1966 saw the creation under BMW’s design chief Wilhelm Hofmeister of the New Class – the compact 02 Series. The most successful representative of this series is the BMW 2002 (development code E20).

Even before the Porsche 911 Turbo, the 2002 Turbo was the first series production German car with an exhaust-driven turbocharger. Generating 170 horsepower, the car was first presented during the oil crisis at the end of 1973 and severely criticised for its high fuel consumption. The “turbo 2002” logo applied in mirror fashion to the front spoiler also raised many eyebrows and was described as “war paint” in the press.

The model was exclusively available in silver (Polaris Metallic) and white (Chamonix). Only 1672 vehicles were produced between September 1973 and November 1974, and the price was 20,780 German marks when production ended in 1974.

02 Series vehicles were extremely successful and also lent many new impulses to motor racing. In particular, numerous successes were gained in the German Racing Championship (Deutsche Rennsport-Meisterschaft). Tuning firms such as Alpina, Schnitzer, Koepchen and GS-Tuning further enhanced the sporting image of the 02 Series.