The BMW 2002 series is crucial in the history of BMW for several reasons, none the least of which was that it brought the company out of near bankruptcy and put BMW as a marque on the map in the United States. It was the ancestral grandfather to the BMW 3 Series and was produced from 1968 to 1976.

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BMW’s 2002 Series is credited with inventing the category for compact sporting sedans, a category widely popular now through models from various German, Japanese and American makes of small 2-door sedans with high performance engines, suspensions and aggressive sports car-like features.

Hoffman was asking BMW for a sporting version of the 02 series that could be sold in the United States. And it was Hoffman who had suggested to BMW’s engineering director that a two liter engine should be installed into the small two-door 1602 to improve performance and emissions.

At first BMW’s engineering director argued that the larger motor would not fit. But thankfully Helmut Werner Bönsch, BMW’s director of product planning, and Alex von Falkenhausen, designer of the M10 engine, each had had a two-liter engine installed in a 1602 for their respective personal use. Neither knew about the other until one day they found themselves, and their 2.0-liter 1602s, at the same BMW workshop having their personal cars serviced. Together Bönsch and von Falkenhausen created a proposal for the BMW Board to put a 2.0 liter version of the 1602 into production.

Getting more specific, the BMW 2002tii was the high performance, fuel-injected, limited edition of BMW’s 2002 automobile model line. It was a two-door sports sedan based on the four-door BMW 1500 of 1961 and had a top speed of 115 mph. Out went the twin Solex carburetors and in came Kugelfischer fuel injection. With its agile chassis, handling was exemplary: the car carried huge corner speed to make up for any slowness on the straights.

A simple, yet very well executed car, the 2002tii has become a classic amongst BMW enthusiasts, showcasing style, performance, and fun in a compact package. Production of the BMW 2002tii lasted until 1975.

We have one of these archetypal automobiles right now at Beverly Hills Car Club, a 1972 BMW 2002tii that is finished in a color scheme of Taiga Green Metallic complemented by a Black interior. This original California car is equipped with a manual transmission, fuel-injected inline-four engine, front-wheel disc brakes, VDO instruments, dashboard analog clock, Renown branded steering wheel, chrome trim, glove box, manual-crank windows, vent windows, driver-side rearview mirror, and Yokohama tires.

This example comes with receipt copies totaling over $7,800 that has recently been invested into the vehicle dating from September 2021 through February 2023. This is an extremely charming BMW 2002tii that is offered in a fabulous color combination and is mechanically sound.

Thus, a 2002tii, a bonafide classic, is usually worth more, and therefore more highly revered.

And I am certain that, over fifty years since it was launched, some of today’s record company A & R men would give their eye teeth for such a motor-car.

The BMW 2002tii: the personification of class.

And top of the class.

-Alex Manos, Owner