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35-553: Dixi is a brand name of cars made by originally by Automobilwerk Eisenach , later by BMW . The first Dixi car was produced in 1904. In the difficult economic climate of the 1920s the company found it hard to sell its 6/24 and 9/40 models. So the manufacturer decided to enter the small car market, and in 1927 signed a licensing agreement with the Austin Motor Company to build a variant of the Austin 7 . A production level of 2000 cars

70-413: A straight-6 engine. The M78 1182 cc six-cylinder engine was developed from the four-cylinder engine used in the 3/20. The engine had the same bore and stroke as the four, but the bore spacing was increased to allow for further increases in bore and to provide for crankshaft bearings between the ends of the crankshaft. The crankshaft ran in four plain bearings . The 303 was the first BMW to use

105-419: A conventional system neither as advanced nor as troublesome as the 3/20's swing axles . The 303 was the first German car in its size and price class to have automatic "one-shot" chassis lubrication. Each wheel had a drum brake ; all four were operated through the pedal using rods and levers, while the rear brakes were also operated by cables from the handbrake lever . The 303 was the first BMW car to use

140-509: A good number of the employees found work in the newly created Opel Eisenach factory, opened in a Western Eisenach suburb in 1992. The former production site was used by an automotive parts company Mitec Automotive  [ de ] until 2018. While most of the factory has been demolished, one part (Building O2) has been preserved to house the Automobilbaumuseum Eisenach (Eisenach Car Museum). BMW 319 The BMW 303

175-612: A motor car which he called the Wartburg , a licensed model of the French Decauville . The company was the third to manufacture cars in Germany, the first being Benz & Cie and the second being Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft . His son Gustav subsequently took over the factory, which at the end of the 19th century employed 1,300 workers and was one of the largest in Thuringia . In 1903,

210-641: A total of over 21,200 BMW/EMW 340 s and 400 BMW/EMW 327 s. Total production of four-stroke automobiles between 1945 and 1955 was just over 30,800. In 1945, AWE resumed production of the pre-war BMW R35 motorcycle. This became the EMW R 35 in 1952, was modified as the R35/2 and later the R35/3 with plunger rear suspension . Eisenach built just over 83,000 of the R35 and its variants before its motorcycle production ended in 1955. In 1952,

245-712: A version of the British Austin 7 built under licence. In November 1928 BMW acquired the Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach A.G. (Marke "Dixi") from the Gothaer Waggonfabrik bringing the independent existence of Dixi to an end and the Eisenach factory became the birthplace of car manufacturing by BMW. The Dixi continued briefly as the BMW Dixi but the renamed BMW-Factory Eisenach soon started making an updated version of

280-503: A year was agreed upon, and Dixi paid Austin a royalty on each vehicle produced. The first 100 cars were supplied by Austin as kits, but by December 1927 the first of the official Dixi-manufactured vehicles, the DA-1 3/15PS were coming off the production line. The DA designation stood for Deutsche Ausführung, meaning German Version; 3/15 indicated the taxation and actual horsepower ratings. Apart from being left-hand drive and using metric fasteners,

315-528: The 1953 German Grand Prix . One year later it received its final name VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach ( AWE ). The first new model had a three-cylinder two-stroke engine, the IFA 309 . This was based on the DKW F9 prototype that was developed in 1939, but not put into production. The manufacture of models derived from pre-war BMWs, finished at the end of 1955 (see above). In 1956, the first Wartburg (Type 311 and later

350-521: The 312 ) was launched with a new design, but maintaining the DKW based two-stroke engine . The Wartburg 353 , introduced in 1966, received a new body, but still used the two-stroke engine, now with a displacement of 1000 cc. Many new ideas were proposed by the engineers, but they were not accepted by the state authorities. Finally, in 1988, license-built Volkswagen four-cylinder four-stroke engines were introduced. The German reunification of October 1990 meant

385-446: The BMW 328 in 1936. Upon its introduction in 1933, the 303 was the largest car BMW had made. The wheelbase of the 303 was 2,400 mm (94.5 in), an increase of 300 mm (11.8 in) over the 3/20 . The track, 1,150 mm (45.3 in) at the front and 1,220 mm (48.0 in) at the rear, was also wider than the 3/20's 1,100 mm (43.3 in) front and rear. Unlike

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420-553: The Luftwaffe . By the end of the war about 60% of the factory had been destroyed. After the war, Thuringia was part of the Soviet sector, and the factory became a Soviet Stock company named Sowjetische AG Maschinenbau Awtowelo , Werk BMW Eisenach (Soviet Awtowelo Co., Eisenach BMW Works). Production restarted with the BMW 321 , of which almost 4,000 were made between late 1945 and 1950. A number of partially completed cars had been stored in

455-521: The 'kidney grill', which has since become a defining feature of the company's models. Two-door saloon and cabriolet bodies were manufactured, at first by Daimler-Benz 's coachworks in Sindelfingen , and later by Ambi-Budd in Berlin. Ambi-Budd would also offer a two-seat sports cabriolet for the 303. At the time it was being made, the 303 was the least expensive six-cylinder car in Germany. However, it

490-398: The 3/20's backbone chassis , the 303 had a ladder frame made from tubular side members and box-section cross members. The independent front suspension used a transverse mounted leaf spring mounted above the wheel centre line. The hubs were located with the spring mounts at the top and control arms at the bottom. The rear suspension used a live axle on semi-elliptic leaf springs,

525-444: The 309 was a 303 with a four-cylinder engine developed from the M78 six-cylinder engine used in the 303. The 309's engine had the bore increased from 56 mm (2.2 in) to 58 mm (2.3 in) which, with a stroke of 80 mm (3.1 in), gave a capacity of 845 cc (51.6 cu in) and maximum power of 16.5 kW (22 PS; 22 hp) at 4000 rpm. In addition to

560-504: The 319 was 850 kg (1,874 lb), and the fuel capacity was 40 L (11 US gal; 9 imp gal). Upon the introduction of the BMW 326 in 1936, the 315 and 319 were no longer BMW's largest cars. The 315 and 319 were discontinued in 1937. A total of 9,765 BMW 315s were built, including two-door saloon cars, touring cars, convertibles, sport convertibles, and 315/1 roadsters. A total of 6,646 BMW 319s of all types were built by

595-426: The 319's engine with the performance modification of the 315/1's engine resulted in 41 kW (55.0 hp) at 4000 rpm in the 319/1 roadster. Production of the 315/1 and 319/1 roadsters ended in 1936, with 242 of the 315/1 roadsters and 102 of the 319/1s built. The 315/1 and 319/1 were replaced by the BMW 328 , which was based on an all-new tubular steel ladder frame, but used the steering gear and suspension of

630-482: The Ehrhardt family withdrew from management due to financial losses and also because the license to build Decauvilles was revoked. The factory began building under the new name, Dixi, in 1904 with Willi Seck as chief engineer. The top model, the type U35, was introduced in 1907 and was soon recognized for its reliability and performance with 65 hp (48 kW ) and a top speed of 85 km/h (53 mph). During World War I

665-507: The Soviet owners handed the company over to the German Democratic Republic , and it became a state-owned company. By that time BMW from Munich was able to secure its tradename, logo , and typical double-nostril grille appearance, and started to produce cars again. The Eisenach company was renamed Eisenacher Motorenwerk (EMW), its logo being a variation of the BMW logo, the blue quadrants replaced by red ones. EMW participated in

700-418: The body styles offered with the 303, the 309 was also available as a tourer . With the same body as the 303, the 309 offered the same amount of room at a lower cost and a lower tax rating based on its smaller engine. The 309 was manufactured from 1934 to 1936, with a total of 6,000 made. The 315 replaced the 303 in 1934. The 315 differed from the 303 mainly with its larger engine, with increases in both

735-520: The bore, to 58 mm (2.3 in) from 56 mm (2.2 in), and the stroke, to 94 mm (3.7 in) from 80 mm (3.1 in). The 319 were introduced in 1935. Produced alongside the 315, the 319 differed from it mainly by its new, larger engine with a bore of 65 mm (2.6 in), and a stroke of 96 mm (3.8 in), resulting in a displacement of 1,911 cc (116.6 cu in). This resulted in an increase in power to 34 kW (45.6 hp) at 3750 rpm. The kerb weight of

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770-573: The car called the BMW 3/15 PS dropping the Dixi name. By 1931, 25,000 cars had been produced in a series going from DA 1 to DA 4. The DA-3, a sporting version, saw a re-appearance of the Wartburg name. In 1932 a new small car, the 3/20 AM-1 , was announced with independent suspension all round and an enlarged 788cc (48ci) engine. In 1933 BMW started to develop bigger cars with 6-cylinder engines. The first car of which

805-517: The car was nearly identical to the Austin. Body styles available were coupé, roadster, tourer, and sedan with a few chassis going to external coachbuilders. Most cars left the factory as tourers. Looking to move into automobile manufacturing, BMW bought the Automobilwerk Eisenach in 1928 and, with it, the rights to build the Dixi car. At first the cars were badged as BMW Dixi but the Dixi name

840-399: The company produced trucks and guns. Afterwards the factory suffered from reparations with removal of equipment. In 1919, car production resumed with the company renamed as Dixi-Werke AG in 1920; but soon economic hardship forced a merger with Gothaer Waggonfabrik AG. Another result of the economic downturn was a change in output, focusing on small cars. In 1927 Dixi produced the DA-1 3/15,

875-646: The end for AWE, as due to its obsolete labour-intensive production assets it could not compete with modern Western German plants. However, locals wanted to save manufacturing jobs, and in March 1990 Adam Opel AG concluded a collaboration agreement with the plant. Things moved fast, and on 5 October 1990, AWE and Opel together opened an assembly line for the Opel Vectra . Guests at the accompanying celebrations included Helmut Kohl . The Treuhand agency closed AWE in April 1991, but

910-425: The end of production in 1937. The 329 replaced the 319 in early 1937. The 329 was basically a 319 with the front bodywork and fenders from the BMW 326 . The 329 was available only as a convertible, with either two or four doors. The 329 was replaced by the 326-based BMW 320 later in 1937. The BMW 315/1 was a sports car based on the 315 saloon. It used the same chassis as the 315 saloon and had an engine of

945-529: The factory suffered frequent sabotage by disgruntled workers. The EMWs quickly developed a reputation for being unreliable. In 1952 the works were transferred to ownership by the East German government and renamed EMW or Eisenacher Motorenwerk (see below). It continued type 327 production and further developed the type 340 as the EMW 340-2 . Production of both models ceased in 1955, by which time Eisenach had produced

980-434: The nearby salt mines in 1941, when automobile production had been halted; these cars were completed by Awtowelo after the war. A handful of BMW 326s were made in 1946-1947, and 161 EMW 325/3s ( kübelwagen ) were made in 1952. In 1949 the Eisenach works launched the BMW 340 (a development of the BMW 326 with modified front and rear bodywork) and the BMW 327 . Around 150 BMW 327 were built between 1949 and 1952, when it

1015-412: The same displacement. However, with compression ratio increased to 6.8:1 from 5.6:1 in the saloon, and with the use of three Solex carburetors, power increased to 30 kW (41 PS; 40 hp) at 4300 rpm, while the roadster bodywork reduced kerb weight to 750 kg (1,653 lb). The BMW 319/1 was a 1.9-litre version of the 315/1 introduced alongside the 319 in 1935. The dimensions of

1050-418: Was a small family saloon produced by BMW in 1933 and 1934. It was the first BMW motor car with a six-cylinder engine and the first BMW motor car with the "kidney grille" associated with the brand . The platform developed for the 303 was used for several other BMW cars, including the BMW 309 , a four-cylinder version of the 303, the BMW 315 , a 1.5-litre version of the 303 which replaced it in 1934 and

1085-483: Was built until 1937, the BMW 319 , a 1.9-litre version of the 303 produced alongside the 315 from 1935 to 1937, and the BMW 329 , a development of the 319 with styling based on the newer, larger BMW 326 , that briefly replaced the 319 in 1937. The 303 platform was also used for the BMW 315/1 and BMW 319/1 . These were high-performance versions of the 315 and 319 respectively, with tuned engines and lightweight roadster bodywork. The 315/1 and 319/1 were replaced by

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1120-399: Was considered underpowered, with a top speed of 90 km/h (56 mph). The combination of soft spring rates at the front and hard spring rates at the rear caused understeer , body roll , and a generally unsettling pitching movement. 2300 BMW 303s were produced up to 1934, when the 303 was replaced by the 315. The BMW 309 was a development of the 303. A replacement for the 3/20,

1155-479: Was dropped in 1929 when the DA-1 was replaced by a slightly updated version, the BMW 3/15 DA-2. Automobilwerk Eisenach The Automobilwerk Eisenach ( AWE ) was an automobile manufacturer in Eisenach , Germany. Heinrich Ehrhardt founded the Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach (FFE) in Eisenach on 3 December 1896 as a stock company. Initially, he produced bicycles and guns . After two years, he started to produce

1190-654: Was renamed EMW. As long as the Soviets owned the company, BMW in Munich could not bring legal proceedings to protect its tradename. As the Munich factory was not producing cars yet, all "BMWs" made from 1945 to 1951 are Eisenach products. Initially, Awtowelo relied on pre-war stock of parts, but as production was stepped up, the company began changing over to newly manufactured parts. The new, East German parts were of inferior quality, with off-center bolts, wiring with low copper content, while

1225-408: Was the BMW 303 . Later successors were the BMW 315 , BMW 319 , BMW 327 and the elegant sports coupe BMW 328 . In 1942 BMW moved its motorcycle production to Eisenach, freeing up space in Munich for air craft engines. The main product was the highly successful R75 .In 1942 regular automobile production was stopped because of World War II and started to manufacture aircraft engines for

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