BMW 600

BMW 600

Manufacturer	BMW
Production	1957–1959 34,813 built
Predecessor	BMW 3/20
Successor	BMW 700
Layout	RR layout
Engine	582 cc flat twin
Transmission	4-speed manual all-synchromesh
Wheelbase	1,700 mm (67 in)
Length	2,900 mm (110 in)
Width	1,400 mm (55 in)
Height	1,375 mm (54.1 in)
Curb weight	515 kg (1,140 lb) dry weight
Related	BMW Isetta
Designer	Willy Black

The BMW 600 is a four-seat microcar produced by BMW from mid-1957 until November 1959. Partially based on the BMW Isetta two-seater, it was BMW's first postwar four seat economy car. It was not a sales success, but it began the design process for its more successful successor, the BMW 700.

Concept, design, and engineering

BMW needed to expand its model range, but they did not have the resources to develop an all-new car with an all-new engine. Therefore, it used the Isetta as starting point for a new four seat economy car.

Right 3/4 view, with front door open and side door in view

As a result, the 600 used the front suspension and front door of the Isetta. The need to carry four people required a longer frame, a different rear suspension, and a larger engine. A new perimeter frame was designed, using box section side members and straight tube crossmembers. The rear suspension was an independent semi trailing arm design; this was the first time BMW had used this system. The chassis had a wheelbase of 1,700 millimetres (67 in), a front track of 1,220 millimetres (48 in), and a rear track of 1,160 millimetres (46 in).

The 600 was powered by the 582 cc (35.5 cu in) flat-twin engine from the R67 motorcycle/sidecar combination. This engine, which delivered 19.5 horsepower (14.5 kW) at 4,500 revolutions per minute, was mounted behind the rear wheels. A four-speed manual gearbox was standard, while a Saxomat semi-automatic transmission was available.

Access to the rear seats was by a conventional door on the right side of the vehicle.

Reception

The Isetta image hurt the sales of this larger, more upscale car.

The sales figures for the 600 did not meet BMW's expectations. During production from August 1957 to 1959, about 35,000 were built. This is attributed to competition with more conventional cars, including the Volkswagen Beetle.

Legacy

Rear view of the 600

The 600 played a direct role in the design of its successor, the BMW 700. Wolfgang Denzel, the distributor of BMW cars in Austria, commissioned Giovanni Michelotti to prepare concept sketches based on a lengthened BMW 600 chassis. Denzel presented the concept, a 2-door coupe with a slanted roof, to BMW's management. The concept was generally well received, but objections were raised about the limited passenger space. BMW decided to produce two versions, the coupe, and a 2-door sedan with a taller, longer roof.

Another legacy of the 600 was its independent semi-trailing arm rear suspension. This was BMW's first use of this suspension system and, with the exception of the BMW M1, it was used on every BMW production automobile introduced afterward up to 1984. It was eventually supplanted by the "Z-axle" multi-link suspension introduced with the BMW Z1 in 1988. The last BMW cars with semi-trailing arm suspension were the BMW Compact and the BMW Z3.

References

• Gloor, Roger (1. Auflage 2007). Alle Autos der 50er Jahre 1945 - 1960. Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-613-02808-1. 
• Noakes, Andrew (2005) "Chapter 3: Baroque Angels and Bankruptcy 1945-59" The Ultimate History of BMW Bath, UK: Parragon Publishing pp. 56–57 ISBN 1405453168 
• Norbye, Jan P. (1984). BMW - Bavaria's Driving Machines. Skokie, IL: Publications International. ISBN 0-517-42464-9. 
• Sass, Rob (March 22, 2007) "BMW's Beetle" Bloomberg Businessweek Bloomberg "The SCM Analysis" 2nd paragraph http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/mar2007/bw20070322_649508.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-04 "To survive in the post-war European market, BMW needed its own VW Bug. It got one in the 1958 Isetta 600" 

External links

• Motorbase: BMW 600
• Microcar Museum: BMW 600 (blue)
• Microcar Museum: BMW 600 (yellow)
• BMW 600 Yahoo Group