BMW 501

BMW 501
Overview
Manufacturer	Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW)
Also called	BMW 2.6 BMW 2600 Barockengel[1]
Production	October 1952–1962
Designer	Peter Szymanowski
Body and chassis
Class	Luxury car
Body style	4-door sedan/saloon 2-door cabriolet 2-door coupé
Layout	FR layout
Related	BMW 502 BMW 3200 CS
Powertrain
Engine	1971 cc M337/1 I6 (501) 1971 cc M337/2 I6 (501A/501B) 2077 cc M337/3 I6 (501/3) 2580 cc M502/1 V8 (501 V8/2.6)
Transmission	4-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,835 mm (111.6 in)
Length	4,730 mm (186 in)
Width	1,780 mm (70 in)
Height	1,530 mm (60 in)
Kerb weight	1,340 kg (2,950 lb) or more
Chronology
Predecessor	BMW 326
Successor	BMW 2500 / 2800 ‘New Six’

The BMW 501 was a luxury car manufactured by BMW from 1952 to 1958. Introduced at the first Frankfurt Motor Show in 1951, the 501 was the first BMW model to be manufactured and sold after the Second World War, and as the first BMW car built in Bavaria. The 501 and its derivatives, including the V8 powered BMW 502, were nicknamed “Baroque Angels” by the German public. The BMW 502 was the first postwar German car to be manufactured with a V8 engine.

While the 501 and 502 model numbers were discontinued in 1958, variations of the model, with the same platform and body, were continued until 1963.