Herr Dreizehn started something epic yesterday with his The Great Outdoors post. Because I’m a great admirer of the brand from Bayern, especially that era of Shark noses. So instead of showing that DKW I’m joining in on the fun and show you the oldest shark around!
Because this BMW 1500 was the first to feature the nose with round headlights mounted in the forward leaning grille. It was the first of the Neue Klasse, to be introduced in 1961 at the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung in Frankfurt, Germany’s most important car show.
And the car proved important to BMW as this was the one that put BMW on the winning side again: it made the company profitable again. For the first time in 20 years (1963) shareholders were paid dividends. As said: it was the first car to feature the shark-nose that would be used for 2 decades. It was the first car to feature the Hofmeister-Knick. It featured independent rear suspension.
But most important: It paved way for an icon. The heavily related ‘02. They share many mechanical components, amongst those the notorious M10 engine series. Used for the ‘61 1500 with 80hp, used in Turbocharged form in the ‘86 Brabham BT55 F1-car putting out 1400hp.
After 10 years of production the production of the Neue Klasse was ended. During that time the 1500 was replaced by the 1600 and bigger M10's were offered as well. Over 160000 units were produced. Two hundred of those were the 130hp 1800TI/SA’s: homologation specials sold only to “licensed racing and sports drivers.”
The model is another reproduced Dinky Toys in 1/43 like the Porsche 356 I showed before. It appears to have the same creme color, Dinky made these in red and blue as well. Of course I had to get this one due to it’s ‘02-connection. It has that same awesome vintage feel to it as the 356 and I think they’re gonna make a great pair somewhere in the house.
Das war es wieder. Now let us follow 13's awesome attempt to make this an amazing...
Tschüss!