7th overall, 2nd in class winner at the 1939 Le...

1938 BMW 328 Special Competition Roadster
Chassis no. 85335
Engine no. 85335

1,971cc OHV Inline Six-Cylinder Engine
3 Solex Downdraft Carburetors
135bhp at 5,000rpm
4-Speed Manual Transmission
Front Independent Suspension – Live Rear Axle
4-Wheel Hydraulic Drum Brakes

*A highly significant BMW competition car with extraordinary provenance
*One of three Special Competition chassis supplied to the German national racing team
*Works high-performance engine and lightweight bodywork
*Verified by specialists from BMW Classic
*Class-podium finishes at 1939 Litoranea Libica, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Belgrade Grand Prix
*Previously in 52 years of single-family ownership; in current ownership since 2017
*Meticulously restored by D.L. George Historic Motorcars to as-raced condition
*Awarded 3rd in the Early Le Mans class at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
*Mille Miglia, Le Mans Classic, and Goodwood eligible

THE BMW 328

"The BMW 328 is legendary. It is acknowledged by car enthusiasts all over the world as having a special pedigree, presence and uniqueness. It is definitely among the most attractive, successful, and influential sports cars ever built." - Rainer Simons, BMW 328: From Roadster to Legend.

Not only was the 328 a superb sportsman's road car, it was alsothe car to beat in 2-liter sports car racing categories across Europe. If you wanted to win in 2-liter classes between 1936 and 1940 and had anything but a 328 at your disposal, you were likely wasting your time! BMW 328s racked up 131 documented wins and 45 gold medals in that period, with countless other podium finishes.

The 328 set a benchmark for 2-liter sportscars that was unsurpassed for 15 years, and key to its success was the remarkably advanced construction. While BMW's contemporaries employed traditional coachbuilding methods with separate bodies atop a ladder chassis, BMW utilized lightweight tubular frame construction using welded floors and stressed aluminum bodywork. The two-liter inline six featured overhead valves, hemispherical combustion chambers, and triple Solex downdraft carburetors to make 80bhp in standard form, and upwards of 135bhp for racing.

During the 328s tenure, the German Government-run Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrkorps (NSKK) and its German national racing team had coopted the racing efforts of all major domestic automobile manufacturers. BMW supplied its most radical, highly tuned versions of the 328 to the team. The NSKK initially campaigned a trio of 328 Roadsters to win nearly every sports car competition across continental Europe during 1938. The following season saw very similar results, though a new set of uniquely configured 328s (chassis 85335, 85336, and 85337) were put to work. These three cars were ordered from BMW on November 14, 1938 and delivered to NSKK headquarters in Munich on February 2, 1939.

Designated "Special Competition" Roadsters, these cars feature lightweight bodywork, a high-compression engine with upgraded Solex 30 IF carburetors, high-capacity fuel tank, additional instrumentation, plexiglass wind wings, racing windscreens, reinforced suspension components, metal tonneau covers for the passenger and rear spare area, as well as 17-inch light alloy wheels and hydraulically assisted drum brakes. The engine directs its 135 horsepower through a four-speed Hurth gearbox and on to a lightened competition rear axle.

THE CAR OFFERED

According to records confirmed by BMW, chassis number 85335 was first registered as "IIA-58110" in the hands of the NSSK. After practice and testing, 85335 and its two siblings made their competitive debut at The Royal Automobile Club of Italy's Corsa Sulla Litoranea Libica.

Following the tragedy of the 1938 Mille Miglia, when ten spectators were killed by a privateer Lancia Aprilia careening into the crowd, the event took a hiatus in Italy. Organizers instead headed across the Mediterranean to the coast of Libya – then an Italian territory – between Tobruk and Tripoli on March 26, 1939. This "Mille Miglia Africana" served as the RACI's official Mille Miglia replacement with Alfa Romeo, Lancia, and Fiat all entering their respective works teams. Despite the new venue, the NSKK team remained fully committed to repeating their 2-liter class sweep of 1938.

This car debuted wearing #62, piloted by HSH Prince Max Schaumburg-Lippe and Ralph Roese. Upon arriving at the finish in Tripoli that evening, the 328s emerged triumphant once again; Schaumburg-Lippe and Roese bringing 85335 home in 5th overall and 2nd in class.

Chassis 85335's next confirmed outing came as part of BMW's inaugural entry to the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 17, 1939. The NSKK team had been in France since June 14, with Roese and Paul Heinemann using 85335 throughout the practice sessions. On race day, Roese began the 24 Hours in its traditional, feverish manner—a short footrace from the grandstand berm, across the track, and into the cockpit of his waiting car. Exploding into life, Roese urged 85335 (racing as #27) forward into the quivering, dramatic crush of men and cars on their initial sojourn to Dunlop Curve. Not a single drop of rain spoiled Le Mans that year, and so overall speeds remained exceptionally high. By 4 AM, Roese and Heinemann had worked their way up to 10th overall thanks to the 328's excellent efficiency. After the race's 21st hour they had reached 7th overall, in which they would remain for the final three hours—thereby securing a fantastic 2nd in-class finish only nine laps down from the race's overall winner. Chassis 85335 had secured BMW another full podium sweep of the 2.0-liter category, while 1939 marked the company's final appearance at Le Mans until 1972, and their most successful finish until 1999.

The trio of Special Competition Roadsters made their final competitive outing at Belgrade's Kalemegdan Park road course in early September. Though the race received little coverage on account of Germany's ongoing invasion of Poland, records held by BMW confirmed that Roese indeed drove 85335 (race #44) to finish 2nd overall—a last flash of greatness before its descent into obscurity.

Following the Belgrade Grand Prix, 85335 seems to have been retired by the team, and it essentially disappeared. Even as the sister chassis were rescued, restored, and joined prestigious collections, 85335's whereabouts remained a mystery. While many experts assumed the car had been scrapped, it was, in fact, hiding in plain sight!

By May 1963, this very special BMW had come into the care of Carl Reitzel in Newark, New Jersey, who then passed it on to Ferrari dealer and collector James P. McAllister of Port Jefferson, New York in August 1966. Though it had been made to resemble a normal 328 road car and many of its race-bred parts were removed or otherwise obscured, mercifully, the car's custodians had the forethought to keep any of the special pre-war competition spares they removed. During the 1980s it remained in the McAllister family, in the care of Jeffrey McAllister, who had it restored for vintage racing.

McAllister occasionally brought 85335 to regional concours and vintage races over the next two decades, and as word got out, notable marque enthusiasts approached him with tales of its remarkable pre-war life. Research undertaken in cooperation with BMW and marque experts culminated in a successful inspection by Klaus Kutscher, then BMW's in-house 328 specialist, which verified 85335's remarkable provenance as well as the survival of its key original componentry.

In October 2017, the McAllister family parted with their prized BMW after 52 years, and the new owner, in turn, handed it to the renowned D.L. George Historic Motorcars in Cochranville, Pennsylvania (who had previously restored 85337, to great acclaim). George's charge was simple: to return the car to the closest possible execution of its original "as-raced in 1939" configuration. Invoices on file from 2018 to 2022, which total more than seven figures, are a testament to the open-book, singularly focused restoration. The results of the herculean effort were rewarded immediately, when 85335 scored a 3rd place in the ultra-competitive Early Le Mans class upon its debut at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

This 1938 328 Special Competition Roadster is undoubtedly one of the most significant BMW competition cars to be offered at auction. With its stunning restoration and verified, irrefutable provenance, it is surely your ticket to many of the world's most exclusive concours and road rallies including the Mille Miglia, Le Mans Classic, and Goodwood Revival. The 328 roadster keeps elite company among the finest ever pre-war sports cars and are renowned for their remarkable usability and performance. Chassis 85335 blends that approachable performance with exceptional provenance, and will surely find a place of pride in virtually any significant collection.
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