AutoArt 1:18 1960 BMW 700 Rennsport Coupe #38- Stuck- Fluggplatzrennen Innsbruck It looks like a racing version of the Amphicar, but it's a BMW racer that's a must for the sports car race collector. Review by Bill Bennett

Overview

The BMW Rennsport coupe was the first serious attempt by BMW to prove itself in racing competition post-WWII.

From 1960 to 1965, the BMW 700 competed in hill climb challenges, rallies and touring races, winning a total of 22 international events. With its last great automotive win pre-war in 1940 at the Mille Miglia in Italy, the 1960 victory at the German Hill Climb Championship by the BMW 700, driven by Hans Stuck Sr., put BMW back on the map as an automaker capable of building great quality sports cars.

The BMW 700 was the successor to the less-successful BMW 600. It gained popularity for superb control and handling due to its light weight and powerful brakes. Designer Giovanni Michelotti, captured the hearts of consumers of the time with the shape of the 700. The car was offered in three versions: sedan, convertible and coupe. The 700 had a rear-engine layout and a steel body. The standard engine for the 700 was a 697 cc two-cylinder boxer engine derived from BMW’s motorcycle engine rated at 30 horsepower. The car’s top speed was 120 km/hr. (74 mph). The “sport” version of the coupe offered 10 additional horsepower and 15 additional km/hr. The racing version shared components with the 700, but was equipped with dual carburetors and had engine modifications that took it to 60 horsepower with a top speed of 170 km/hr. (105 mph). Small but potent, the 700 was a strong competitor at hill climbs. With racing success came strong sales and BMW sold over 180,000 700’s from 1959 through 1965. This car literally saved BMW from postwar financial ruin, the foundation for the success the company is having today.

Although this little jewel can’t compare with its much more-powerful siblings that would follow, if you are a BMW lover, this car will help you trace the postwar competitive history of BMW and give you an understanding of what it took to get BMW to where it is today. Additionally, this car was driven by Hans Stuck Sr. who was a European racing legend pre-war and father of Hans Stuck Jr. who has been so successful in racing all classes of contemporary racecars.

I am always amazed at what a beautiful job AutoArt does with their cars. Looking closely at the way AutoArt executes the smallest details….. the weather-stripping on windows, the shut lines on doors, bonnet and boot, etc. …… use a magnifying glass if you must, but I don’t think you’ll find a better manufacturer, particularly at this price point. This BMW 700 is a fine example of their handiwork. Looking into the rear engine bay, there is the little two-cylinder motorcycle engine with its dual carburetors with little chrome velocity stacks. There are no dog-legs on this car! All of the hinges work just the way they did on the real car! The interior is close to stock with no roll bar and, surprisingly, no seat belts. The steering wheel is beautifully rendered in photo-etch and molded plastic. The instruments and controls are nicely rendered, but you would expect that. Even the sun visors pivot down. When you roll the car over, the extended floor pan and cooling fins on the oil sump first come into view. The boxy mufflers look a little too nice to be real.

Overall, it’s the exterior of this car that is AutoArt’s “tour de force”. It is just magnificent and convincingly real. The interior spaces are good, too. This is a cute little car and will be a fun addition to the collection of anyone who is a dedicated BMW-phile. For me, I relish the ground-pounding younger brothers (and sisters) that would come in another ten or so years. (Thanks to AutoArt for the history of this car that I unrepently plagiarized.)