BMW 328 at the Josefuv Dul Car Show, Liberecky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

When I spotted this 1930's-era BMW 328 (it wasn't 100% certain what the model year of this one was), I immediately assumed I had found the rarest and most valuable car at the show, although my research now indicates that the Morgan +4+ was actually much rarer. In any event, this well-known sports car was also relatively limited production, with only 464 built.

This generation of the BMW 328 is not to be confused with the popular (and high-volume production) 328 sedan produced today, as the model number is only a coincidence. Although the original BMW 328's history will be forever tainted by its association with interwar Germany, this sports car was one of the most capable of its day. It only had a 1,971cc I-6 engine with three carburetors, and ultimately 79 horsepower, but its 830-kilogram weight meant that this didn't have to matter, especially since its competition mostly didn't offer a better power-to-weight ratio. This was borne out in race results, which can still be reviewed online, including on Wikipedia. The officially-published top speed of the BMW 328 was 150Km/h (93 m.p.h.), notably slower than the Tatra 87, but still faster than most sports cars of its era, and like the Tatra, also faster than a stock V-8 Ford.