1960 BMW 501

Gearbox: Manual

Cylinders: V8

Engine: 2.6 L

Mileage: 15860 kms

Our car in the showroom is a BMW 2.6 from 1960 with 15,854 km on the clock.. The car was restored by Nostalgia’s team in our restoration workshop. It is a beautiful example with dark blue body and an elegant grey leather interior.

General Information:

The 501 was introduced to the public in April 1951 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The 501 made an impression on the public with its solid engineering and its extravagance. The public nicknamed the 501 "Barockengel" (Baroque Angel) in reference to the curved, flowing style of the body. The body was designed in house by Peter Schimanowski. The car featured a robust chassis providing above average side impact protection, an unusually short steering column with the steering gear set well back from the front of the car, and a fuel tank placed in a carefully protected location above the rear axle in order to minimize fire risk in the event of an accident.

BMW introduced the new model with a 1971cc Inline six cylinder engine with 65hp and a four speed manual gearbox. Clearly BMW’s engine designers had taken notice of the new generation of V8s in the USA, pioneered by Oldsmobile and Cadillac. Since 1949 they had been working on a new V8 and the result was a 2580cc engine with a central camshaft and overhead valves, developing 100 hp. Germany’s first post war V8 debuted at the Geneva Salon in March 1954.

The V8-engined 502 looked almost the same as the six cylinder 501, with a more luxurious interior. In 1955 the 502 was given a 3,2-litre V8 engine with 120hp and the short stroke 2,6-litre V8 went into the 501 to produce the 501 V8, which ran alongside with the six cylinder car.

The 501 and 502 model designations were discontinued in 1958, when the 501 V8 was renamed the BMW 2.6 and the 502 was renamed the 2.6 Luxus. The cars were continued under these model designations until 1961.