Modern BMWs are still celebrated for their sporty driving characteristics despite brimming with touchscreens, ambient lights, and often oversized bucktooth grilles. The German company was once famously guided by the slogan “the ultimate driving machine,” and over the course of its storied history BMW has sold some pretty remarkable cars. But they all owe their success to a lesser-known model, the two-cylinder, rear-engine BMW 700 of the early 1960s.
This shining silver example that’s being auctioned on Bring A Trailer happens to be a 1963 700 Cabriolet, which are rarer than the other coupe and saloon body styles, but still played a role in making BMW into the company that we now know so well. The 700 was BMW’s first post-war real sales hit, and later models received more power and other performance enhancing tweaks that allowed the model to find great success in the racing world. Its motorsports successes helped BMW to make more peppy performers like the much-loved 1602 and 2002, as well as their successor, the 3 Series.
It ain’t fancy, but it is cute and historically significant
Now, the 700 is by no means the first BMW passenger car; in fact, the brand had already been producing cars for over 30 years before this 700 was originally made, but those cars tended to be larger and more bespoke for the upper echelon rather than accessible to the masses. Yes, BMW famously produced the truly diminutive Isetta, but it didn’t achieve the same success as the 700.
The 700 is powered by a rear-mounted, 697-cc flat-twin engine, as it was based off of the 600, which was a four-seat version of the Isetta. Unsurprisingly it was not powerful or fast, sending just 37 horsepower and 36 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels through a four-speed manual. The 700 had an estimated 0-to-60-mph time of 32 seconds.
Its interior was more focused on efficiency and affordability than plush and luxurious comfort, but that’s a significant component of its sales successes — it was affordable, well-made, and practical (at least, compared to the Isetta). According to the photos of a vintage Road & Track magazine that are shown on the BAT listing, the 1960 BMW 700 coupe originally sold for around $1,650, which is the equivalent of around $18,000 when accounting for inflation. Reading the review gives you insight into the model’s success, despite its egregiously slow acceleration.
This beautifully maintained 1963 BMW 700 Cabriolet looks and sounds brand new as shown in the driving video on the listing. Its blue vinyl upholstery and navy blue convertible top contrast nicely with the clean silver exterior paint. Whomever ends up winning the auction will walk away with an adorable piece of automotive history.
