Miguel Sánchez
PHOTOS BMW R7 NMOTO «NOSTALGIA»: NMOTO
We do not know the reason very well, but the truth is that the motor world is experiencing a wave "Revival”Very powerful: we are still assimilating the resurrection of the Stratos when suddenly Peugeot launches with an electric based on the classic 504 Coupé and Citroën offers again the Type H. Either because of the potential that feeling part of a brilliant collective history exerts on the buyer, or because of the visual possibilities of an aesthetically more powerful past than the present, more and more bodies are winking at icons of the past mounted on new mechanics.
The world of two wheels has not been left out either and, although here in The Escudería we are more than going by car ... The truth is that when we talk about something as fascinating as the BMW R7 not even the most fanatical motorists can turn a deaf ear.
Devised in 1934 by the engineer and designer Alfred Boning The R7 fascinated by its mixture of advanced mechanics and recognizable lines at first glance, condensing the Art Deco aesthetic ideal in the shapes of its fairing. Thus, this dominant current during the 20s and 30s came to industrial design entering through the big door of the engine thanks to BMW, which, however, locked the prototype in a box for more than 70 years.
Not that the R7 disliked those responsible for the German company, but the high expected manufacturing cost made it impossible for it to pass the prototype phase. Models like the R5 or the R17 were clearly inspired by our protagonist but, to be able to drive an R7 we have had to wait 84 years until some guys from Florida have decided to rescue the model using a current BMW as a base on which to mount 96 handmade pieces. Ok, it doesn't come directly from the 30s but… Don't you think the result looks magnificent?
BETWEEN CARTONS: THE UNUSPECTED SURVIVAL OF THE BMW R7
Like many other prototypes ahead of its time, the R7 ended up lost in a warehouse despite setting the tone for the future. Miraculously it survived both the Allied bombing of BMW factories and their curiosity about German machinery after the war, which led to the occasional 328 Mille Miglia to the UK for cutting and study.
This is how things passed decades until in 2007 -after discovering the box with the original parts in 2005- BMW finally presented the restoration and assembly of the R7, being able to see in operation the one that beyond its aesthetics is its true component of innovation: the M205 / 1 engineand an twin cylinder "boxer”800cc and air-cooled with innovations such as the one-piece crankshaft or the removable connecting rod heads. All a mechanical reference in the motorcycle division of the brand from which the mechanics of later models drank for years.
Luckily the R7 has been guarded for years in the BMW museum honored what it is: one of the most desired and influential motorcycles of all time. However, we have had to wait for a small design company based in Florida to dare with the idea of making it accessible to any fan, yes, giving previously in "sacrifice"One of the best BMWs today.
NMOTO NOSTALGIA: THE R7 AT LAST ON THE ASPHALT
One of the several times that we have talked to you about the current resurrection of the Lancia Stratos we commented that for the manufacture of each "New Stratos”The sacrifice of a Ferrari F430 is required to act as a donor on which to mount the new bodywork. The same thing happens with the R7 of the Americans NMoto, but with one of the most desired German motorcycles on the current scene: the NINET.
On the chassis of the same, the Florida company NMoto assembles up to 96 pieces made by hand in order to reproduce as faithfully as possible the aesthetics of the original R7. And boy, it seems they have succeeded ... The legendary fairings "art decó”Of the original model hide a current mechanics capable of delivering 110CV to move its only 205 kilos; a great power / weight ratio that, luckily, has a braking system that is not exactly that of the 30s ...
Finally the NMoto "Nostalgia" set the price at about $43.000 -About three times more than a NineT without extras- whatever customization you choose from among the 11 available. And yes, although it is true that you pay more for aesthetics than for mechanics ... Isn't it a wonderful idea that these craftsmen have rescued 84 years later lines that still look just as futuristic? You know, classics are always modern.
