BMW partners Dornier

Reims 1969. The BMW F269 Dornier, with its sleek rear fairing, patiently awaits qualifying in the courtyard of a garage not far from the Reims-Gueux circuit. Its driver, Swiss ace Jo Siffert, can be seen with his back to the camera in a white racing suit in the background on the left (photo above).

The BMW F269 was a Formula 2 single-seater developed by BMW in collaboration with the aircraft manufacturer Dornier. While the first BMW F2 cars were based on Lola chassis, the F269, on the other hand, was built by Dornier in Bavaria, to benefit from their expertise in building ultra-lightweight chassis.

This single-seater weighed only 450 kg and its 1.6L BMW M10 4-cylinder engine (which later evolved into the M12) developed 240 horsepower.

Four F269 chassis were built and entered by the BMW factory in 1969 for the excellent drivers Hubert Hahne, Gerhard Mitter, Dieter Quester, and Jo Siffert.

Hahne finished second in the 1969 European F2 Championship, but tragically, Gerhard Mitter (photo below) was killed at its wheel (suspected suspension failure) during practice for the 1969 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.