| Tweet |
Special thanks to Rachelle Grady of Palm City, Fla. for sharing the fascinating story of her 1954 EMW at this year’s Concours d’Elegance.
After World War II, a small BMW plant in Eisenach found itself under Soviet control and with a surplus of pre-war BMW parts for 327s. Despite no longer being owned by BMW, the factory was forced to continue production by the Soviets.
In all, 152 bootleg 327 coupes rolled off the assembly line in Eisenach. This particular car was No. 144, which came off the line after a threatened lawsuit by BMW in 1952 necessitated the traditional blue and white BMW logo be turned red and white. With the logo change, BMW Eisenach became EMW.
The skeleton of the body is a wooden frame covered by hammered sheet steel, with a four-speed transmission, dual A-arms with torsion bar front suspension and four-wheel drum brakes.
Grady’s EMW was built in 1954, restored in 2006, and is believed to be the only 327/3 in the U.S.
“It was love at first sight,” Grady said of her East German coupe. “I knew that ‘Emma’ was destined to be my little fraulein.”
