BMW Trivia: BMW 328 Superleggera

By Lane Anderson - April 18, 2013

Today, the “Superleggera” moniker is associated with the Lamborghini Gallardo. But, did you know that BMW had its own “Superleggera”-bodied model almost 70 years before the special edition Lambo hit the floor at Geneva?

The BMW 328 roadster burst onto the scene in June 1936 at the Eifelrennen race held at the famous, but then just a baby, Nurburgring. Built to compete in sports car racing, the roadster had no bumpers, the classic kidney shaped grills for cooling, and an aesthetic that was nothing short of gorgeous. Powering the 328 was an inline 6 with a special cylinder head which gave racing versions of the car 136HP. It was very light as well, tipping the scale at 1782 pounds.

Incredibly composed, the lightweight BMW had no trouble taking on even the most powerful sports cars of the day. In three years’ time, the roadster racked up 405 wins and 154 second place finishes. It must be said, however, many times during the period the grid was made up entirely of 328’s. BMW wasn’t content to race against just itself, and began to enter more series, most especially the races at LeMans and the Mille Miglia.

We move to 1940, when BMW commissioned Italian the company Carrozzeria Touring to build a lightweight “Superleggera” version for the LeMans race at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Kidney grills mated with perfectly sculpted headlamps gave the car an aerodynamic efficiency never before seen. From profile view, nothing interrupts the trim beltline of the car. The leather hood straps next to the “Superleggera” let BMW’s competitors know the lightweight piece of kit they were up against. Incredibly comfortable for racing standards the car took 5^th place overall and 1^st in the 2 litre class at LeMans. The tube framed 328 “Superleggera” trounced the competition in 1940 when it went to the Mille Miglia. Some will dispute the running of the race because Mussolini reduced the number of cars in the field significantly, but the results that stand have BMW taking 1^st in the LeMans bodied racer, and 3^rd,5^th, and 7^th places in the roadster version.