It"s funny you mention the early-50s aluminum engine experiments. I seem to
remember two Buick "dream cars" from the early 1950s, one was called the Le
Sabre (no relation to the production car) and one was called the XP-300.
These were typical GM "futuristic" looking cars built for the Motorama shows
around 1950-53. I read somewhere that one of them was powered by a 215ci
all aluminum V-8. Whether this one was related to the later Buick Special
engine, I have no idea. I believe the Le Sabre still survives, and has
appeared in several documentaries on dream cars.
Cheers,
Paul Kile
1974 Factory MGB-GT V-8
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kent Christensen [SMTP:lkchris@uswest.net]
> Sent: Friday, February 19, 1999 7:12 AM
> To: buick-rover-v8@autox.team.net
> Subject: re: Buick - BMW?
>
> Our favorite V8 descended from BMW?
>
> It's probably a little the opposite, i.e., the BMW may have
> taken ideas from early GM V8s such as the '49 Olds. No
> question that BMW's V8 was aluminum and came just a few
> years before GM's, and this timeline may create the rumors.
> No mention of a BMW connection in the "bible," i.e., David
> Hardcastle's "The Rover V8 Engine." He does mention some
> early-50s GM aluminum engine experiments possibly related to
> pushing from Alcoa and predating the BMW.
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