Start with what the BMW 328 is: a roadster with 1,971 cc M328 I6, built from 1936 to 1940, when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Peter Szymanowski / Fritz Fiedler / Alfred Böning / Alex von Falkenhausen / Ernst Loof.
Where it came from
The BMW 328 is a sports car produced by BMW from 1936 to 1940. Its body design is credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II (although technically the car was designed by Fritz Fiedler).
Under the skin
The engine is 1,971 cc M328 I6. On the scales it comes to 830 kg. Drive goes through a 4-speed manual. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 2400 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
In the Bmw line-up the BMW 328 has a clear place: it replaced the BMW 319/1; it handed the line to the BMW 507; the factory was Eisenach, Germany. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Chevrolet Suburban, the Bugatti Type 57, the Volkswagen Beetle. Nearby in the Bmw catalogue sit the BMW 116 and the BMW 269.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the BMW 328 has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.