BMW 326

{{refimprove|date=February 2008}} {{Infobox automobile | image = BMW 326 limousine 1938 as before but slightly cropped.jpg | name = BMW 326 | manufacturer = [[BMW]] | production = 1936–1941 (15,936 built)<ref name="Norbye250">[[#Norbye|Norbye]], p. 250</ref> 1945–1946 (16 built)<ref name="InsideBMWFactories58" /> | assembly = Germany: [[Eisenach]] (1936–1941) East Germany: [[Eisenach]] (1945–1946) | predecessor = [[BMW 319]] | successor = [[BMW 340|BMW/EMW 340]] | class = [[Mid-size]] | body_style = [[sedan (car)|4-door saloon]] [[Cabriolet (automobile)|2 & 4-door cabriolets]] | engine = 1971 cc [[Overhead valve|OHV]] ''[[BMW M78]]'' [[Straight-six engine|Straight 6]] | layout = [[FR layout]] | transmission = 4-speed manual<ref name="conceptcarz.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z5931/BMW_326.aspx|title=1936 BMW 326|access-date=2008-02-10|work=conceptcarz.com}}</ref> | length = {{convert|4600|mm|in||abbr=on}} | width = {{convert|1600|mm|in||abbr=on}} | height = {{convert|1540|mm|in||abbr=on}} | weight = {{convert|1100|kg|lb||abbr=on}} (measurements approximate) | wheelbase = {{convert|2870|mm|in||abbr=on}} | track = | related = [[BMW 327]] [[BMW 328]] | designer = '''Engineers:''' [[Fritz Fiedler]], Alfred Böning '''Stylist:''' Peter Szymanowski }}

The '''BMW 326''' is a medium-sized sedan produced by [[BMW]] between 1936 and 1941,<ref name="conceptcarz.com"/> and again briefly, under Soviet control, after 1945. The 326 was BMW's first four-door sedan.<ref name=Odin>Odin, L.C. ''World in Motion 1939 - The whole of the year's automobile production''. Belvedere Publishing, 2015. ASIN: B00ZLN91ZG.</ref> It had an innovative design and sold well despite its relatively high price. It also had an unusually involved afterlife.

==Design and engineering== [[File:BAHNA 2018 - 630 (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|BMW 326 4-door cabriolet]] [[File:Częstochowa - Industriada 2010 14.jpg|left|thumb|BMW 326 cabriolet interior]] Designed by [[Fritz Fiedler]], the 326 featured a box-section [[Frame (vehicle)|frame]]<ref name="Norbye46" /> that could readily be adapted for derivative models.{{citation needed|date=June 2012}} Also innovative were the [[torsion bar]] rear suspension, inspired by the [[Beam axle|dead axle]] suspension of the [[Citroën Traction Avant]], and the [[hydraulic brake|hydraulic braking system]], the first to be used on a BMW car. Styled by Peter Szymanowski, the 326 was offered as a four-door sedan and as a two- or four-door cabriolet. The 326 sedan was the first BMW available with four doors.<ref name="Norbye46" /> The [[BMW 320]], [[BMW 321]], [[BMW 327]], and [[BMW 335 (1939 - 1941)|BMW 335]] were based on the 326.<ref>[[#Norbye|Norbye]], pp. 47, 68–70</ref> The streamlined form of the body contrasted with previous relatively upright BMWs: [[Automobile drag coefficients|drag]] was presumably reduced further by including a fixed cover over the spare wheel at the back.{{citation needed|date=June 2012}}

==Drivetrain== The 1971 cc [[Straight-six engine|straight 6]] engine was a version of the [[BMW 319|319]]'s power plant, with the bore increased from {{convert|65|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} to {{convert|66|mm|in|1|abbr=on}},<ref name="Norbye46">{{cite book |last=Norbye |first=Jan P. |title=BMW - Bavaria's Driving Machines |year=1984 |publisher=Publications International |location=Skokie, IL |isbn=0-517-42464-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bmwbavariasdrivi00norb/page/45 45–47] |ref=Norbye |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/bmwbavariasdrivi00norb/page/45 }}</ref> and an unchanged stroke<ref name="Norbye46" /> of {{convert|96|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}<ref name="conceptcarz.com" /> giving a displacement of {{convert|1971|cc|cuin|1|abbr=on}}.<ref name="conceptcarz.com" /><ref name="Norbye46" /> In the 326 application, it was fed by twin 26 mm [[Solex Carburetor|Solex]] [[carburetors]] to produce a claimed maximum output of {{convert|50|PS|abbr=on}} at 3750 [[Revolutions per minute|rpm]].<ref name="Norbye46" /> The top speed is {{convert|115|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref name="conceptcarz.com"/><ref name= Odin />

The four-speed gear box was supported by freewheeling on the bottom ratios and synchromesh on the top two.<ref name= Odin />

==Reception== The 326 was introduced at the [[Auto Show|Berlin Motor Show]] in February 1936,<ref name="Norbye46" /> the 326 was offered for sale from May of that year.{{citation needed|date=June 2012}} The 326 was a success. By the time production was suspended in 1941, the Eisenach plant had produced 15,949 of them.<ref name="motorbase.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.motorbase.com/vehicle/by-id/-1063593309/|title=BMW 326|access-date=2008-02-10|work=motorbase.com| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080229050805/http://www.motorbase.com/vehicle/by-id/-1063593309/| archive-date= 29 February 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>

==Afterlives== ;East Germany {{main|BMW 340}} [[File:Emw340-2-bild2.jpg|thumb|upright|The Eisenach derivative]] In 1945, [[Eisenach]] was occupied by [[United States|US]] forces. However, the wartime allies had already agreed that [[Thuringia]] would fall within the [[Soviet occupation zone]]. The plant that BMW had originally acquired in 1929 was not fully destroyed, and it was possible for returning survivors to assemble sixteen postwar 326s. A modernised version, badged initially as the [[BMW 340]], emerged around 1948. Despite the nomenclature, it was clear that BMW's [[Automobilwerk Eisenach|Eisenach plant]] was no longer under the control of BMW: later BMW 340s, still based on the prewar 326, were badged as EMW 340s following a protracted dispute concerning title to the BMW name.<ref name="InsideBMWFactories58">{{cite book|last1=Robson|first1=Graham|title=Inside the BMW Factories: Building the Ultimate Driving Machine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EzBGh9EFUtMC|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EzBGh9EFUtMC&q=East+German+BMW+production&pg=PA54|access-date=2013-02-16|date=2008-11-07|publisher=MBI Publishing|location=Minneapolis, MN US|isbn=978-0-7603-3463-8|at=p 58, EMW—Like BMW? The Same, but Different|chapter=Chapter 5: Losing Eisenach, Building Up Munich|ref=Robson}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It was, perhaps, a tribute to the 326's perceived excellence, together with the skills of the workers who had struggled to revive it, that the Eisenach plant was permitted to produce the BMW design until approximately 1955, long after the [[Auto Union]] assembly facilities at nearby [[Zwickau]] had been dismantled and removed to Russia as part of the war reparations package.

;United Kingdom {{main|Bristol Cars}} [[File:Bristol 403 ca 1952 in Hertfordshire.jpg|thumb|upright|The Bristol derivative]] The Russians were not alone in being impressed by the 326. Detailed plans of the sedan and coupé derivative models were also rescued by the British. In the 1930s [[Frazer-Nash]] had imported and adapted BMW designs. In 1945 just after [[World War II]] ended, Frazer-Nash were taken over by the [[Bristol Aeroplane Company]], who negotiated rights to several BMW designs including the 326 and the six-cylinder engine. This led to a succession of [[Bristol Cars]] introduced between 1947 and 1953 that were unapologetic developments of the respected BMW design. Almost ten years after the war's end, the [[Bristol 403]] produced between 1953 and 1955 still retained a BMW style front grill: under the skin the engine had been extensively upgraded, and the Bristol 403 now offered a claimed output of {{convert|100|bhp|abbr=on}}. The engine size, at 1971 cc, was unchanged.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bristol, AFN and BMW |url=https://ericdymockmotorbooks.co.uk/bristol-afn-and-bmw/ |website=Eric Dymock Motor Books |access-date=15 April 2026 |date=Jun 8, 2020}}</ref>

==References== {{commons category|BMW 326}} {{reflist}}

[[Category:BMW vehicles|326]] [[Category:Executive cars]] [[Category:Rear-wheel-drive vehicles]] [[Category:1940s cars]] [[Category:Cars introduced in 1936]] [[Category:Compact executive cars]] [[Category:Limousines]] [[Category:Convertibles]] [[Category:Sedans]] [[Category:Cars discontinued in 1941]]