A Soviet Built BMW? The Story of the 1951 EMW 340/2 Sedan. Automobilwerk Eisenach.

#bmwcca #bmwgenesis #bmw Thank you BMWCCA for allowing us the opportunity to witness these classic cars. Please join and support them. The EMW 340/2 was a large six-cylinder four-door passenger saloon produced at Eisenach initially in the name of BMW. Built in the former East Germany after World War 2 by Eisenacher Motorenwerk labeled EMW. This car was owned by the late Joseph Smith. It was on display at the fabulous BMW Genesis exhibition, in Greer South Carolina. Video appearing courtesy of BMWCCA BMW Genesis Exhibit. The 340/2 sedan was built using the pre-war design sharing many of the same body panels and other mechanics of the older BMW 340. Legal disputes centered on ownership of the plant where it was assembled and its manufacturers’ rights to use the BMW name. The cars later appeared badged as EMW 340s, and it was under this name that 340s continued to be sold until at least 1953. A coupé version, originally launched in 1937 as the BMW 327, was also reintroduced after the war and produced in parallel with the 340 until approximately 1955, badged in its final years as the EMW 327. From Wikipedia: The power output from the 1971 cc straight-6 engine is 54 PS (40 kW).[2] Mechanically the 340 carried forward some of its predecessor’s advanced features. The four-speed gear box of the 326 reappeared in the 340: however, the cable linkage, which in use had proven damage prone, was replaced with a more robust rod linkage system. A particularly intriguing component in the engine bay was a mechanical self-cleaning oil filter. Sited above the clutch pedal, the device employed a scraper attached to a ratchet which moved progressively, driven a little further with each successive operation of the clutch pedal. The engine block was water-cooled using a radiator that most 21st-century car owners minded to lift the hood / bonnet would instantly recognised as such. But here, too, the approach was not entirely conventional. Possibly reflecting the colder winter temperatures routinely experienced in central and eastern Europe, the radiator was protected on its outer face by a blind which could be raised or lowered from the driver's seat, a device also employed on certain Russian automobiles. In cold weather the driver was able to minimise the quantity of cold air passing through the radiator by completely lowering the radiator-blind. This minimised the period during which the engine operated below its efficient operating temperature. Informed by a facia-mounted engine temperature gauge, the driver was able to anticipate and avoid the risk of overheating by raising the radiator blind as the engine approached its efficient operating temperature of 80 °C (176 °F). Cars sold from 1952 also featured a fuel-based passenger cabin heater. In order to ignite the heater it was necessary first to open a small tap in the engine bay, after which the flow of hot air could be regulated using a control in the footwell on the passenger's side. In recognition that the 340 had been developed in haste, under sub-optimal conditions, several early ‘production prototype’ level cars were subjected to a 10,000-kilometer marathon test run. The successful conclusion of this testing constituted a public demonstration of the manufacturer's confidence that the car was ready for serial production, which commenced in 1949. #emw340 #classicbmw #marlborom2c

Added 17 May 2026