The BMW New Class (German: Neue Klasse) was a line of sedans and coupes produced by German automaker BMW between 1962 and 1977. These models ensured BMW's solvency after the company's financial crisis of the 1950s and established the identity of BMW automobiles as sports sedans.
The first New Class vehicle was the 1500, a 4-door compact executive car with the new M10 (at the time called M115) OHC 4-cylinder engine. In 1965, the 2000C and 2000CS luxury coupés were added to the range.
Replacement of the New Class models began with the larger 2000C and 2000CS coupés, which were replaced by the 6-cylinder E9 2800CS in 1969. In 1972, the 4-door sedans were replaced by the larger E12 5 Series.
The New Class coupes introduced the Hofmeister kink, which has been used on most BMW cars since. Another legacy of the New Class is the iconic 02 Series, which are a shortened version of the New Class sedans.
During the 1950s, the BMW line-up consisted of luxury cars with displacements of two litres or greater, economy cars powered by motorcycle engines, and motorcycles. With their luxury cars becoming increasingly outdated and unprofitable and their motorcycles and economy cars becoming less attractive to an increasingly affluent society, BMW needed a car in the 1.5 to 2 litre class to become competitive. Prototypes powered by a 1.6 L engine based on one bank of the BMW OHV V8 engine were built and evaluated without a convincing result.(pp130–131)
In 1960, Herbert and Harald Quandt invested heavily in BMW, and gained a controlling interest in the company.(p134) That year, the "Neue Klasse" project was begun. Led overall by Fritz Fiedler, the project had Eberhard Wolff in charge of chassis design, Wilhelm Hofmeister in charge of styling and body engineering, and Alex von Falkenhausen in charge of engine design.(p136) The team was to produce a new car with a new engine, which BMW had not done since the 303 in 1933.
The prototype was introduced in September 1961 at the Frankfurt Motor Show as the BMW 1500 four-door saloon,(p62) alongside the BMW 3200 CS, the last BMW with the OHV V8.(p131)
The term New Class referred to the 1.5–2–liter class of automobiles from which BMW had been absent since World War II.
The car took over oncoming demand of the Borgward Isabella market, as Borgward disappeared the year before.
The three-box four-door saloon was in many ways conventional, using a unitary structure and MacPherson strut front suspension which were becoming mainstream by the time of the 1500s introduction. Less conventional was the independent rear suspension, which featured coil springs and semi-trailing wishbones pivoted from a stout cross beam that also supported the differential housing. While BMW was using MacPherson struts for their first time on the New Class, they had used unit body construction on the 700 and semi-trailing arm rear suspension on the 600 and the 700.(p137)(p62) All New Class cars had front disc brakes.
The M10 overhead camshaft engine used in the New Class was required to displace 1.5 L initially, with the possibility to be expanded to 1.8 L. Von Falkenhausen had earlier designed an engine prototype for possible use in the BMW 700 and used this as a starting point for the M10.(p136)(p62) The engine was canted over at 30 degrees to the right of vertical in order to allow for the low bonnet line, which also contributed to the styling of the car.
In the years preceding the New Class's 1962 release, BMW had recorded many operating losses. In 1962, the company broke even, with a turnover of 294 million marks. In 1963, sales increased by 47% to 433 million marks, and BMW was able to pay dividends to its shareholders for the first time in 20 years.(p63)
Introduced in September 1961 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the BMW 1500 entered regular production in October 1962 and was manufactured until December 1964.
The M10 4-cylinder engine used oversquare dimensions of 82 mm (3.2 in) bore and 71 mm (2.8 in) stroke produced 60 kW (80 hp) in the BMW 1500.
Contemporary reports praised the all-round visibility and the commanding driving position while recording that it was necessary to lean forward a little to engage first and third gears due to the long travel distance of the gear lever. The large 40 cm tall luggage compartment was also commended.
The 1500 could accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) in approximately 15 seconds. The performance was at the time considered lively in view of the engine size, and although the engine needed to be worked hard in order to achieve rapid progress, it ran smoothly even at speeds above 6,000 rpm. The firm suspension and correspondingly harsh ride surprised those conditioned by the BMW 501 to anticipate a more comfort-oriented suspension setup.
Notable problems that developed with the 1500 included separation of the semi-trailing arm mounts from the body, rear axle failure, and gearbox problems. These were resolved in later versions of the New Class sedan.(p64)
The 1500 was replaced in 1964 by the 1600,(p139) but it was still made available in markets where capacities greater than 1500 cc incurred higher tax rates.
Introduced in September 1963, the BMW 1800 was the second member of the New Class family. This model had an M10 engine with a 84 mm (3.3 in) bore and 80 mm (3.1 in) stroke, giving a displacement of 1,773 cc. It produced 67 kW (90 hp) at 5,250 rpm and 130 N⋅m (96 lb⋅ft) at 3,000 rpm.(pp140-141)(pp64-66)
The 1800 TI (Turismo Internazionale) model featured components developed for the 1800 by the tuning company Alpina. The upgrades included dual Solex PHH side-draft carburetors and higher-compression pistons for 82 kW (110 hp) at 5,800 rpm and 136 N⋅m (100 lb⋅ft) at 4,000 rpm.(p141)
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