BMW 335

The BMW 335 was a six-cylinder sports sedan that BMW produced between 1939 and 1941, conceived as a move upmarket to challenge Mercedes-Benz. It was based on the 326 but with the wheelbase and chassis extended to take a new 3,485 cc M335 straight-six, which gave a claimed 90 bhp (67 kW) at 3,500 rpm and a top speed of 145 km/h. The extra weight called for larger brake drums and wheels, and it was the first car to offer a four-speed gearbox with full synchromesh on all ratios. It was sold as a four-door sedan and as a two- or four-door cabriolet. A prototype shown in London in 1938 carried the Frazer Nash name, and the production car reached the German market in 1939; more than 400 were assembled at Eisenach before passenger car production ended in 1941.