The BMW 1500 marked a turning point in BMW's model range, heralding the advent of a new range of sporting and compact touring cars.

Announced in 1961, the BMW 1500 was the first of the New Class generation. The 1500 was the first modern BMW with a four-cylinder engine. 

BMW 1500, 1962
Click for a larger image

The responsive, overhead-camshaft 4-cylinder engine had a displacement of 1499 cc and produced 80 bhp at 5700 rpm. Weighing only 1060 kg, the 1500's top speed was 148 km/h. The 1500 also featured front disc brakes and 4-wheel independent suspension. The BMW 1500 was only available as a four-door sedan. More specs...

Car magazines and the public were enthusiastic in their praise for the modern engineering in the 1500. BMW manufacturing plants couldn't keep up with the demand, and only 23,807 vehicles were made between 1962 and 1964.  The 1500 was a middle-class family sedan, but the German market demanded a car with higher performance. They did not have to wait long, for BMW's engineers subjected the 1500 to further development, evolving into the classic BMW 2002.

The 1500 thus began BMW's modern sports-sedan tradition; a tradition that, more than any other, means "BMW" to enthusiastic drivers the world over.

BMW Automotive Repair Manual : BMW 1500/1502/1600/1602/2000 Touring/2002 : 1959 Thru 1977

by Peter G. Strasman, John Harold Haynes 

BMW 1500-2002, 1962-1977 : A Documentation

by Walter Zeichner 

The 96 page, hard cover book is 10 1/2" x 7 5/8" and contains color and black and white photos, drawings, charts, and catalog facsimiles. Each classic model is presented in its historic and developmental aspects. 

More Books!

BMW 02 Club Deutschland has several tables of specs on the New Class series, beginning with the BMW 1500. In German.

Some BMW web sites have info and a picture of the 1500. Try this one from BMW Japan in Japanese.

Find more 02 links on the 1600, 1800, 2000, 2002, and the 2002 Turbo pages.

Burkard Bovensiepen, the boss at Alpina, got started as a BMW tuner in 1963 with the 1500 sedan. He raised the horsepower from 80 to 92 with the addition of twin Weber carburetors on short intake pipes. The quality of workmanship impressed even the BMW factory, and a symbiotic relationship was forged that has endured through the years. 

Today's Alpina logo features those same inlet pipes: