Glas 2600 V8

Became BMW Glas 3000 V8 (1967-’68)

Former agricultural equipment and scooter maker Hans Glas hit the bullseye with his ’55 Goggomobil, the rear-engined microcar selling in vast numbers in impoverished post-war Germany. In the late 1950s the Dingolfing family firm’s success caught the attention of Lower Bavaria politicians, who tried to pursuade Glas to take over ailing BMW. By 1966, though, fortunes had reversed as Glas’ precarious finances resulted in its acquisition by the now-buoyant BMW. The impressive Glas Dingolfing plant is today BMW’S largest German factory, where Rolls-royce bodyshells are made.

Ahead of BMW’S takeover, the ever-ambitious Glas unveiled its swansong pre-production model at the 1965 Frankfurt IAA: the glamourous Fruadesigned 2600 V8 coupé, instantly nicknamed the ‘Glaserati’ due to its similarity to Frua’s Maserati Quattroporte. The luxurious V8’s twin-cam engine was created from a pair of Glas 1300GT ‘fours,’ and 300 examples were built from August 1966 until August ’67. BMW immediately relaunched the model with a larger-capacity 3-litre engine Glas had developed, selling the updated model as the BMW Glas 3000 V8 – with propeller badges added to the bonnet and boot. Just 418 cars were made between September 1967 and May 1968, before it was replaced by BMW’S 2800 CS. Anorak fact When BMW acquired Glas, it canned the smaller 1004 model, put ’02-series M10 units into the 1300GT to become the short-lived BMW 1600GT (including nieren ‘double-kidney’ grille and ’02 tail-lights) and shifted Glas 1700 saloon production to South Africa, where it became the BMW 1800/2000 SA and facelifted 1804/2004. Only the Goggo, the last Glas model, escaped rebranding and remained in production until ’69