BMW 326: which version to buy
There is only one BMW 326 in this catalogue: generation 1 generation (1936-01-01–1946-12-31), body Cabrio, and a single version named 2.0 MT. There is no second engine, no later restyle listed as its own generation, and no 326i, 326 ci, 326 xi, 326m, or 3261 to compare.
There is only one BMW 326 in this catalogue: generation 1 generation (1936-01-01–1946-12-31), body Cabrio, and a single version named 2.0 MT. There is no second engine, no later restyle listed as its own generation, and no 326i, 326 ci, 326 xi, 326m, or 3261 to compare. The buying question is therefore not “which badge,” but whether 2.0 MT itself matches what you need: 51 hp (37 kW) at 3750 rpm from 1971 cc Gasoline, Manual 4, RWD, top speed 116, tank 65. Torque in Nm, 0–100, consumption, kerb weight, and wheel size are not measured.
BMW 326 specs that decide the purchase
2.0 MT is the only row that can sit in a comparison table. Every other search string (326i, 326 ci, 326 xi, 326m wheels, 326i 2016) does not appear as a version name here.
| Version | hp | Nm | Displacement | Fuel | Cylinders | Layout | Boost | Gearbox | Drive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0 MT | 51 | not measured | 1971 | Gasoline | 6 | Inline | No | Manual | RWD |
What that table actually buys you: 51 hp from 1971 cc is 51 ÷ 1.971 ≈ 25.9 hp per litre, or 37 ÷ 1.971 ≈ 18.8 kW per litre. Peak power is specified at 3750 rpm, not at a higher sport-engine speed. No boost is listed, so there is no turbo or supercharger figure to trade against a naturally aspirated alternative. Nm is not measured, so you cannot rank 2.0 MT against a torque-heavy sibling that does not exist in this data.
Fuel system is Carburetor. Compression ratio is 6. Bore and stroke are 66 × 96, so stroke is longer than bore by 96 − 66 = 30 mm, and the stroke/bore ratio is 96 ÷ 66 ≈ 1.45. Valves per cylinder: 2. Cylinders: 6, layout Inline. None of those fields have a second value to pick from.
Gearbox is Manual with 4 gears, drive RWD. There is no automatic, no extra-gear Manual, and no AWD or FWD line. If the purchase criterion is “must be Manual 4 RWD,” 2.0 MT matches. If the criterion is dual-clutch, more than 4 gears, or all-wheel drive, this catalogue has nothing else in the 326 family.
BMW 326 engine: what the single motor is and is not
People search “bmw 326 engine” and “bmw motor 326 ps.” In these numbers, 2.0 MT is 51 hp, which is 51 PS on a 1:1 reading of that horsepower figure, and 37 kW. Displacement is 1971 cc, not a round 2000 that the “2.0” name might suggest: 2000 − 1971 = 29 cc short of two litres.
Because there is only one engine row, “which engine” collapses to yes/no:
- Gasoline — yes for 2.0 MT. Diesel is not in the data.
- 6 cylinders, Inline — yes. A different cylinder count is not listed.
- No boost — yes. A boosted 326 is not listed.
- Carburetor — yes. Injection is not listed.
- Power peak 3750 rpm — that is the only rpm given for output. Torque rpm is not measured.
You cannot buy a higher-output 326 in this set. You cannot buy a smaller-displacement 326. Arithmetic against a missing second version is impossible; arithmetic on this engine alone is: 51 hp / 6 cylinders ≈ 8.5 hp per cylinder, and 1971 ÷ 6 ≈ 328.5 cc per cylinder.
Performance, mpg, and what is not measured
Top speed for 2.0 MT is 116. 0–100 is not measured. City, highway, and combined consumption are not measured. CO2 is not measured. Eco class is not measured.
That matters for a buyer more than a brochure paragraph. You can plan around 116 as the only speed number in the file. You cannot plan a commute in litres/100 km from this catalogue, and you cannot claim an mpg advantage of one 326 over another because a second consumption row does not exist. Saying the car “has no fuel figure” would be wrong in the sense that the field exists and is empty: the measured value is not measured.
If someone is choosing 326 versus a later BMW with a published 0–100, that later car is outside this dataset. Inside it, 2.0 MT offers 116 and nothing for sprint or mpg.
Dimensions, tank, weight, and wheels
Kerb weight is not measured. Gross weight is not measured. Ground clearance is not measured. Wheel size is not measured. Fuel tank is 65.
Weight-per-horsepower cannot be computed: mass is not measured, power is 51. Anyone quoting kg/hp for this 326 is using a number that is not in the source. Tank-to-power is the only ratio you can form on the capacity side: 65 litres of tank for 51 hp, or 65 ÷ 51 ≈ 1.27 litres of tank volume per horsepower. That is not range; range needs consumption, which is not measured.
Suspension, if it affects the buy: front Dependent, leaf spring, rear Dependent, leaf spring. Brakes: front Drum, rear Drum. There is no independent-front option and no disc-brake option in the list. Body for the generation is Cabrio only — not a closed saloon SKU in these rows.
Generations: what changed, and what did not
pokoleniy is 1. 1 generation runs 1936-01-01 to 1946-12-31, modifikaciy 1, body Cabrio. The version 2.0 MT uses the same start and stop dates as the generation.
There is no generation 2 to take extra power, extra gears, or a different drive. A buyer looking at “which generation changed what” gets a short answer: nothing in this file succeeded 1 generation. Calendar span from start year 1936 to stop year 1946 is eleven calendar years with the same 2.0 MT specification: 51 hp, 37 kW, 1971 cc, Gasoline, 6 Inline, 2 valves per cylinder, No boost, Carburetor, compression 6, 66 × 96, Manual 4, RWD, tank 65, top speed 116.
Restyling is not listed as a separate generation and must not be counted as one. You are not choosing between “early 326” and “late 326” engine codes here; you are choosing the one named 2.0 MT.
Searches for bmw 326i 2016 do not map to a 2016 generation in this data. The production window on the page is 1936–1946, not 2016.
Which version to choose
Choose 2.0 MT if you want the BMW 326 as catalogued: Cabrio, 1 generation, Gasoline 1971 cc, 6 Inline, No boost, Carburetor, 51 hp / 37 kW at 3750 rpm, Manual 4, RWD, 116 top speed, 65 tank, leaf-spring Dependent, leaf spring at both ends, Drum brakes both ends.
Do not expect a second 326 SKU in this catalogue. There is no higher-hp 2.0 MT to split by power (the Land Cruiser-style duplicate-name rule does not apply: one name, one output). There is no 326i, 326 ci, 326 xi, or 326m version string. Wheels are not measured, so “326m wheels” cannot be specified from these numbers.
What extra money cannot buy here: a second gearbox, a second displacement, boost, a measured torque figure, a measured 0–100, a measured mpg, a measured kerb or gross weight, measured clearance, or a listed wheel size. Those fields are not measured or simply absent as extra rows.
Reliability / problems: this dataset does not include failure rates, service intervals, or known faults. A buyer’s guide that invented them would leave the numbers. What you can inspect from spec alone is mechanical simplicity as listed: Carburetor, No boost, Manual 4, Drum / Drum, Dependent, leaf spring / Dependent, leaf spring.
Bottom line: the 326 decision in this catalogue is binary. Take 2.0 MT for 51 hp, 1971 cc Gasoline, ≈25.9 hp/l, 116, 65 L tank, RWD Manual 4, Cabrio, 1936-01-01–1946-12-31 — or look at another model. There is no in-family upgrade path in the given versions.