Top Trumps Car Of The Day - BMW 1502

Chopped Swede - Hammered M30-Powered 2002

The things that you find on the wilderness that is the internet. We found these pictures while looking for info for a Drag Racing History article (yes, we are working on new ones, but info gathering is taking a while). Some of the photos aren't of the greatest quality and there is absolutely bugger all information attached; we're guessing by the number plate it's in Sweden. But boy, does it look cool; like something that might have been featured in an issue of Chrome & Flames circa early 90's. Well, lets put the clues together and see if we can see what makes this 2002 tick.
Well first off that roof chop; at a guess it must be two inches lower, with the front and rears screens laid back to suit. Then there's that Zender body kit, reminiscent of the X-pack kit that graced many a MKII Escort in the 80's. If the rear lights are leaving you a little perplexed as to their origin, they're from an early BMW E21. The lights were easy, but the wheels are foxing us; they look like 8x13" cross-spokes, but the make eludes us, but the tread on those fat tyres is unmistakably BF Goodrich Radial T/A.
That engine sure looks like it's built to boogie; a BMW M30 straight-six, with triple Webers and a tubular exhaust manifold; no doubt it hustles this child of the New Class along at an indecent rate of knots. The rear end must have surely been uprated to match, as a standard '02 diff would never be able to take the abuse that engine could throw at it; maybe the small case differential followed the rear lights from the E21?
The centre console in that interior sure did; we'd recognise it anywhere. Hard not to really, given that Amazo-san could probably recite E21 part numbers from memory having owned quite a few of the first 3er. Those seats have been pirated from a CSL coupé however, and very nice they look too. The eagle-eyed among you might be wondering what on earth those pipes are on the passenger side; well they're water pipes as they lead to the boot, where the radiator, battery and practically anything that didn't fit into the engine bay live, seeing as that mighty M30 has claimed dibs on most of the under-bonnet real estate. I sure hope the owner doesn't get any leaks or overheating issues, as anti-freeze would probably be a tad irksome to remove from one's Hush Puppies. A discreet cage rounds off the interior fixtures.
No doubt it's not to everyone's tastes, but we're loving it here.

BMW 1602 EV - Neue Klasse Elektrowagen

BMW is a company known for its performance cars, its racing cars, it's M cars. But its...electric cars? Talk about a best kept secret.
2012 marked the 40th anniversary of the first all-electric BMW. To celebrate the fact and to help promote the contemporary "Project i" cars, BMW put out a brief press release on its EV efforts, starting way back in 1972 at the Olympics games in Munich.
Although the Paul Bracq-designed E25 Turbo concept car was set to steal the show at the Games of the XX Olympiad, BMW also wanted one of their road cars to lead the opening ceremonies that year. But the Olympic committee wisely demanded that it be modified to prevent the athletes from inhaling the car's exhaust fumes. The would also have to serve as a means of transport for the Olympic organising committee members, and also act as a camera car for certain events.
BMW's answer was an electric one.
They began development of two examples of the electric 02; it also afforded them a chance to see if a electric power sytem was adequate to the demands of daily driving. In the 1602 EV, the M10 engine and four-speed manual transmission were replaced by a Bosch DC electric motor with maximum power of 32 kW (43.5 bhp). The motor fed into an intermediate transmission (basically a heavy-duty forward/reverse switch) and rear wheel drive was retained as on the standard petrol model. The electric motor itself weighed 85 kg, but it was nothing close to the 350 kg of the 12 lead-acid Varta batteries housed in the engine bay. With a top speed of 62mph and a mere 19 mile range which even with their limited Olympic use pushed the boundaries of their limits, probably explains BMW why built two cars. So while the car was never going to be a production reality with the battery technology available, let alone the fact that petrol was generally cheaper then electricity in the 70's, it did give BMW the courage to develop a second electric vehicle (based on an old 700 model) in 1975 to test a new charging system.
While BMW's development of the electric car has been rather sporadic over 40 years, it seems they're now serious with pushing the EV ideal forward; the i3 & i8 concepts are proof of that.
More pictures here.

A normal 2002, right? Until you notice the script on the doors and the lack of an exhaust pipe...

Alright, who said flux capacitor?

Vorwärts to go foward, rückwärts to go backwards...

L-R: 1602, E30, E1 concept cars from 1991, E36 saloon & coupé, Mini and E82 1-series coupé

Supercharged 1974 BMW 2002tii

From Bringatrailer.com; a gorgeous roots-blown 2002. Better save the pennies though - it's for sale at a tad over $30k...