Car: 1973 BMW Touring

VIN: Owner: Ben Thongsai Location: Illinois, USA Exteriorterior: Inka Orange Interior: Black Skai Notes: Brought from the Netherlands in the 1980's

Overview of Tourings

The three door hatchback version of the '02, the Touring, was produced from 1971-1974. Four different engine variations were offered, and the models were originally named 1600, 1800, 2000 or 2000tii Touring for some unknown reason. It was not until the end of 1972 that the names were changed to the more logical 1602, 1802, 2002, and 2002tii Touring.

The Touring shared the same panels in front of the windshield as well as the doors with the standard sedan, but the rear section of the body was very different. The Touring has completely unique glass, with a larger, more slanted windshield. The roofline is about an inch shorter than the sedan and overall length was reduced by eight inches. Of course, the rear quarters, rear panel, and rear hatch are unique to the Touring.

Although the Tourings were very practical cars and drove every bit as well as the equivalent sedan, they were never very popular. Sales were poor compared to the sedans, and the Tourings were phased out of production at then end of 1974, a year before the '02 sedans were phased out in favor of the new E21 3-series cars.

The Tourings suffer from a few peculiar structural problems. The rear half of the car tends to be more rust prone than the sedan. The edges of the roof (by the gutters), the corners of the quarter windows, and the rear tire well area are spots to be careful of. Also, since the Touring does not have a rear bulkhead panel, a reinforcement bar was welded in between the shock towers. Carrying heavy loads in the back or towing heavy trailers will stress the back end and cause the bar and shock towers to crack.

Production numbers for the Tourings

1600 Touring	4,379	73 Touring at a Porsche Concour
1800/1802 Touring	3,099
2000/2002 Touring (A)	15,969
2000tii/2002tii Touring	5,783

This Particular Touring...

This particular example is a 1973 2002 Touring, painted Inka Orange with a black Skai interior. Although this car is actually sports a pre-Model 73 facelift, a previous owner installed the later style nose panel and wheels to emulate the later style look. The motor is a stock 2.0 unit with a 1bbl Solex and zero emissions controls. This car seems to have originally come from the Netherlands and was imported into the US in the mid-1980's. No Federalization was performed on the car at all, as it has no side marker lights and still retains the original European headlights and speedometer.

This car has also proven the versatility of the hatchback. Many motors and transmissions have been in the back of the car, as well as a 40 gallon hot water heater (which fit completely inside of the car). It is an attention grabber. The unusual, almost never seen body style combined with the very bright color makes for a car that is definitely noticed.