That's right, it's a '69 BMW 1600, now popularly known as the 1602. It was BMW's Austrian-born US importer, Max Hoffman who convinced them to offer the two-door sedan with the 2 liter engine from their four door, setting the stage for their success in the American market.
Here are a couple of sequential pictures taken at the corner of Mandeville Canyon Rd. and Sunset Blvd in 1974 from the Ruscha collection at the Getty. A bit of an unusual thing to come on by chance.
Old cars in right lane appear to be Model A Fords from the late 20s/early1930s. probaly from an owners club cruise. First car in left lane is a 1969 Pontiac Firebird .
I remember watching the Iroc back then. Including the porsches.
Me, too - I enjoyed the bright colors they used on the cars, but felt it advantaged the NASCAR folks a bit too much.
Now there is a Race of Champions series, which is more international in flavor. And, uses different types of cars, to make the competition more, er, competitive.
That wiki link for IROC states, "It was run with a small field of 12 invited drivers. It was created and developed in 1972 by David Lockton, the developer of the Ontario Motor Speedway, launched in 1973, with Mark Donohue being the first driver to win the championship in 1974. The cars used that year were Porsche Carrera RSRs. Donohue's win in the fourth and last race of that season was his last win, as he died in a Formula One crash at the Österreichring in practice for the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix."
There was a race track marshal killed by the debris from Donohue's accident during a practice session for the '75 Austrian Grand Prix held on August 17. Donohue survived the crash and wasn't admitted to Graz hospital with a headache until the next day. He died after surgery on the following day Aug 19, 1975.
That's what made Mark Donohue's death so shocking to me back then. I didn't even hear about his hospital admission until he died following surgery 2 days after the race. Peter Revson died just the year before.
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
Some interesting cars to spot here and an interesting pic of what was once a major national brewer, now long gone. Early 1960s, Dallas, TX, pic expands to a huge size.
Sole import in this mid-60s photo would be the black VW toward left on street. Oldest car might be the Willys wagon peeking out from wagons parked on left. Newest? '64 Ford Fairlane in middle of cars parked behind fence.
I'm old enough to rember Falstaff Beer (originally made in Chi?).
I'mstruck by how few pickups are visible. Can't find the Nomad or Gullwing.
In the foreground are all Oldsmobiles, light-colored sedan w sunshade is a '49-'51. I think that's a '53 turning towards camera. The approaching ragtop looks like a '49-51 Ninety-Nine.
No 60 Fords? Sad. Guess I'll pick off the 59 Impala flat top sport sedan and the 58 Fairlane (real hardtop and not a faux hardtop?) to its left.
I think it's a faux hardtop (club sedan). I had a 57 Fairlane fake hardtop. On the green hardtop, look at the right side window edgings through the car--the left side has the driver window rolled down.
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2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
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2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Top pic, a big white Benz convertible next to a Jeep CJ.
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MB next to the Jeep is a W111 (could be a 112, but those are pretty rare).
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IROC=International Race of Champions, a race series featuring top-level drives in identical Camaros which ran 1974-2006.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Yep - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Race_of_Champions
Turns out the Dodge Avenger (!) and Dodge Daytona were also used in select years.
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Now there is a Race of Champions series, which is more international in flavor. And, uses different types of cars, to make the competition more, er, competitive.
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There was a race track marshal killed by the debris from Donohue's accident during a practice session for the '75 Austrian Grand Prix held on August 17. Donohue survived the crash and wasn't admitted to Graz hospital with a headache until the next day. He died after surgery on the following day Aug 19, 1975.
That's what made Mark Donohue's death so shocking to me back then. I didn't even hear about his hospital admission until he died following surgery 2 days after the race. Peter Revson died just the year before.
Expandable,
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
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2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
There are a surprising number of Falcons in this picture.
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in middle of cars parked behind fence.
I'm old enough to rember Falstaff Beer (originally made in Chi?).
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I don't think we ever had Falstaff Beer here...
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
In the foreground are all Oldsmobiles, light-colored sedan w sunshade is a '49-'51. I think that's a '53 turning towards camera. The approaching ragtop looks like a '49-51 Ninety-Nine.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
The Beetle at left was still a pretty exotic thing in 1955 USA, too.
look at the right side window edgings through the car--the left side has the driver window rolled down.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.