This BMW began a racing dynasty

Make a date for the Lavant Cup on Saturday 10 September. That’s when a field of 328s, including we hope one Mille Miglia car, will take to the Goodwood Circuit, along with a range of Frazer Nashes and Bristol-powered cars that the 328 and its advanced 2.0-litre straight-six engine inspired.

Among them will be Mitch Gross and his 1938 328, bought a few years ago at the Bonhams auction in  Monte Carlo. Mitch is well known in historic circles for his steam cars, London to Brighton drives and collection of significant Aston Martins and Bugattis, but this is his first BMW. GRR caught up with him at the circuit during a Revival test day…

“The 328 is a fabulous driving car,” says Mitch. “It’s a classic that’s modern – it drives like a 1960s car. The straight six has a lot of power, and the car is so nimble and it’s beautiful around the corners. All that and it’s drop-dead gorgeous.”

Mitch believes he is just the fourth owner. The car, one of the 400-odd  customer cars built to homologate the racers, was trapped behind the Iron Curtain at the end of the war, only reappearing in the 1990s after German reunification.

It’s not clear what life it led during those years, aside from the fact that to keep it going several Eastern Bloc-type engineering solutions were apparently employed, with a bit of stick-welding to keep the wheels and brake drums together. “It was the best they could do then,” says Mitch, who has since had it fettled into racing fitness by Blakeney Motorsport, with the emphasis on originality throughout – including no seat belts.

Patrick Blakeney-Edwards says when he first saw the car he was a little worried. “The hand-welded wheels would have fallen apart if you had driven it at more than 20mph.”

No such worries now, however, and after a packed year of historic action – including both the Le Mans Classic and the Mille Miglia – Mitch is looking forward to making his racing debut at Goodwood. The test day was the first time he had driven the circuit.

“The car handled the circuit well, but as a first-timer here I am still getting used to it. I am 12 seconds faster than my first lap so it’s going in the right direction. The car tops out at about 120mph down the straight but I think we will go to a slightly lower diff for the race. With the 1939 Mille Miglia 328 and some Frazer Nashes it’s going to be a competitive group. I might not be the fastest out there but the car will be the prettiest!”

Indeed, few prewar two-seater sports are as pretty as the 328, a car which has been acclaimed as one of the greatest 25 cars of the 20th century. And with its refinement and perfect manners, it is just as suited to cruising the lanes as it is taking on the circuit. As Mitch found out…

“We took it for a good English pub crawl around the back lanes. Wendy (Mitch’s wife) says it was a lot more comfortable from the passenger seat than a grand prix car, and we found some great pubs. It was the first time I had ever had a beer at 10 in the morning!”

Photography by Tom Shaxson