Rare racing BMW 1938 will go under the hammer (40 photos)

In August this year, Sotheby's in Monterey will put up up for auction rare BMW 328 Special Competition. In total, in 1938 there were 3 of these vehicles were built. The car is both rare and unusual story. It’s scary to even imagine how much they will ask for automobile.





The BMW 328 is considered a car ahead of its time. The vast majority of models of that era used a frame construction, while a hybrid of spatial frame and load-bearing body. Thanks to this, as well as advanced on topics the times of the 6-cylinder engine in the 1930s, the BMW 328 recorded on its many race victories, including the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans and Mille Miglia.

This copy is one of three racing roadsters, built by BMW for the national team Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfarkorps. They differed in a lightweight body, more performance carburetors, reinforced suspension and 17-inch wheels with drum brakes. The motor developed only 135 hp. s., but the car weighed about 830 kg.

A trio of special roadsters participated in the late 1930s in a number of big races in Europe and Africa. This copy has never been raised. above second place in its class, although it was driven by a real prince: in 1938 an Austrian with Russian roots Maximilian zu Schaumburg-Lippe piloted this car at the Mille Miglia Africana and finished fifth overall.

After the Second World War, traces of the roadster were lost. Long time it was believed that it was dismantled for parts. The sports car is back in sight only in 1963 in the USA, and three years later it was acquired renowned Ferrari collector James McAllister. By this time the car looked like a normal road BMW 328. Accordingly, the collector did not recognize the unique factory assembly, although the car several boxes of sports parts were included.

In the 1980s, the BMW 328 was inherited by Jeffrey McAlister, from time to time demonstrating it at small exhibitions. Exactly thanks to the public display, BMW history fans suspected that the "328" actually not what it seems. Rumors spread, and as a result, BMW sent a factory expert on the 328 line to the owner of the car, who confirmed the origin of the car. However, before the specifications of 1939 year, the roadster was restored only by the current owner, who bought it from McAlister in 2017. The restoration of the BMW 328 Special Competition took at least four years.

Auctioneers claim that the car can be considered one of the of the most important racing BMWs ever to hit the auctions.