The 700 was really the car which pulled BMW around in the late 1950's. Once again it was an upward progression in size from what had gone before - this time, the 600 chassis was stretched. By the time it entered production, however, the 700 had become BMW's first unitary construction car.
   The 700 was again masterminded by Willy Black, the man who had designed the 600 which it replaced. Black drew on the company's motor cycle technology once again, although this time he enlarged the twin-cylinder engine of the R67 motor cycle to get the power he needed for this larger car.
   Styling was by the Italian Giovanni Michelotti and it's themes certainly echoed those of his Triumph Herald, an exact contemporary of the 700. His first sketch was for a slant-roof coupe, which appealed to BMW, although it wanted more room in the passenger cabin. Michelotti therefore sketched a saloon variant - never as pretty - and the Bavarians decided to build them both. The 700 Coupe entered production in August 1959 and the 700 Saloon joined it at the end of the year.
   Even though the 700 was more expensive than a VW Beetle, it's chic Italian styling brought in the buyers. Over the six years of its production, the car sold more than 188,000 examples and it became BMW's best selling car since 1945.
   Engine power increased over those six years and from 1961 there was an up-market Luxus version. the in 1962 the 700 was renamed the BMW LS. Among the most desirable of these small cars is the Baur built cabriolet, but the most exciting was the limited-production 700RS, a competition roadster of which just 19 were built between 1961 and 1963.