Two seats, 55 hp and 135 km/h top speed. The first racing car with a double kidney proved to be a pleasant challenge for body and soul. Just 178 of these pre-war vintage cars were built between February 1935 and the end of July 1936. How many are still in existence today can only be estimated – “there should still be around 30 BMW 319s,” speculates a BMW historian. This makes the vehicle extremely rare today and almost only to be found in museums.

The BMW 319/1 was a small roadster that BMW built in Eisenach from late 1934 to July 1936 as a more powerful version of the BMW 315/1. It was the first real sports car from BMW that was also used in races. At the end of 1934, BMW developed the 319/1 with the further increased displacement six-cylinder engine of the BMW 315/1. Externally, it differed from the smaller model by three horizontal chrome stripes on the side radiator grilles.

The engine with a displacement of 1911 cc (bore 65 mm, stroke 96 mm) had overhead valves controlled by a side camshaft via pushrods and rocker arms, as well as three 30 BFRH solex flat-flow carburetors and was more highly compressed (1 : 6.8 instead of 1 : 5.6) than in the later 319, resulting in an output of 55 hp (40 kW) at 4000 rpm. The camshaft was driven by a duplex chain. The engine was water-cooled (7.5 liters with pump) and had forced-feed lubrication (oil capacity 4 liters). Power was transmitted to the rear wheels via a single-disc dry clutch, a Hurth four-speed gearbox and a cardan shaft. The third and fourth gears of the transmission were synchronized.

The chassis, in conjunction with a tubular frame with crossmembers, consisted of independent front suspension on lower wishbones and a transverse leaf spring at the top, a rigid axle with semi-elliptic springs at the rear, hydraulic lever shock absorbers front and rear, and rack-and-pinion steering. The foot brake acted mechanically on drum brakes on all four wheels, and the hand brake with cable applied to the rear wheels. The moving parts of the chassis were centrally lubricated. The car had disc wheels with 325 D ×16 drop-center rims and 5.25-16 tires, and the turning circle was 10.6 meters.

As standard, the car had a roadster body with rear-hinged doors without side windows and covers for the rear wheels to reduce drag. However, the car could also be supplied with a special body by Drauz as a two-seater convertible. The fuel tank of the roadster, which was also used in motor sports, held 50 liters; it was installed in the engine compartment as standard. The top speed of the BMW 319/1 was 130 km/h. Due to its low weight of 780 kg and the resulting good power-to-weight ratio, the vehicle was very maneuverable. This made it the ideal basis for participation in motor sports.