BMW 700 LS

Friday 24 October 2014
The BMW 700 was a small rear-engined car produced by BMW in various models from August 1959 to November 1965. It was the first BMW automobile with a monocoque structure. The 700 was a sales success at a time when BMW was close to financial ruin. The 700 was also successful in its class in motorsport, both in its stock form and as the basis of a racing special called the 700RS.
More than 188,000 were sold before production ended in November 1965. Upon discontinuing the 700, BMW left the economy car market and did not return until 2002 with the Mini.
Wolfgang Denzel, the distributor of BMW cars in Austria, commissioned Giovanni Michelotti to prepare concept sketches based on a lengthened BMW 600 chassis. In January 1958, Denzel was awarded a development contract for the 700. Denzel presented a prototype to BMW's management in July 1958. The concept, a 2-door coupe with a slanted roof, was generally well received, but objections were raised about the limited passenger space. BMW decided to produce two versions, the coupe, and a 2-door sedan with a taller, longer roof.
The engineer responsible for the chassis and suspension was Willy Black, who had designed and engineered the 600. The drivetrain and suspension were similar to those of the 600, with a rear mounted flat-twin engine powering the rear wheels, leading arm suspension at the front, and semi trailing arm suspension at the rear. The 700 used a steel monocoque structure, and was the first BMW automobile to do so.
The engine was an enlarged version of that used in the R67 motorcycle and the 600. With a bore of 78 millimetres (3.1 in) and 73 millimetres (2.9 in) of stroke, the engine displaced 697 cubic centimetres (42.5 cu in). The engine originally used a single Solex 34PCI carburetor and had a compression ratio of 7.5:1, resulting in a power output of 30 horsepower (22 kW).
The coupe and saloon versions of the 700 were shown at the 1959 Frankfurt Motor Show. After the show, BMW received 25,000 orders for 700s. Production of the BMW 700 Coupe began in August 1959, with the saloon version following in December.
The large number of orders was welcome news for BMW, which was in a financial crisis. In December 1959, shareholders blocked a proposal by BMW's supervisory board to merge BMW into Daimler-Benz. The subsequent heavy investment in BMW by Harald Quandt has been attributed in part to the success of the 700.
By April 1960, production of the 700 was at 155 cars per day. 188,211 BMW 700s were built in five years of production.
The first variant of the 700 to appear after the original coupe and saloon was the 700 Sport in August 1960. Available only as a coupe, the Sport used an uprated engine with a pair of Solex carburetors and a 9.0:1 compression ratio. This brought the power output to 40 horsepower (30 kW). The Sport also had a rear anti-roll bar. A ribbed oil pan was used to reduce the oil temperature of the more powerful engine. The 700 Sport was renamed the 700 CS in 1963.
The 700 Cabriolet was introduced shortly after the 700 Sport, and was available only with the Sport's 40 horsepower engine.. The convertible body was made by Karosserie Baur of Stuttgart. 2,592 convertibles were built.
A Saxomat semi-automatic transmission was offered as an option on 700s from September 1960.
The 700 Luxus replaced the original saloon in 1962. The wheelbase had been extended by 16 centimetres (6.3 in). The 700 LS, a simplified Luxus with a lower price, was introduced in 1963.

Technical data:
- engine: 2 cylinders
- capacity: 697 cc
- horsepower: 40 HP
- gearbox: 4+1
- top speed: 120 km/h