BMW 2002 (1973) – In the Wild

Despite its relatively modest size, the BMW 2002 was an impressive car in its young years, because it beautifully combined sporty driving with daily usability. In that sense, together with its big brother (the first ‘Neue Klasse’), it was a founder of the modern BMW. Because of this combination, it also turned out to be a very suitable car to use as transport for the emergency services at Circuit Zandvoort. At the time, they had a whole host of BMWs 2002 Touring at their disposal. Although they were more often next to the track than on it, you also regularly came across a 2002 (whether or not fully equipped for racing) on ​​the circuit.

Nowadays the BMW 2002 is a rare appearance and even in the parking lot of Circuit Zandvoort it stands out quite a bit. This white copy was captured there a while ago by ‘D oh’, who shared photos of it in the spotter topic here on AutoWeek.nl. Not a Touring, like the orange ‘Rescue’ cars of old, but a two-door. An ’02’ in its original form, that is. The basic version, moreover, with a 100 hp version of the 2.0 in its nose. 100 hp at a weight of less than a ton; you can imagine that even in its least powerful capacity, the 2002 was nice and smooth for its time.

There is little chance that this 2002 was able to enjoy itself at Circuit Zandvoort at a young age, because it only got its Dutch license plate in 1999. Since then it has gone through four owners. The current one has owned the car for almost a year. In any case, he has already witnessed the fiftieth birthday of this brave German, now on to the sixtieth!