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The BMW 700 was a small rear-engined car produced by BMW in various models from August 1959 to November 1965. It was the first BMW automobile with a monocoque structure. The 700 was a sales success at a time when BMW was close to financial ruin. The 700 was also successful in its class in motorsport, both in its stock form and as the basis of a racing special called the 700RS. More than 188,000 were sold before production ended in November 1965. Upon discontinuing the 700, BMW left the economy car market and did not return until 2002 with the Mini. ==Concept, design, and engineering== Wolfgang Denzel, the distributor of BMW cars in Austria, commissioned Giovanni Michelotti to prepare concept sketches based on a lengthened BMW 600 chassis.〔''BMW - Bavaria's Driving Machines'', Norbye, pp. 124-125〕 In January 1958, Denzel was awarded a development contract for the 700. Denzel presented a prototype to BMW's management in July 1958. The concept, a 2-door coupe with a slanted roof, was generally well received, but objections were raised about the limited passenger space.〔〔 BMW decided to produce two versions, the coupe, and a 2-door sedan with a taller, longer roof.〔 The engineer responsible for the chassis and suspension was Willy Black, who had designed and engineered the 600. The drivetrain and suspension were similar to those of the 600, with a rear mounted flat-twin engine powering the rear wheels, leading arm suspension at the front, and semi trailing arm suspension at the rear. The 700 used a steel monocoque structure, and was the first BMW automobile to do so.〔 The engine was an enlarged version of that used in the R67 motorcycle and the 600. With a bore of and of stroke, the engine displaced . The engine originally used a single Solex 34PCI carburetor and had a compression ratio of 7.5:1, resulting in a power output of .〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「BMW 700」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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