EMW 327: the prewar BMW 327 coupé and cabriolet built in Eisenach

The EMW 327 is the postwar continuation of the BMW 327, the streamlined touring car that BMW built at Eisenach from 1937 to 1941. Production resumed after the war under Soviet control, and from 1952 the car was sold as an EMW, with the 327/2 cabriolet and the hand-built 327/3 coupé lasting until 1955.

EMW 327 at a glance

History of the EMW 327

The BMW years

The first 327, launched in 1937, was a cabriolet; a fixed-head coupé joined it in 1938. Both used a shortened version of the BMW 326 box frame and bodies by Ambi-Budd of Berlin, built in the mixed construction usual at the time: a timber frame carrying steel outer panels. The car was shorter and lower than the 326 saloon but shared its famous grille and the streamlined forms of the 1930s.

Mechanics

The 327 took the hydraulic brakes, gearbox, clutch and front suspension of the 326, with a live rear axle as on the 320 and 328. The 1971 cc six had two Solex carburettors, higher compression than in the 326 and a 4,500 rpm limit, giving 55 PS (40 kW) and a claimed 125 km/h. The sporting 327/28 used the three-carburettor M328 engine of 80 PS; it was recognisable only by its centre-lock wheel nuts and a different speedometer. The early Hurth gearbox was synchronised only in third and fourth, with a freewheel in first and second; the later ZF unit was fully synchronised.

After the war

Eisenach was 60 per cent destroyed, and assembly of the 327 resumed under the Soviet-controlled Awtowelo company, first from partly finished 1941 cars and later from stockpiled parts. About 150 postwar BMW 327s were built before the works changed its name. After the legal dispute with BMW in Munich the company became Eisenacher Motorenwerk in June 1952 and production of the prewar design restarted almost unchanged as the EMW 327.

The EMW 327

EMW changed the bonnet: instead of reaching down into the front wings with a handle on each side, it now had fixed sides with the vents built in and was released from inside. The East Germans also added a crease over the wheel arches, and the car received the dashboard of the EMW 340 with a steering-column gear change. The 327/2 cabriolet moved in 1952 from Eisenach to the Dresden body works, which built more than 500 until 1955 on chassis and engines supplied from Eisenach; the 327/3 coupé, hand-built from 1953 to 1955, accounted for 152 cars. Most went for export, and the few kept in East Germany went to officials, artists and scientists: Bertolt Brecht and Victor Klemperer both owned EMW 327 coupés.

Design and features

• Streamlined coachwork: a divided windscreen with a slight wedge shape and, on the coupé, a two-piece rear window.
• Shortened 326 frame: the saloon platform cut down to suit a two-door touring body.
• Central lubrication: the axle joints were greased from a pedal in the cabin, roughly every 30 km in wet weather.
• Hidden spare wheel: carried under the tail, with a small boot reached only from inside.

EMW 327 versions

• 327 cabriolet (1937–1941): the original open 2+2, front-hinged doors.
• 327 coupé (1938–1941): fixed head, rear-hinged doors.
• 327/28: 80 PS sporting version with the M328 engine, 569 built to 1940.
• Postwar BMW 327: about 150 assembled by Awtowelo before the change of name.
• EMW 327/2: cabriolet built at Dresden from 1952 to 1955, more than 500 cars.
• EMW 327/3: hand-built coupé of 1953–1955, 152 cars, front-hinged doors.

The 327 shared its engine and chassis family with the EMW 321 and the larger EMW 340 saloon. More cars are in the EMW collection.

Video: BMW EMW 327 328 Sound

Video on YouTube.

Sources

• BMW 327, English Wikipedia: launch, postwar assembly, badge change, body changes
• BMW 327, German Wikipedia: coachwork, engine, gearbox, EMW 327/2 and 327/3