Back in the 1930s, the world was still struggling to recover from the effects of the First World War Therefore, the Great Depression hit and most countries felt its effect full on, including Germany. At the same time, the automotive industry was making huge steps towards becoming what it is today and one of them was a change in design.
Up until then, cars were built to be mainly functional, leaving the aesthetic aspect aside. Therefore, most of them had box-like shapes, basically having two or three ‘volumes’, coining the segments as we all know them today.
Even BMW was part of this box-like era but it all changed in 1937 with the introduction of the 327. This was a car that also looked good apart from having basically the same practicality of an uglier, boxier version. Leaving straight lines behind, the new car has curves that streamlined through air more efficiently and also looked better.
Not only that but it also featured the kidney grilles up front, a trademark element of the Bavarian brand. Another trademark feature was the engine under the bonnet with its traditional 6-cylinder inline architecture that allowed it to make 55 horsepower. It’s not a lot today but it did the job back then.
Weighing 3,000 lbs (1,360), the car was hand made by BMW engineers, using an ash wood chassis on which all parts were assembled by hand. Mass production didn’t exist back then.
Probably the biggest achievement of the 327, however, was the fact that it inspired the creation of the Baroque Angel models, still considered some of the best looking cars BMW ever made.
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