BMW 325

The BMW 325 was a light standard passenger car of the German armed forces, which the Bayerische Motorenwerke built from 1937 to 1940 at their plant in Eisenach. Stoewer in Stettin and Hanomag in Hannover made vehicles with the same chassis and body but fitted their own engines. The open utility car had a wheelbase of 2,400 millimetres, all wheel drive, a five speed gearbox and three limited slip differentials, and was powered by the 1,971 cubic centimetre six cylinder engine of the BMW 326, which made 50 horsepower, or 37 kilowatts, after it was converted to dry sump lubrication. It was first built with four wheel steering that halved the turning circle from 12.7 to 6.5 metres, a feature dropped in 1940 as too costly. Fuel use was 17 litres per 100 kilometres on the road and 25 off it. Because of their complexity the cars were heavy and prone to breakdowns, and 3,225 were made at Eisenach.