The 5 Series was launched in 1972 with the 520 and 520i.

520

In 1974, BMW introduced the 518 in Europe, Australia and other markets using the four-cylinder 1800cc engine. In the USA, six cylinder engines were used for the 530 (carbureted) and 530i (injected) models.

The 2000 Touring New Class model was discontinued in 1974, replaced by the 2002 Touring.


1600-2/1602 One of the first models imported into the USA. Car and Driver called the 1600-2 "the best small sedan we ever drove."		Cabriolets The 1600 Cabriolet was removed from the product line in 1971.


1800-2/1802 Introduced in the Fall of 1963, the 1800 had a bored and stroked 1500 engine producing 90 hp.		Touring The 1800, 2000 and 2002tii Touring models were introduced in 1971.


2002 The ultimate sports sedan began life as a 1600 with a 2-liter, single carb, four-cylinder engine.		2002ti The ti was a 2002 with 120 hp.


2002tii An upgrade to the 2002ti, the tii had a 1.4 in larger track, H-rated Michelin XAS tires, wider wheels and bigger brakes.

The New Six product line was enhanced in 1974 with the 2.8L, 3.0L, and 3.3L models.


2500 The original new six was an entry level four-door, medium-priced sedan with style and performance.		2800 The 2800 was a 2500 with an engine stroked to 2.8 liters and extra luxury features.


3.0CSi The 3.0 CSi was the fuel-injected version of the 3.0CS.		3.0S With a bigger bore, the original engine grew to 3 liters. The Euro version had 180 hp, but the US model only 170 hp, due to emissions requirements.


3.0CS The ads called it "Bavarian Cream". The press called it one of the best cars in the world. The 3.0 range made its debut at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show.		3.0CSL The "L" here meant Lightweight. The car's doors, hood and trunk were made of aluminum. A fabled Group 2 racer.


Bavaria Called "one of the world's great buys in luxury sedans", the Bavaria was a 2500 with a 2800 engine created especially for the US market.

1974's Events

In front of 80,000 cheering fans at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany beats Holland to win the World Cup of Soccer for the second time.

Franz Beckenbauer, one of the West German stars, later played for the New York Cosmos. There, he teamed up with Pele and Giorgio Chinaglia to help make the New York club one of the most famous soccer teams in the world. In 1990, Beckenbauer coached the West German team as they won their third World Cup, beating Argentina 1-0 in Rome. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1998.

Hans-Joachim Stuck sets a new lap record at the Nurburgring behind the wheel of a BMW 3.0 CSL. ABS is used for the first time in a race car.

Intel releases its 2-MHz 8080 chip, an 8-bit microprocessor. With 6000 transistors, it can access 64KB of memory and has a speed is 0.64 MIPS. Also, Intel receives a patent for a "memory system for a multichip digital computer". The 8080 became the brains of the Altair, the first personal computer. You could purchase a kit for the Altair for $395. Within months, it sold tens of thousands of units. In a related story, Railway Express loses Ed Robert's only prototype Altair computer, en route to New York for review in an article by Popular Electronics magazine. In other computer developments:

Motorola introduces its 6800 chip.
Dr. Gary Kildall develops the CP/M operating system.
Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie develop the C programming language.

Richard M. Nixon becomes the first US President to resign from office, and Vice President Gerald R. Ford of Michigan is sworn in as 38th President of the USA.

People Magazine makes its debut, with Mia Farrow gracing the cover.

Robert M. Pirsig writes Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Hailed as one of the greatest books of the century, Phaedrus, the narrator, takes a cross-country motorcycle trip with his son during which the maintenance of the motorcycle becomes an illustration of how we can unify the cold, rational realm of technology with the warm, imaginative realm of artistry.

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