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BMW 700 - egg-laying blue and white wool-milk sow

Name: BMW 700 1960
Brand: BMW

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Created on December 8, 2011

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv Wolfgang Thierack

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv Wolfgang Thierack

Archiv

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - looks particularly smart with the optional two-tone paint finish

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - enough space for a whole family and still sporty

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - a small car with mid-range aspirations

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - the longer wheelbase took away some of the elegance of the bodywork

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - the scenery looks almost model-like, but everything is on a one-to-one scale

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - the sedan differed from the coupé only in the roofline

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - the LS sedan accounted for the largest share of total production

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - Giovanni Michelotti had done a great job with the design

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - No BMW kidney grille on the front, but still a fully-fledged BMW

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - the letters 'LS' denote the luxury saloon version

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - you can't get any clearer than this

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - the door openers fold out when pressed

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - dashboard - note the not quite round steering wheel

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - the ignition key is turned in front of the gearshift in the later versions

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - no rev counter, but a clock instead

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - with radio in matching look

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - the two-cylinder boxer engine produced 32 hp in the later saloons

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BMW 700 LS (1962) - only one carburetor on the sedan, the large cooling fan is clearly visible

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BMW 700 (1961) - the family outing in a small BMW

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BMW 700 (1961) - Vehicle brochure of the 700 Luxus

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BMW 700 Coupé (1960) - colorful coupé crowd - illustration from a sales brochure

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BMW 700 Sedan (1959) - International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt 1959 - Side view, right-rear

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BMW LS (1963) - stylish, timelessly elegant large body - original caption of this picture

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BMW LS (1963) - above-average space and amazing driving performance

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BMW 700 (1961) - BMW advertisers promised a road consumption of 5.5 to 5.9 liters per 100 km

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BMW 700 (1959) - elegant yet economical - the slogan from 1959

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BMW 700 (1959) - view-through drawing of the sedan

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BMW 700 (1959) - Two-cylinder boxer engine

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BMW 700 Coupé (1959) - a vehicle with chic and breed, wrote the BMW advertising department about this picture

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - brochure illustration - on the road in racing trim

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BMW 700 Coupé (1959) - refined elegance and unmistakable chic - as the BMW advertising copywriters wrote

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BMW 700 Coupé (1961) - a vehicle with pedigree - the marketing people promised 125 km/h from 30 hp

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BMW 700 Coupé (1959) - a car to fall in love with, was the headline of the BMW advertising department for this picture

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BMW 700 Coupé (1959) - pretty little car

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BMW 700 (1959) - view into the trunk - spare wheel and fuel filler neck can be seen

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BMW 700 CS (1962) - with 40 hp, the top speed rose to 135 km/h

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - silhouette of the sports version - the captivatingly beautiful coupé easily reached 135 km/h, wrote the BMW salesmen

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BMW 700 Coupé (1959) - X-ray image shows the good use of space

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - Interior - BMW salespeople spoke of bucket seats with plastic edging

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - the engine does not fill the available space by far

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BMW 700 Coupé (1959) - BMW factory drawing - Steering wheel and dashboard

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BMW 700 (1961) - Comparison of normal and sports transmission

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BMW 700 Coupé (1960) - from the sales brochure - so rich is the color selection

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BMW 700 Convertible (1961) - exceptionally elegant even when open - illustration from the sales brochure

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BMW 700 Convertible (1961) - only 2,592 units of the convertible were built - cover picture of the sales brochure

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BMW 700 Convertible (1962) - elegant lines also in the convertible

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BMW 700 Convertible (1961) - richly equipped car with great driving culture, which also inspires the lady at the wheel - Press release BMW

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BMW 700 (1960) - Controls - from the operating instructions

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - View through the rear window of the test car of the time

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - the two-cylinder boxer

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - Driver and passenger seat of a test car

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - Gear lever and handbrake in the test car

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - Door panel on the test car

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - Folding seat on the test car

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - Dashboard of the test car

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - View into the engine compartment of the test car

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - A look inside the test car

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - the rear of the test car

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - Driver and passenger seat in the test car

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - rear seat of the test car

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - side view of the engine compartment

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - Two-cylinder boxer engine in the test car

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BMW 700 (1961) - Spare wheel in the AR test car

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BMW 700 (1961) - Sedan and Sport in comparison, seen from behind

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BMW 700 (1961) - Comparison of the two closed body variants

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - front view of the test car

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - rear view of the test car

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - front view of the test car

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - rear view of the test car

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - Engine compartment lid and entrance of the test car

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - Trunk and access in the test car

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - a test car in 1961

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - Labeling of the test car

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BMW 700 (1961) - Sports and sedan version in the test - side by side

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - rear seat of the Coupé version

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - Steering wheel and dashboard of the test car

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - Back seat of the sedan in the long-distance test

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - Trunk of a tested sedan

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - entry into the sedan (long-distance test)

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - View into the engine compartment of a test car

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - there was still plenty of room in the back of the test car

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - the two-cylinder boxer develops 40 hp in the sports version

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - the BMW at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show

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BMW 700 Sport - BMW's compact sports coupé at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show

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BMW 700 - whether it suits us - Question at the Geneva Motor Show 1961

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BMW 700 Sedan (1961) - the smooth design suits the test car well

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BMW 700 Sedan (1959) - exhibited at the 1959 Frankfurt International Motor Show

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BMW 700 (1959) - at the 1959 Frankfurt International Motor Show - lettering on the small car

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - View of the two-cylinder boxer engine of a test car

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The winning BMW 700, on the left Willi Martini with his champion

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Juan Manuel Fangio ordered four BMW 700 Coupés from Willi Martini for his participation in the Argentine Grand Premio

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BMW 700 (1961) - Laroche at the Tour de France 1961

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BMW 700 Coupé (1963) - Martini and Louis (D) at the Rallye Geneve (Geneva) in 1963

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BMW 700 (1962) - Advertising for the sedan

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BMW 700 (1960) - Advertising for sedan and coupé in 1960

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BMW LS Luxus (1964) - The back of this factory photo promised mid-range space in a small car

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BMW 700 Convertible (1964) - up to 135 km/h with the 40 hp sports engine

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BMW 700 C (1964) - chic in shape, enchanting in color according to the press release

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BMW 700 Convertible (1964) - a sleek little two-seater

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BMW LS Luxus (1964) - for a small car with above-average space and extensive equipment

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BMW 700 C (1964) - in a modern housing estate

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Summary

This article contains the following chapters

An Austrian and an Italian help BMW
Synthesis of motorcycle and automobile
Compact dimensions and modern technology
For the family
For the sports driver
For the sun worshipper
White-blue barrel organ
Also suitable for ladies
Series race winner
Evolution to the end, only a four-cylinder was not allowed
Not for the faint-hearted
Rare and rarer
No longer quite so cheap and simple
Further information

Estimated reading time: 11min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Can a single car do so much? Series winner in motor racing, transportation for the whole family, fuel economy champion, savior of an entire automobile company from bankruptcy? The BMW 700, which was presented in 1959, made us forget its indirectly unpopular predecessor, the BMW 600, and became a sales success with its Italian-inspired exterior, high utility value, low fuel and maintenance costs and sporty performance, saving BMW from imminent bankruptcy. At the end of the 1950s, the German car manufacturer BMW was suffering from the problem of having hard-to-sell luxury vehicles such as the 507 and 502 at one end of its product range, while building Isetta-type cabin scooters that were no longer attractive to the public at the other end. There was a need. The solution came from Austria, where the resourceful inventor and racing driver Wolfgang Denzel, BMW importer for the small Alpine country, together with Giovanni Michelotti, developed a more mature and at the same time much more contemporary coupé version of the 600 sedan. BMW liked the result so much that the new model was presented at the 1959 Frankfurt International Motor Show after a few technical and design modifications and the addition of a saloon version. The new small BMW immediately became a public favorite.

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