with two carburetors, which brought the power to 120 HP. This Model is Called 2000 Ti, But Has The Appearance of the 1800. The 2000 Tilux, which Came Out At The Same Time, had The Same Engine and the 2000 Body. Finally, the 2.0-liter Engine is available under the name 2000 Tii with Petrol Injection, which Brings the Power to 130 HP.
The Tilux Remains available Until 1970. In mid-1968, BMW Modernized the Dashboard, with the Clocks Protruduing Halfway Above the Dashboard. The 2000 was successed in 1972 by the 520 from the 5 series. Or All Variations of the 2000 Sedan Together, 143,464 Copies Were Produced.
Model History Lancia 2000
After the Flavia Came on the Market in 1961, a coupe version of the model Appeared in 1962, designed by Pininfarina, and equipped with a 90 HP Engine. At the end of that year, this was Joined by a Four-Seater Convertible designed by Michelotti and Build at Vignale. An Outlandish Design by Ercole Spada (Zagato) For A Sporty Coupe, The Flavia Sport, With A Lightweight Aluminum Body, was also Tasks Into Production. This Completes The Flavia Model Series.
The Engine Range Consists of A 1.5 and A 1.8-liter Engine. From the latter, a variant with mechanical fuel injection from kugelfischer appeared in 1965, which is available on all body variants. This Increases The Power From 92 to 102 HP and the Top Speed from 160 to 170 km/h, While Consumption Decreases.
In 1967, The Model was facelifted. The Sport and Convertibile Went Out of Production On That Occasion and the 1.5-liter Engine is no Longer Avarable. In Addition, a two-liter Engine with 114 HP (OR 126 HP with Injection) is now also available, as is a luxurious lx version of the berlina. Pininfarina was a commissioned to facelift the coupe; This model Appeared in 1969 as a harbinger of the next series of Flavias. In The Same Year, Lancia was sold to Fiat. The Model Series was facelifted again, is only available with the 2.0-liter Engine and is now simply called 2000. A year later, this engine is also available with fuel injection under the name 2000i.e. The series was successed in 1974 by the beta. Of the 2000 Berlina, 14.319 Copies Were Produced, or which 5.475 with Injection.