• The BMW 2002 launched the model’s sport-sedan fame, and the 2002tii mannequin is its final expression.
• This 1974 2002tii advantages from intensive work, a few of which moved the automotive away from inventory however ought to pay dividends in drivability.
• This Carry a Trailer public sale ends August 31.

From the skin, there’s something extreme in regards to the restrained styling of a traditional BMW 2002. This all-black instance manages to be virtually clerical in spirit, like a priestly cassock or nun’s behavior, all clasped fingers and pious intent. However, as former Automobile and Driver editor David E. Davis, Jr. as soon as wrote, “Flip your hymnals to Quantity 2002 and we’ll sing two choruses of Whispering Bomb.” A 2002tii just isn’t for saints however for us speedy sinners.

Right this moment’s decide over at Carry A Trailer—which, like Automobile and Driver, is a part of Hearst Autos—is a 1974 BMW 2000tii achingly lovely in black and chrome. Its subtlety and ease stand in stark distinction to the marque’s present lineup, which ranges from overwrought coupes to the XM SUV, the latter’s colossal twin grilles lending it an uncanny resemblance to Pumba from The Lion King.

A 2002 is as meerkat to the warthoggy XM: gentle, elegant, deft. This nimble little automotive charmed the pants off Davis, to the extent that his 1968 evaluate of the 114-hp carburetted model stands as one of many nice automotive opinions of all time.

“To my mind-set, the 2002 is one in every of trendy civilization’s all-time finest methods to get someplace sitting down. It grabs you.”

The tii suffix on this 1974 2002 signifies additional zip below the hood, because of Kugelfisher mechanical gasoline injection. So-equipped, the fizzy little 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine is sweet for 125 horsepower and 127 pound-feet of torque, rasping its merry track out of a stainless-steel exhaust. It is paired with a five-speed handbook from a later automotive and a limited-slip rear differential. Testing a 2002tii, Automobile and Driver‘s Patrick Bedard, wrote:

Regardless of the way you attempt, you may’t assist however prefer it. It’s the essence of motoring reality: no strobe stripes, no phony teardrop racing mirrors, no triple turret taillights. Simply finely honed equipment within the easiest metal and glass case. And it really works. It handles—with the agility of a professional flanker again—and the fuel-injected engine could make the parson breathe onerous.

Being a 1974, this instance has the sq. taillights of the later 2002 fashions; lovers of the breed might argue that the sooner spherical taillights are a bit of prettier (though the sooner chrome bumpers have been retrofitted). Mere quibbling, because the automotive is so well-sorted. Recaro seats and a Nardi shift knob and three-spoke steering wheel improve a clear and spartan cockpit. Bilstein shocks and 13-inch Gotti wheels hold the footwork gentle and vigorous.

Loads of current servicing has been carried out by the earlier proprietor, together with a brand new aluminum radiator, gasoline and water pumps, and numerous bits of the ignition system. The stainless-steel exhaust can be new and will present a superb soundtrack for a weekend’s backroad flogging.

Which, ought to you have got the successful bid on this beautiful 2002tii, is virtually a commandment.

Contributing Editor

Brendan McAleer is a contract author and photographer primarily based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British cars, got here of age within the golden period of Japanese sport-compact efficiency, and started writing about automobiles and folks in 2008. His specific curiosity is the intersection between humanity and equipment, whether or not it’s the racing profession of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught each of his younger daughters shift a handbook transmission and is grateful for the excuse they supply to be perpetually shopping for Sizzling Wheels.