AutoCult Bayer K 67 (1967) (Germany)

About the Original

The all-plastic car

It all started around 1963/64. The then BMW board member Paul G. Hahnemann and the board member of the chemical giant ‘Bayer AG’, Hermann Holzrichter, agreed to produce a vehicle whose body should consist only of plastic – including the substructure. Bayer’s plastics research division was involved in the project, as was the ‘BMW AG’. In addition, the companies ‘Waggon- und Maschinenbau GmbH Donauwörth’ and ‘Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm as well as the designer Hans Gugelot were also involved.

The then 43-year-old designed the layout for the future car. The first molds were manufactured at ‘Waggon und Maschinenbau GmH Donauwörth’, but the plastics division of ‘Bayer AG’ soon took the lead in the project. BMW suppled the engine – identical to the engine that did its job in the BMW 2000i. How serious the development was from the beginning on for both, BMW and Bayer, was shown by the fact that five test vehicles were built at the same time. This number was required by law if series production was targeted. This and the number of a planned series output of 5,000 units clearly proved that the first all-plastic car should not only remain a concept car. It lasted until October 1967, when the consortium presented its cars under the abbreviation K 67 to the public.

In the end, there was no series production, because the originally targeted calculation that the production costs for the plastic car should be a tenth cheaper than with common, comparable cars, was not fulfilled. Thus, the project was ceased by both, Bayer and BMW.