Recently I looked at a post-War oddity, the EMW 327.
Although it was the BMW that wasn’t a BMW, the company itself was busy with its first post-War offering – and it was an unusual one in many ways. In 1952, the company launched the large 501 models. Under the hood was the 326’s inline-6 powerplant, but the new bodywork, ornate details, and large scale gained it the nickname “Baroque Angel”. In 1954, BMW introduced an all-new 2.6-liter V8, which increased horsepower to nearly 100; about a 40% increase over the initial 501 offering. The alloy V8 would be the first of the company’s history, but wouldn’t last long – BMW used it in the 50X series cars, but reverted to four and six cylinder engines until the M60 was introduced in the 1990s. At the same time as the new motor was rolled out the company introduced the 502, which was essentially an upscale version of the 501 with additional chrome and equipment. Improvements continued to stream in; a 3.2-liter V8, disc brakes, and even a late run ‘505’ upscale limousine carried the model into the early 1960s. The V8-powered versions were also claimed to be the fastest German production sedans in period. 501s and 502s were also built in multiple configurations, including sedans, coupes, and convertibles. Today’s sedan example comes from the middle of the run, and these are rare enough to see that it’s worth a look:
