Do you need help? Please contact our support team from 9 to 17 CET via support.pressclub@bmwgroup.com.

PressClub United Kingdom · Article.

The fresh face of BMW: 50 years of BMW New Class

Waiting times averaged around half an hour. That’s how long you had to queue up at the 1961 Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA) to get a close-up look at the star turn of the show – or indeed to sit inside it, if for no more than a hurried minute. “Anyone who was in the vast exhibition area, for whatever reason, felt drawn to the stand of the Bayerische Motoren Werke,” noted reporters from a leading German magazine, “or to be precise, to the new BMW mid-range car which until then had been a closely guarded internal secret but was now on public view for the first time at the BMW stand.” BMW 1500 celebrates its world premiere. Resplendent in virginal white, one of the two prototypes of the mid-range car from Munich slowly rotated on a closed-off turntable. A few metres away stood its twin, inviting visitors to touch it and even sit behind the wheel. Anyone who managed to secure a spot in front of the adjacent knee-high barrier had an unhampered view of the impressive four-door model performing its slow-motion pirouettes. A flat panel under the front bumper gave a brief summary of its salient cutting-edge specifications: 4 cylinders in-line, 75 hp at 5,500 rpm, 5-bearing crankshaft, OHC, front strut suspension, rear semi-trailing arm, front disc brakes, top speed 150 km/h, weight (fully fuelled) approx. 950 kg. Not even the strikingly elegant eight-cylinder 3200 CS Coupé alongside it, revealed to the public for the first time, could detract from the sheer magnetic pull of this new model.

Heritage
·
Heritage
·
BMW Brand Heritage
·
Motor Shows

Press Contact.

Martin Harrison
BMW Group

Tel: +44-1252-92-1259

send an e-mail

Author.

Martin Harrison
BMW Group

Note: This press release is a 1:1 copy of the original issued by BMW headquarters in Germany. No adaptations have been made to cater for the UK market.

 

Waiting times averaged around half an hour. That’s how long you had to queue up at the 1961 Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA) to get a close-up look at the star turn of the show – or indeed to sit inside it, if for no more than a hurried minute. “Anyone who was in the vast exhibition area, for whatever reason, felt drawn to the stand of the Bayerische Motoren Werke,” noted reporters from a leading German magazine, “or to be precise, to the new BMW mid-range car which until then had been a closely guarded internal secret but was now on public view for the first time at the BMW stand.”

 

BMW 1500 celebrates its world premiere.

 

Please find attached the press kit "The fresh face of BMW: 50 years of BMW New Class"

Article Offline Attachments.

Article Media Material.

My.PressClub Login
 

PressClub Streaming

THE NEW BMW i3.

18 March 2026. Watch the on-demand webcast of the new BMW i3 Design Premiere here.

open Streaming Website

CO2 emission information.

The values for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and energy consumption shown were determined in a standardised test cycle according to the European Regulation (EC) 715/2007 in the version currently applicable. The figures refer to a vehicle with basic configuration in Germany and the range shown considers transmission (automatic or manual) and the different wheels and tyres available on the selected model and may vary during the configuration.

The values of the vehicles labelled with (*), are already based on the test cycle according to the new WLTP regulation and are translated back into NEDC-equivalent values in order to allow a comparison between vehicles. More information on the transition from NEDC to WLTP test procedures can be found here.

These figures are intended for comparison purposes and may not be representative of what a user achieves under usual driving conditions. For plug-in hybrid vehicles and battery electric vehicles the figures have been obtained using a combination of battery power and petrol fuel after the battery had been fully charged. Plug-in hybrid vehicles and battery electric vehicles require mains electricity for charging. The CO2 emissions labels are determined according to Directive 1999/94/EC and the Passenger Car (Fuel consumption and CO2 Emissions Information) Regulations 2001, as amended. They are based on the fuel consumption, CO2 values and energy consumptions according to the NEDC cycle.

A guide on fuel economy and CO2 emissions which contains data for all new passenger car models is available at any point of sale free of charge. For further information you can also visit this link.

Search Settings.

Press Release
Press Kit
Speech
Fact & Figures

Search with attachment language.

Spanish
  • Language of Attachment
  • Arabic
  • Chinese - simplified
  • Chinese - traditional
  • Czech
  • English
  • English - UK
  • French
  • German
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Multilingual
  • Russian
  • Spanish
Updates
Top-Topic

Set publication time.

no Selection
  • no Selection
  • past 24 hours
  • past Week
  • past Month
  • past Year
Submit
Reset
 
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
 
Login