The BMW 700 Story: A Tiny Econocar That Saved the Bavarians From an Imminent Demise

Bayerische Motoren Werke, or BMW for short, is currently one of the world's most renowned vehicle manufacturers. From epic bikes and performance cars to ultra-luxurious sedans, the corporation produces vehicles revered for their build quality, reliability, and, last but certainly not least, the exciting driving experience they deliver.

However, BMW was close to biting the dust in the decade following the Second World War. Thankfully, the company came up with a small, basic, and affordable model that miraculously kept it afloat.

During WWII, BMW, like other German vehicle manufacturers, survived by manufacturing aircraft engines, motorycles and various spare parts for the country's armed forces.

Nevertheless, its facilities were heavily bombed by the Allies, so after the war concluded, it took a lot of effort and foreign aid to rebuild them.

From the Isetta to the 700

During the first post-war years, BMW stayed afloat by continuing to produce motorcycles. Then, in the first part of the 1950s, the company struck a deal with Renzo Rivolta's Iso S.p.A. for the rights to manufacture and market the Isetta microcar in Germany.

Thoroughly re-engineered by BMW and powered by one of its twin-stroke motorcycle engines, the German Isetta went into production in 1955.

At first, the cheap and fuel-efficient microcar was a success, but German car buyers started demanding something with more cargo and passenger room.

The company's answer to the market's demand was the 1957 BMW 600. Basically a stretched, four-seat Isetta with a larger, more powerful flat-twin engine, the 600 was cheap to develop, but it failed to attract the large number of customers that the Bavarian manufacturer had hoped for.

In the meantime, sales of BMW motorcycles, which accounted for the bulk of the company's profits, began plummeting. This, combined with the failure of the 600, put BMW on the brink.

In a last-ditch effort to deliver a car that could sell in large numbers, BMW conceived the 700, which, despite looking fundamentally different from the Isetta-based 600, was still closely related to it.

Another parts bin raid

Building a completely new car was far more complicated than management expected, especially considering BMW's diminishing budget.

Willy Black, the engineer in charge of the failing 600, didn't give up on his pet project, and rather than designing a completely new chassis, he started modifying the front and rear suspension of the 600, as well as its steering system.

In the end, the new model;s bacbones were an evolution of the 600 that, at least in theory, worked wonderfully.

However, the engineers still faced another hurdle. One of the 600's Achilles was its Isetta-inspired, forward-opening door, which made getting in and out of the vehicle a nightmare for the front occupants.

The new model needed a far more conventional body, and the perfect solution came from an unlikely source.

BMW's first monocoque unibody

Hoping to slash development costs, BMW asked several employees and dealers to come up with design proposals for a new body.

Several proposals were made, but the most intriguing came from Austrian BMW dealer and former engineer Wolfgang Denzel.

Tired of failing to sell the 600s he had in his parking lot, Denzel commissioned famed Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti to design a new, slightly elongated body for the 600 months before BMW began inquiring about one for its new model.

By the time Michelotti finalized his sketches, Denzel forwarded them to BMW, who immediately chose it for the final production model.

However, rather than going with a traditional body-on-frame construction, the Michelotti-designed structure was modified into a monocoque unibody. That saved weight, lowered production costs, thanks to the increased rigidity, improved the car's handling.

An overwhelmingly successful debut

Michelotti's body was initially a two-door coupe with a narrow roof aimed at youger buyers. While BMW agreed that such a vehicle would be successful with the younger demographic, they also designed a two-door sedan version with a larger roof that delivered more headroom for the rear passengers.

Both versions of the new model, dubbed BMW 700, were unveiled at the 1959 Frankfurt Motor Show. BMW was hoping for a positive reaction, but much to the company's relief, the press and those in attendance welcomed the 700 with a standing ovation.

Small, stylish, roomy for its size, and affordable, the 700 was the modern people's car that German buyers were waiting for.

Powered by a 30-hp, 697-cc version of BMW's reliable motorcycle-derived flat-twin, the 700 was also fuel-efficient and powerful enough for day-to-day driving.

The overwhelmingly successful debut continued with strong sales, which slowly but surely dragged BMW from the edge of bankruptcy.

Further improvements

The 700 coupe and sedan were joined by two new versions in 1960. The first was the Sport, which received a slightly more powerful, 40-hp engine and suspension improvements.

Though 40 hp didn't mean much, thanks to the low weight, the 700 Sport could reach a top speed of 78 mph (125 kph), but, more importantly, it hadled surprisingly well.

Shortly after the Sport was introduced, BMW also added a convertible version to the 700 lineup. Converted from coupe to convertible by coachbuilders Karosserie Baur in Stuttgart, the convertible 700 was only available with the Sports' 40-hp engine.

The 700's low weight and nimble handling also made it suitable for motorsport. BMW went on to design two special, race-oriented versions. The first was a coupe called Rennsportversion, and the second was a spider called 700RS.

Both proved to be surprisingly good in various events, grabbing the German Hillclimb Championship trophy and numerous class wins in famous endurance races such as the Hockenheim twelve-hour and the Nürburgring six-hour.

Throughout their motorsport career, the race-bred 700s were driven by the likes of future Le Mans-winner Jacky Ickx and Burkard Bovensiepen, who went on to transform Alpina from a typewriter manufacturer into Europe's most famous BMW tuner.

The 700 was finally discontinued in 1965, after no less than 188,211 units were built. By that time, BMW had become a successful carmaker, which allowed it to abandon the economy car market and focus on much more exciting models.

Today, the 700 doesn't look like much. For some, it's an old econocar that looks weird with BMW badges. However, without this model, the iconic BMWs that a huge number of enthusiasts adore would've never existed.

For a virtual test drive of this underrated BMW legend, we recommend watching the YouTube video below by Car history with Andrew.