BMW and the "Italian Connection". Italian for Munich is "Monaco".

[Deleted member 1071]

It is not only a matter of geographic proximity, but also something that can be likened to kindred spirits. Especially during certain periods following WWII. Here is a selection of products that were spawned during the courses of Bavarian/Italian courtships:

1948 Bristol 400 Pininfarina Drophead Coupe. BMWs' Anglo/Italian relative based on the BMW 327.

1950 BMW 501 concept by Pininfarina:

1955 BMW Isetta. Originally the ISO Isetta, launched in Italy two years earlier.

1961 BMW 3200CS Cabriolet by Bertone:

1962 BMW 1500 "Neue Klasse". Carrozzeria Michelotti played an advisory role in its' design.

The Frua BMW/Glas models:

1963 Glas 1300GT/1700GT-later BMW 1600GT:

1964 Glas 1700/BMW 1800 GL SA:

1966 Glas 2600 V8-1968 Glas-BMW 3000 V8:

1969 BMW 2800 GTS by Frua:

1970 BMW 2002 GT by Frua:

1970 BMW Garmisch Concept by Bertone:

1978 BMW M1. Designed by Giugiaro. Originally planned to be assembled by Lamborghini:

2013 BMW Gran Lusso Concept by Pininfarina:

Additions more than welcome.

 

[Centurion]

Very nice cars. It never occurred to me that the isetta could have Italian influences. The car is like a three wheeled Fiat 500 for narrow Italian streets.

 

[Levi68]

I still always regard BMW as the German Alfa Romeo, a reason why I liked BMW. (Current BMW is not the one I know to have liked.)

 

[Deleted member 25]

Never knew this one.

You can add the giugiaro cars aswell

 

[Deleted member 1071]

...here's another one:

The 1969 BMW 2800 Spicup by Bertone. Quite horrid, isn't it.

Bertone did a far better job 12 years earlier:

The 1957 503 Cabriolet.

 

[Deleted member 25]

...here's another one:

The 1969 BMW 2800 Spicup by Bertone. Quite...

I actually love that green little thing , it's not a looker by the classic standards but man what a funky little thing, a jetson worthy car.

 

[dalab]

...here's another one:

The 1969 BMW 2800 Spicup by Bertone. Quite...

The truth in my eyes is a disgrace either of the two, the green is a hot wheels to the extreme and the 503 is on the other side, he designed it when the effect of the drug passed and he was reluctant, it could be a Peugeot or anything with zero personality

a jetson worthy car.

I thought the same when I saw it, it is an anecdote not a car. Son, draw me a BMW!

 

[Matski]

Theres the 3200 Michelotti Vignale ...

There were also the Zagato Z4's, but I don't really want to look at pictures of them...

 

[Matski]

Frua...

There were another couple of cars from Frua at the time, I'm unsure of the naming off the top of my head, but I think the 2000Ti Coupe looked a lot like the one you have as 2800 GTS, then there was the E28-esque 528GT Coupe, and the Wedge like 3.0Si Coupe.

I find the Frua cars really intriguing, but I can't ignore the fact that Frua seemed to be peddling the same designs around all the manufacturers seeing which one would pick it up.

You can add the giugiaro cars aswell

To this day the Nazca C2 remains one of the best looking 'Supercars' ever made in my humble opinion, absolutely tragic it never got made.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

Fruas' association with Maserati in the 1960s' and 1970s' produced a number of cars that were visually kindred to the Glas and BMW exercises by Frua:

The 1965 Maserati Quattroporte I. Quite similar to the Glas 1700 sedan:

The 1968 Maserati Mexico II concept. A somewhat sleeker Glas 2600 V8 ?:

The 1969 Maserati Mistral. Not unsimilar to the Frua BMW 2800GTS or Frua-BMW 2002 GT.

 

[Matski]

How's about something obscure and tenuous?

The Bizzarrini AMC BMW AMX/3...

This car has quite a convoluted back story, it isn't really a BMW and wasn't ever destined to wear the badge, BMW were heavily involved with turning the car from a sub standard prototype into something functionally deserving of its looks though. It even received an entwicklung code, E18. I first became aware of this car when I saw E18 listed as a prototype on Edition Weiss Blau's website quite a number of years ago... with no details other than the word Bizzarrini. Much more has been posted about it online since.

 

[Levi68]

The times when sportscars where the normal car...

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

There were another couple of cars from Frua at the time, I'm unsure of the naming off the top o...

The Nazca C2 takes me back to my NFSII-playing days.

 

[M.N.D]

The Nazca C2 takes me back to my NFSII-playing days.

I used to play the SE edition a LOT! It was the game that made the McLaren F1, the Nazca and the Ferrari F355 among my most favourite cars ever

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

The Maser QP I is a beautiful thing.

I used to play the SE edition a LOT! It was the game that made the McLaren F1, the Nazca and the...

Yup, the F1 was, as they say on your side of the pond, "mega." That and the F50. Geez that's almost 24 years ago. I feel ancient now.

 

[dalab]

The Nazca's in my opinion (and I saw them when they presented), they never ended up being nothing more than an idea, I never saw them roll or take a quick turn around a track, as I remember they always seemed to me more like a clay model than anything else.

At that time I wanted (like many), that BMW would produce the "supercar" after the M1, but I did not want it to be this since it looked totally generic

 

[J.E]

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[Matski]

The Nazca's in my opinion (and I saw them when they presented), they never ended up being nothing more than an idea, I never saw them roll or take a quick turn around a track, as I remember they always seemed to me more like a clay model than anything else.

They were certainly more than clay models. The M12 was maybe a bit generic, since it was a remashed Bugatti idea from Giugiaro, but when it was developed into the C2 it looked pretty unique, and further, very BMW-esque even if it was ahead of what was to come. The nose was perfect mix of 8 series, and subsequent E38 and E39 radii and surface treatments. It also had a glass greenhouse, and a mid mounted V12. Had it hit production, I think it would have been unmistakably BMW, and also stood out amongst its peers. The closest thing I can think of being the XJ220.. which never did get its V12.

 

[dalab]

They were certainly more than clay models. The M12 was maybe a bit generic, since it was a remashed Bugatti idea from Giugiaro, but when it was developed into the C2 it looked pretty unique, and further, very BMW-esque even if it was ahead of what was to come. The nose was perfect mix of 8 series, and subsequent E38 and E39 radii and surface treatments. It also had a glass greenhouse, and a mid mounted V12. Had it hit production, I think it would have been unmistakably BMW, and also stood out amongst its peers. The closest thing I can think of being the XJ220.. which never did get its V12.

Well that's exactly what I mean, I would not compare it at all with the XJ220, that if it was produced, if it was sold and if it became an icon therefore.

Unlike you, when I saw it, the front did not seem original to me at all but totally predictable and not very innovative (it was not a total waste, it just looked "good" nothing special) and the roof and in general gave the impression from the first moment that it was something without any possibility of being manufactured, it was missing something that the BMW management did not see in it to consider.

 

[dalab]

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How horrible the presenter, you can see their lack of professionalism in doing this, poorly scripted, without timing, etc., they lack a lot without despising youtubers should study because they believe that because they have followers they do it well and are quite mediocre