Do you know this one? BMW 1804
06/07/2018
In addition to the BMW 2002, there was also the 1802 and the 1602. The 114 series, usually called "02", was built from 1966 to 1977. The vehicles were always two-door and were originally based on the New Class, but were somewhat more compact.
But there was also a BMW 1804 (and a 2004). But it didn't really fit into the production program, as it was four-door and of similar stature to the New Class. Which was hardly surprising, as the BMW 1804 was originally called the Glas 1700, or Glas 1500, and was a four-door saloon from Hans Glas GmbH, designed by Pietro Frua .
The Glas 1500 could be seen for the first time at the IAA in Frankfurt in September 1963, but the saloon soon received a 1.7-litre engine with 80 hp, which harmonized better with the not exactly light saloon. The engine was the advanced Glas four-cylinder with aluminum cross-flow cylinder head and belt-driven overhead camshaft.
However, when BMW took over the Glas company in 1966, the car no longer fitted into the program and local production was stopped, although there were still factory photos of the Glas 1700 with BMW hubcaps and refinements.
However, it turned out that the South African BMW importer wanted to ramp up local production and the somewhat simpler to build Glas model was a better fit than the more elaborately designed New Class. From 1968, the cars were equipped with BMW technology and 1.8 and 2.0 liter engines and were initially sold as the 1800 GL/SA and 2000 GL/SA. In 1972, Pietro Frua gave them a new, more typical BMW front end and a different interior, and the models were now called 1804 and 2004.
The 1020 kg 1804 ran at a speed of 165 km/h and accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in around 13 seconds, while the 2004 was even quicker.
In total, over 25,000 BMW derivatives of the Glas 1700 were produced in South Africa up to 1973, almost twice as many as in Germany.
