Classic recollections: 1972 BMW 2000tii Touring

Curious as to how the BMW brand entered Western Canada? Thank Martin Meissner's family.

“During the '60s, my father was working at Vancouver Auto — at the time, a Mercedes-Benz dealer,” Meissner said. His father had heard good reports of the new BMW models and, confident of their success, he persuaded the owner to expand to include the rival brand — making it the very first BMW dealership in Western Canada.

“In the mid-70s, my dad bought the BMW franchise in Victoria, British Columbia, and as soon as I could reach the roofs, I was there washing cars,” Meissner said.

Naturally, the Palatine resident has always owned a vehicle proudly bearing a blue-and-white BMW roundel and this 40,000-original-mile, 1972 2000tii Touring marks his fifth. What makes this hot hatchback so distinctive is that it's one of only two that were ever imported new into Canada. While readily available for sale in Europe, it was never greenlighted for North American distribution.

Its trek across the Atlantic occurred in the summer of '72, when the owner of Vancouver Auto was vacationing in Germany. Smitten with the cargo-swallowing coupe, he quickly shelled out the required Deutsche Marks to purchase and import two of the cars back to his homeland.

While the sister Inca Orange car changed hands several times, this Polaris Silver hatch was sold to Terry Garner, a well-known Canadian TV game-show host. He maintained ownership until 1994, when poor health led him to bring the seldom-seen model back to the dealership for public display. It was kept in the dealership's private collection until 2004, when it was bought by BMW Canada, at which point Martin was able to purchase the automobile from the retiring owner.

The Munich machine was shipped to Chicago and other than a repaint and some later model alloy wheels, its just as you would find any of the other 5,058 tii's that buzzed around the European countryside. This lightweight now tears up the Midwest plains, as Meissner keeps the fuel-injected 2.0-liter, four-cylinder purring, cruising as far as a 1,500-mile round trip to North Carolina.

“The four-wheel independent suspension, great brakes and balanced weight make it a really fun driver's car. It's a blast to drive on winding back roads where you can truly appreciate the handling dynamics of the car,” he says.

Even after traveling between two continents and tearing up three nations' black ribbons of asphalt, this corner-carving pocket rocket has many more miles left in it. Martin seems set on enjoying every one.