The BMW 321 is a compact six-cylinder

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

produced by the Bavarian firm between 1938 and 1941. After 1945, production of the 321 resumed at the

Eisenach Eisenach () is a Town#Germany, town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia, and bordering northeastern Hesse, Hessian re ...

plant and continued until 1950.

The launch

The 321 was introduced at the start of 1939 as a successor to the BMW 320.Odin, L.C. ''World in Motion 1939 - The whole of the year's automobile production''. Belvedere Publishing, 2015. ASIN: B00ZLN91ZG. It sat on a shortened version of the

BMW 326 The BMW 326 is a medium-sized sedan produced by BMW between 1936 and 1941, and again briefly, under Soviet control, after 1945. The 326 was BMW's first four-door sedan.Odin, L.C. ''World in Motion 1939 - The whole of the year's automobile product ...

chassis. The 321 differed from the 320 in its front suspension, its larger tyres, and its styling. While the 320 used front suspension derived from the

BMW 303 Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The ...

, with a high mounted transverse leaf spring and lower

control arm In automotive suspension, a control arm, also known as an A-arm, is a hinged suspension link between the chassis and the suspension upright or hub that carries the wheel. In simple terms, it governs a wheel's vertical travel, allowing it to mo ...

s, the 321 used the front suspension from the 326, with upper control arms and a low mounted transverse leaf spring.

Body options

The car was available both as a two-door sedan and as a two-door cabriolet. In addition, BMW offered a chassis-only option suitable for a coach-built body.

Engine and transmission

The 1971 cc

straight 6 A straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balanc ...

'' M78'' engine was based on the engine in the

with a claimed power output of and maximum speed of .''For saloon'':
''For cabriolet'': The four-speed manual gear box was also the one already seen on the 326.

Commercial

Two years after the introduction of the 321, in 1941, automobile production at the Eisenach plant was suspended in favour of war production. By then, 3,814 had been built.

Production after World War II

In 1945, Eisenach was occupied by American forces, but by then it had already been agreed between the allies that the whole of

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

would fall within the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...

: transfer of the region to the Soviets took place in July 1945. It seemed likely that BMW's manufacturing facility would be crated up and taken by rail to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

as part of the substantial post war reparations package. In the meantime, surviving workers returning from the war recommenced automobile production, on a very small scale, using prewar designs. Albert Seidler, the man in charge of Eisenach motor bike production, demonstrated the 321 to

Marshal Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( 189618 June 1974) was a Soviet military leader who served as a top commander during World War II and achieved the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. During World War II, Zhukov served as deputy commander-in-ch ...

and secured from him an order for five new cars. The Russians were evidently impressed, and the plant passed under the control of “Sowjetische AG Maschinenbau Awtowelo”, a Soviet directed holding company focused on vehicle production. A further 8,996 BMW 321s are thought to have been built between 1945 and 1950. Most appear to have remained to the east of the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

, many being taken to the

as part of a reparations package in respect of the Second World War. Evidence also exists for exports to the west: the car was advertised in Switzerland in 1949 with a retail price of CHF 10,300.

References

{{BMW pre war

321 Year 321 ( CCCXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Crispus and Constantinus (or, less frequently, year 1074 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 3 ...

Executive cars Rear-wheel-drive vehicles 1940s cars Cars introduced in 1938 Compact executive cars Convertibles Sedans Cars discontinued in 1950 de:BMW 320#BMW 321