The Bavarian nameplate was never so proudly displayed as it was in North America during the late '60s and early '70s on the BMW Bavaria 4-door sedan.

Pictures courtesy of the Senior Six Registry. If you own one of these cars, do yourself a favor and join the Registry!

The BMW Bavaria was a BMW 2500 model with the 2.8 liter inline 6-cylinder engine from the BMW 2800. It was advertised as the Wundercar, and it initially sold for under $5,000.

Unfortunately for consumers, the strength of the Deutschmark in the early '70s quickly pushed the price way up. But by then BMW had made key inroads into the American automotive marketplace, established the brand, and other BMW luxury sedans would soon follow in the Bav's footsteps. The rest, as they say, is history.

BMW marketed the Bavaria for its outstanding engine and suspension as well as for its value:

"At the Bavarian Motor Works, we build these cars for high-speed touring in the Alps. Which is one reason why automotive experts will tell you there is no better suspension than BMW's in any car anywhere."
-from a '70s BMW ad.

Automotive experts like Ken Purdy who said "the BMW 2800 Sports Coupe may be the best car in the world." And Road and Track magazine called the engine "without a doubt the most sophisticated inline six in the world."

That 6-cylinder engine was designed by Baron Alexander von Falkenhausen, a racing legend and the architect of the New Class and New Six engines. It was a Hemi-head engine -- a triple hemispheric, swirl-action combustion chamber cylinder head -- to be precise. With an overhead camshaft, and a crankshaft that has 7 main bearings and 12 balance weights:

"The Bavaria is fast. It will cruise all day at 120 mph with no strain. Thanks to an amazingly efficient smooth and turbine-like ohc engine--the most advanced of its kind in the world."
-from a '70s BMW ad.

Specs for 1971 Bavaria as compiled by Road and Track magazine.

Today, the BMW Bavaria has one other distinction: it was the personal choice of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, a woman who certainly could have afforded any car in the world. After her death, the car was auctioned on eBay for over $57,000. A far cry from the $5,000 Wundercar!

Find more links on the BMW World Bavaria page.

BMW Bavaria Defense Mechanism is the definitive BMW Bavaria website.

Senior Six Registry provides info and other services for all BMW New Six models. This includes the Bavaria, 2500, 2800, 2.8L, 3.0L, 3.0S, 3.0Si, 3.3L and 3.3Li.

German E3 site has lots of specs on 2500 and 2800 models and some rare manufacturing photos.

The B-Files is a collection of advertisements and articles related to the E3 (see below).

BMW Bavaria model info (courtesy The B-Files):

• E3 Guide From Road &Track's Used Car Classics, 1985
• E3 Article from the Roundel of February, 1998
• E3 Buyer's Guide
• E3 Coupe Prototype of 1969

BMW Bavaria B/W scanned ads from Car and Driver magazine from 1970-1973 (courtesy The B-Files):

• This is one of the athletes you'll see at the 1972 Olympics
• Be a sport
• BMW got off to a flying start
• Our exclusive Dreikurbelwirbelwannenbrennraum
• The Driver's Car
• Efficiency expert
• Fast company
• Germany builds great luxury cars
• Take me to your husband
• WunderCar!
• Think fast
• Schnell on wheels
• Hot car from Bavaria
• The greatest suspense story ever told
• The Experts' Choice