An Affair To Remember
Defining BMW's essence in 12 all-time great cars.

One day a few weeks ago while on a gift-scouting mission in the Sixer, I found hidden treasure in the bargain book section of my local Barnes & Noble. 50 Years of Chrysler’s Hottest Cars, by British writer Nicky Wright, tells the story of Chrysler’s love affair with sporting machinery since 1950.

The text and pictures make for a great read, with familiar ingredients: the all-conquering Hemi engine of the 50s & 60s; design chief Virgil Exner and his roadworthy Chrysler 300 series; the Mopar muscle cars of the 60s & 70s; Chrysler’s rebirth as an enthusiast company with the Viper, 300M, Plymouth Prowler, PT Cruiser, and Ram trucks.

In his forward to the book, retired Chrysler vice chairman (and GM’s new VP for North American operations) Bob Lutz expresses the essence of his passion for enthusiast cars:

There are basically two types of people in the world: motorists and driving enthusiasts.

To the former, driving is nothing more than a mind-numbing exercise in getting from one place on a map to another.

For those of us in the latter group, driving - at its best - is an affair between the open road, the five senses, and the intellect. It is an emotional experience, capable of providing everything from unbridled exhilaration to something bordering on bliss.

For us, drama on wheels is not only desirable but necessary.

At the end of the day, the thing that gives us the most satisfaction is knowing that we design and build the kinds of vehicles that are as much fun to look at as they are to drive - great cars and great trucks that give back more than they promise, because they are designed, engineered, and manufactured by people with a proud heritage to uphold.

Amen, brother Bob. Spoken like a man who not only loves cars, but spent three formative years in Munich in the early 1970s as BMW’s director of sales.

The relationship between the driver, the car and the road has stoked the fires of our favorite car company for some 80 years.

The results speak for themselves.

As Helmut Panke replaces Joachim Milberg at the helm of BMW, it’s a good time to remember the company’s magnificent heritage of enthusiast vehicles. Herewith, my chronological list of 12 all-time great BMWs. Feel free to add your own Bimmer if it’s not on the list.

BMW 328. Gorgeous 2-seat race winner in both roadster and coupe form. The essence of BMW’s pre-war greatness.
 

BMW 507. Albrecht Goertz’ 1950's masterpiece and progenitor of the Z8. The 507's influence far outweighs its tiny production total of only 254.
 

BMW 2002. Ultimate expression of the New Class sedan which saved the company in the 1960s. Spiritual keeper of the blue and white flame.
 

BMW 3.0CS. Truly beautiful coupe of the late 60s and early 70s incorporating BMW’s styling cues for the next 30 years.
 

BMW M1. Giugiaro’s mid-engined exotic and father of the Motorsport family. Only 453 were built.
 

BMW 6 Series. Paul Bracq’s handsome follow-on to the CS series, the Sixer combined the style of a sporting coupe with the luxury of a gentleman’s GT.
 

BMW M3, any series. Modern descendant of the ‘02 and today’s definitive sport sedan.
 

BMW Z3. Nouveau-retro styling meets German cachet in a spunky two-seat roadster. And built in America, no less.
 

BMW M Coupe. Roller skate on steroids. Quirky, unique, at one with the road.
 

BMW 5 Series, 1997-2003. Consummate capability in Consumer Report’s best car ever tested.
 

BMW Z8. Wildly expensive, totally desirable. JB’s shaken and stirred supercar.
 

Mini. The lack of a roundel doesn’t fool us. BMW engineered and built this shoebox to be the new millennium’s 2002, with panache to spare. Less is more.
 

These are the BMWs which fire the passion of driving enthusiasts around the world. Together, they represent an affair to remember, the collective result of BMW’s utter commitment to the driver. And isn’t it encouraging that half the cars on the list are current production models?

For you and me and the millions of devotees of Bayerische Motoren Werke, here’s wishing BMW’s new chairman all the best. In the face of stylist Chris Bangle’s apparent determination to radically alter the course of BMW design, Helmut Panke’s biggest challenge may be knowing how to resolve Bangle’s disjointed approach to styling leadership with BMW’s magnificent design heritage.

Panke may have already acted. Late word on the street is that Bangle will be leaving BMW shortly, with the fiasco of the new 7 Series due for a corrective restyle in the next three years.

In any event, chairman Panke need only recall BMW's glorious past and present lineup for the single-minded focus he needs to keep the Ultimate Driving Machine just that, both on the road and in the eye of the beholder. -Rick Sparks

(Photo credits: BMW AG,  bmwccn.no, motorlegend.com, 2002bmw.com,  fast-autos.net, bmwregistry.org, bmwworld.com)

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