Wednesday, July 2, 2025

The Series 1 BMW 2002 tii

I’d only been at BMW Concessionaires GB a couple of weeks when I encountered my first 2002 tii.  Production of the model had begun in late Spring, so in August ’71 examples were still a rare sight in and around our HQ at Chiswick.  While I was preparing it, I was very taken with the engine bay.  The ‘look’ of the fuel injected engine with its distinctive bright aluminium intake manifold was so different – ‘space-age’ to my eye – from the carburetted M10s we were used to.

Courtesy Samboss (BaT)

The PDI completed, I drove it up to our Park Lane Showroom for handover to the customer.  Now it wasn’t just my vision that was seduced.  The performance from the new  M15,130 bhp, engine seemed exciting, enabling me to negotiate a relatively clear Marble Arch corner just as rapidly as I’d learnt to do in the 2800/3.0 six cylinder E3s and E9s.  That car was in the very common finish of the time – Polaris silver.  However, as more and more Tiis arrived from Germany, I found that they were even more exciting to be around and drive if in Inka (orange) or Golf (yellow/very light green).  These two colours and this particular model could not have been more zeitgeist-emblematic of the London of the early Seventies.

Courtesy Samboss (BaT); LR90 (BaT)

But now, half a century on, I wonder if my feeling that I was king of the West London road network was more to do with the extra fizz those funky paint colours pumped into my speed sensibilities rather than any increased accelerative capability possessed by the new engine.  Thanks to the car’s mass, (around 1000 Kg kerb weight), gear/final drive ratios, and relative high revs at which peak torque (132 lbs-ft @ 4,500), was derived, the 0-60 mph time was a not exactly lightning 10 seconds (approximately).  Despite this, a BMW press ad copy of the time was able to include, ‘Fastest accelerating production saloon in U.K.’  Maximum speed in the same advertisement was given as 119 mph.


Apart from the engine, the Tii incorporated some other features new to the 02 model family.  The bumpers were elongated to wrap round further at the rear, whilst rubber inserts were applied to both bumper bars and the overriders.  Also featuring a black rubber insert were rubbing strips on the front wings, doors and rear ¼ panels at the same height as the bumpers.  The front grilles were revised with seven of the slats coloured black and the remaining two in bright metal finish.  Also at the front, the lower panel bottom edge was re-formed to function as a spoiler.

Courtesy Samboss (BaT); LR90 (BaT)

It might be noticed that both the examples so far illustrated are not equipped with standard wheels.  The steel 5J rims were fitted with 165 HR 13 tyres and featured a chrome finish hub cap with BMW roundel, (below, left).  A factory alloy option by Ronal was available, (below second from left) and it was not unusual for customers to request the BBS Basketweave (second from right below) or Minilites, (below right):

The preference was for Michelin XAS tyres, but many cars arrived from Munich with other makes fitted, the least welcome being Metzelers or Firestone Phoenix, both of which didn’t work well on British road surfaces, especially when damp or fully wet.

The Tii had a distinctive steering wheel, (left, below) – three (alloy) slotted spokes and black leather rimmed; this was one of the features, (along with the rear light units) that was aesthetically superior to their replacements on the ’73 facelifted cars, (steering wheel, right, below).  Popular options specified by customers were the more overtly ‘sporting’ wheels from Momo and Moto-Lita.  Similar to the latter, there were further factory options such as the especially handsome Petri Sport, (centre, below).

Courtesy Samboss (Bat); Tony Wawryk


In ’73 we thought the facelift successful, in particular seeing the rectangular rear light units as ‘modernising.’  But before long, and very definitely today, the original circular lamps are greatly preferred.  They give rise to the affectionate nickname of ‘Roundie’ for the pre-’73 cars.  But it is the totality of the rear panel and boot lid which so appeals aesthetically.  The lamps, script/roundel badges and bright horizontal strip all work together extremely well on the ‘71.

Courtesy Samboss (BaT); OldenzaalClassics (BaT)

Courtesy LR90 (BaT); Samboss (BaT)

Much as I enjoyed these visual niceties, the best of the Tii was the way it performed.  And, exhilarating as it was to fly through the streets of London, jinking around slower moving traffic, (nearly everything else was!), the most fulfilling experiences were those had at the track days we organised at Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Thruxton, in most instances to promote the cars for fleet purchase by UK police forces.  Like most of the other staff members attending, I revelled in being able to get behind the wheel of the 3 litre E3s and E9s, especially on the high speed Silverstone and Thruxton circuits.  However, the most fun I recall was in Tiis, in which the up-on-the-cam engine pickup and general nimbleness enabled me frequently to lap faster and pass the bigger cars.  Driving flat out brought forth all that was good about the Tii whereas in street driving there were a couple of ‘issues.’  By the time my job role had changed to that of ‘troubleshooter,’ one of the most common customer complaints to which I picked up the phone was of engine hesitation at around 2400 rpm.  Neither the factory nor Kugelfischer seemed able to come up with a solution for this, though one of our field service managers devised a pump cam reprofiling mod that appeared to resolve matters.  We also had a number of long running dispute sagas with customers who would not accept the level of noise (whine) emitted by the car’s rear axle on the overrun.  There was no way we could test a diff prior to installing and the factory maintained that it was unable to build special close tolerance units as replacements in cases of severe customer dissatisfaction.  The factory delegate was however authorised to help (and supervise) us, with multiple substitutions and, on a few occasions, we had to try three or four units before we found one quiet enough for the customer’s acceptance. 

The Tii’s specification and behaviour in the first press road test reports of ’71, indicated a considerable motor sport potential.  This was soon proved realisable in ’72 when races for a new class – Group 1 – saw BMW Concessionaires-backed/Mathwall Engineering-prepared Tiis to be highly competitive.  Motor Sport magazine reported in its June ’72 issue:

. . . the division into purchase-price classes and the near-standard nature of the competing cars (apart from their tyres) has focused attention on them, for the overall benefit of BMW 2002 Tii saloons . . . having completely dominated these Group 1 races so far— writing after eight such races have been contested. 

And the following month:
 
(BMW GB) are also behind the exceptionally successful Group 1 assault mounted by various dealers in the marque. At the time of writing they have enjoyed most success with the MLG 2002 Tii for Roger Bell, backed by a similar Mathwall Engineering prepared Tii for John Bloomfield.  . . . there was plenty of scope for improvement in the 2002 unit as the homologation tolerances were extremely favourable for maximum power. In fact, after balancing and final assembly, the first engine was found to give 143 bhp. at 5,800 rpm., up at least 13 bhp. over the production DIN rating. Because of the space needed for a slant engine’s exhaust system on a test bed, it was found that the engine actually performed even better in open exhaust racing form, which partially explains why, even when the uprated 3-litre Capris came into Group 1 after four or five races had already been run, they did not immediately seem that much faster than the BMW 2002: both cars weigh almost the same at something over 2,300 lb.  . . . new, shorter and stiffer rate coil springs allowing the 2002 to run rings round the opposition, especially on bumpy tracks. The limited-slip ZF differential and live-speed gearbox don’t do the car’s competitiveness any harm either. Theoretically one would suppose that the answer to the 2002 would be the 2000 GTV Alfa Romeo, but the Wallace suspension, plus Mathieson’s engine, has just made the Mathwall 2002 untouchable except by bigger capacity cars—recently the Ford Capri 3-litre and Chevrolet’s monstrous Camaro.

Courtesy Motor Sport; Motorsport Images

Beyond the UK motor sport arena, the Tii was also competing in ’72 in high profile events such as the Spa 24 Hours, where one of the Mathwall cars driven by John Bloomfield, Tony Lanfranchi and Roger Bell ran competitively, but failed to finish because of an engine failure.  Across the various European saloon/touring car series, the Tii was quickly into its stride, with tuners such as Alpina and GS (Gerhard Schneider) coaxing 225 bhp from the 1990 cc power unit. 

The Tii had been perceived very favourably at its launch in ’71.  Some felt that the UK list price was high at £2313, especially in the light of a domestic value of DM 12,765 (£1495).  The car was however thought characterful, fast and ‘fashionable,’ so sales were plentiful and profitable.  At this time BMW was not so well known as a marque in the UK and BMW Concessionaires’ marketing activity was very effective in creating a buzz of prestige and trendiness, led by the desirability of, in particular, the Tii and the E9 Coupes, most notably the 3.0 CSL, (from ’72). 

The Tii was facelifted in ’73, as mentioned above, with relatively minor styling changes and no change to performance.  A hatchback version named Touring also became available with the 130 bhp engine, though this never seemed to attract the cachet that was intrinsic to the 2 door saloon.  Up to ’75 when production ended, something like 38,700 Tiis were built, nearly 10% of which were RHD.  To replace the 2002 models, BMW launched the 3 Series in the early summer, ’75.  A Tii ‘equivalent’ was a while in gestation, it not being until Autumn ’77 that the six cylinder M20 engined E21 323i was unveiled at the Frankfurt Show.  Faster certainly than its predecessor, but, initially at least, not so forgiving to drive and lacking the hard-to-define charm that had been such a strong feature of the Tii. 

Some recently sold/photographed Tiis: