RE: PH Heroes: BMW 2002 Turbo

RE: PH Heroes: BMW 2002 Turbo

Wednesday 30th July 2008

PH Heroes: BMW 2002 Turbo

With 170bhp and plenty of lag the '02 Turbo quickly gained quite a reputation. Ollie Stallwood drives it (carefully)...



Appearances can be a terrible thing. Often you can be blinded by them, your rational emotions momentarily grinding to a halt, judgements and conclusions get concocted on the basis of how something looks rather than how it performs. The reason I say this is because the BMW 2002 Turbo sitting in front of me is one of the best-looking cars I’ve ever seen.

I’m starting to wonder whether I’ve already made up my mind about this car - I don’t even have to turn the key to know that I really like it. There is something so right about the styling that words don’t do it justice.

Lairy side stripes, back-to-front writing on a flat front spoiler, bolt-on wheel arches, a black rubber spoiler - it doesn’t sound that great. But if you are lucky enough to stand next to one in the July sunshine – there are no more than a dozen in the UK – you realise it is a car that stands out like few others.


The 2002 Turbo is a trouble-maker, its history littered with controversy and outrage, and partly because of this just 1672 were ever made. Firstly BMW thought it wise to for its press cars to have ‘2002’ and ‘turbo’ written in reverse script on the front spoiler so that the car in front would know exactly what had suddenly appeared behind.

But journalists had a field day with this, saying the German firm was irresponsible and ultimately this forced it to drop the script. It didn’t mean the dealers couldn’t sell the decals to Turbo buyers, so most ended up with it anyway.

Then BMW found out the hard way that selling Europe’s first turbocharged production car in an era affectionately known as the ‘seventies oil crisis’ was a hiding to nothing. After just two years of production the last ’02 Turbo rolled off the production line.

But this untimely demise made the car a cult: an ultra-rare, ultra-fast predecessor to the 3 Series – calling it the first M3 perhaps wouldn’t be that wide of the mark. BMW had showcased its early attempt at turbocharging in the gull-wing M10 concept, which never made it to production.

PH Explains: What is a turbocharger and how does it work?


After this it set to work on the 130bhp ’02 Tii, bolting on a KKK turbocharger with 0.55 overpressure that was sufficient to add another 40bhp. Bigger brakes were added behind wider 13” wheels, which lurked behind those screwed on arches, and a Limited Slip Differential was thrown in for good measure.

Now check out the performance figures: 0-60mph in 6.9 seconds and 130mph, in a small saloon, in the early seventies. No wonder the car scared the general public. But it wasn’t just the fun police who were being unsettled by this creation – those who drove it were getting a dose of the heebie-jeebies too.

So savage was the turbo lag that a millimetre of pedal travel could mean the difference between exiting a roundabout forwards or backwards. Suffice to say that there aren’t many ’02 Turbos left – around 500 would be a reasonable estimate.


All this is helping me to appreciate number 0386, that is sitting in London’s Canary Wharf today, from the outside rather than from behind the wheel. It looks great. Just ask any one of the passers by who refuse it a moment’s peace. ‘I’ve never seen one of those before,’ says one. ‘That is a proper BMW,’ says another. Even those who clearly have never looked at a car before in their life stand and stare at it.

This particular car has been loaned to me by Richard Stern, a nice chap who runs www.bmw2002.co.uk, and he understandably lives and breathes this car. No pressure then. Incidentally Stern also owns the very last Turbo – number 1672 – which he is restoring. We chat for a while and fend off questions from intrigued city folk circulating the car, before he chucks me the keys.

It’s a rare dog-leg first gear-box, the one to have for a turbo apparently, and this particular car came from Italy. The wheels are sought after Italian-market Gotti magnesium items, the buckets are tight but supportive - everything is original. I try to put to one side the car’s fearsome reputation and pull away (in second according to Stern).


The ride is nowhere near as harsh as I thought it would be, it feels taught but at the same time the car resists crashing through bumps and potholes. The steering feels light at low speeds and the gearbox takes a bit of nurturing to find the right ratio.

There is a boost gauge sitting on top of the dashboard but around town there is little indication of the turbine spinning up. But as I pull out on to a short stretch of road away from the city I could have sworn someone has just hit me up the back, in an SUV. The turbo comes in like a sledgehammer and the thump comes accompanied by possibly the loudest whoosh and hiss I’ve heard this side of a Fast and Furious DVD.

The car surges forward, piling on speed at such an increased rate that my brain struggles to work out what has just happened. By the time it does I’m heading into a roundabout - fast. The best advise at these moments is to make sure the car is on or off-boost, not teetering somewhere in between, and if you get this right you’d be surprised at how composed it feels.


After a while I realise the '02 Turbo is perhaps not the lunatic that I thought it would be. If you come into a bend sanely the first thing that will happen is the steering will weight-up considerably, immediately giving you a true sense of what is happening at the front.

The rear of the car squats down and you have that classic BMW chassis balance – the car doesn’t have loads of grip from its original-style tyres but it is neutral, letting you know what is going on at each corner.

I don’t want to underestimate the power of a lightweight turbocharged rear-drive BMW but there is a lot of fun to be had without having a seizure as you tank-slap into oblivion. You get some tyre squeal as the car scrabbles with the power but there is such intimacy through the controls that you can, in the dry at least, push the limits.


Ultimately what the car gives you is a tremendous sense of satisfaction and achievement, rewarding you when you get it right and letting you know in its own special way when you don’t. I didn’t realise that it would be quite so fast and so much fun. It is hard to get your head around the fact that this is a 35-year-old car – it is comfortable, fun to drive and quick even by today’s standards. I’m just glad that beauty isn’t always just skin deep.

Author
Discussion

lodgy

Original Poster:

142 posts

194 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
dream car absolutly gorgeous!!!

sniff petrol

13,107 posts

211 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
I sold my E28 to a guy that had one of these, in the same coulour too. Drove it all the way up from London too.

urban_alchemist

604 posts

205 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
Want.

SO.

Bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Second favourite BMW after the 3.0CSL

EDIT: Damn. Damn. Damn. It's for sale. Damn.


Edited by urban_alchemist on Wednesday 30th July 09:50

Chris71

21,535 posts

241 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
urban_alchemist said:
Want.

SO.

Bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Second favourite BMW after the 3.0CSL

EDIT: Damn. Damn. Damn. It's for sale. Damn.


Edited by urban_alchemist on Wednesday 30th July 09:50
That could be a very expensive post you just made. biggrin

shoestring7

6,138 posts

245 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
Nice piece. It also goes to show how much BMW have lost the plot with 1800kg 400bhp soul-less monsters like the current M3 and X6.

SS7

J16GY

130 posts

196 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
Sigh... if only I had the garage space! cloud9

Contaminated

119 posts

194 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
Possibly my favourite car of all time. Looked into getting one a while back - no chance!

minimatt1967

17,089 posts

205 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
definitely the way forward for bmw! Great car good article cloud9

L100NYY

35,075 posts

242 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
Great little article there Oli, really sums up the feel of a 2002 I think. thumbup

I have a tii] being restored at the moment which should be of similar power to the turbo but without the lag!

This is how mine will look when finished if anyone is interested..........


don logan

3,511 posts

221 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
Ok, here`s the scene from 1978

I`m in the car with my dad returning from a day out, I`m 8 years old and we are in his Ferrari 400, It`s red, it`s about 6 months old, it ran on 5 star petrol and he has told me on numerous occasions that it can do 180mph (no it can`t)

Because i`m only 8 years old when he hits the throttle my feeble neck feels as tho it`s going to snap so I think this car is nearly the same as the ones on TV that day that only have a seat for the driver and you can see there wheels!

Only problem was that on this particular Sunday afternoon my dad got pounced on by a 2002 Turbo and severly spanked leaving me speachless and in need of therapy for "mythical father syndrome"

I will never forget the tiny BMW with stripes and no bumpers getting away from us!

Mike Roberts

126 posts

197 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
I absolutely love the 2002, I've promised myself for a while now I'll have a tii when the house is finished.

Lucky, lucky boy Oli!

Magners P.H

6,627 posts

213 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
Been in my fantasy car section for quite some time, and will be staying there smile

White-Noise

4,121 posts

247 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
Interesting car. When does it hit full boost?

Something that struck me, was how far apart the pedals are - the clutch looks like its a foot further back than the throttle.

Looks pretty cool though, would love to see the engine bay.

morgrp

4,128 posts

197 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
I was offered a fairly decent 2002 Turbo in silver for a pretty amazing 10 grand about 5 years ago, only had 7 grand for a motor at the time - should have sawn my leg off to get the money! I hate modern Beemers - A lot of people buy them for all the wrong reasons and although they give impressive performance, I don't think they engineer them quite the same as the old ones - give me a 1602/2002, CSL or E30 M3 over ANY of the new ones

SleeperCell

5,591 posts

241 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all


biggrin

morgrp

4,128 posts

197 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
I was offered a fairly decent 2002 Turbo in silver for a pretty amazing 10 grand about 5 years ago, only had 7 grand for a motor at the time - should have sawn my leg off to get the money! I hate modern Beemers - A lot of people buy them for all the wrong reasons and although they give impressive performance, I don't think they engineer them quite the same as the old ones - give me a 1602/2002, CSL or E30 M3 over ANY of the new ones

L100NYY

35,075 posts

242 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
White-Noise said:
Something that struck me, was how far apart the pedals are - the clutch looks like its a foot further back than the throttle.
Mine is a rhd car and the pedals are perfectly positioned for heel and toe, I would guess that the lhd car would be the same and that the picture is not clear on the positioning of the brake and clutch.

Bogracer

438 posts

206 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
I grew up with one that my father imported from Germany, a fantastic car and really fast, with a wooshing turbo. It is tucked away in the one of the garages with a genuine 32,000 miles, the spare tyre is the unused orgional! It is not on the register so lets make that 13 in the UK.

What's it worth? Offers?

john_r

8,353 posts

270 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
cloud9

turboman2002

4 posts

188 months

Wednesday 30th July 2008
quotequote all
This is a great article about a car which really is iconic - the last and most powerful of the Neue Klasse cars which saved BMW from going bust. Turbo boost doesn't generally kick in until 3800-4000 rpm so the lag can be a bit of a surprise - but its phenomenal when it does. I've had a turbo for the last 5 years and also just bought a BMW 2002 Alpina A4S. Only a handful of these ever made by Alpina, 165bhp so just less than the turbo but it does have the advantage of the power throughout the range - and no surprises! Pictures of the Alpina and the turbo on Richard Stern's '02 website:

http://www.bmw2002.co.uk/cotm/index.html