Introduced in 1968, the BMW 2002 is one of the best-loved automobiles of all time, but its origins have been shrouded in mystery and misinformation for the last 50 years. The BMW 2002: The real story behind the legend reveals the truth behind this seminal car's creation. It dispels the myth that the car was built at importer Max Hoffman's instigation, telling the real story of the designers, engineers, executives, and federal regulators who shaped the 2002 into the perfect mixture of performance and practicality. The BMW 2002: The real story behind the legend begins in 1960, with BMW's first design drawings for a successor to the 700 coupe, and covers every engine and body-style variant through the final cars of 1976. No mere catalog of specifications, the book delves deeply into the process by which the cars were created: the decisions that were made, and the rationales behind them. The BMW 2002: The real story behind the legend also tells the story of BMW's business operations in the US during that crucial period, from the days of independent importers Hoffman Motors Corp. and Fadex through the creation of BMW of North America, the Munich corporation's wholly-owned sales subsidiary. As BMW's first real hit in the US market, the 2002 put BMW on the path to becoming a global success story, and one of the world's most respected car companies. This is the story of how that happened...and how it almost didn't. 132 pages, with 110 black-and-white illustrations.