When American think of hot German hatchbacks, what mostly come to mind are Volkswagens, the earlier Rabbit-based GTI and the current Golf-based GTI. The BMW 316/318ti series aimed to be a part of that group, but it was roundly ignored by most people in this country. Fewer Americans still are aware of the first hatchback from Germany—not surprising since it was never sold here. Yet that car, the 2000 Touring, was simply a more versatile offshoot of the 2000/2002 series that put BMW on the map in the United States.

The two-door 1600 coupe came to our shores in 1967. Powered by an M10 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder, the car would later be available variously as the 1800, 2000, 2000tii and 2002. In 1971, a three-door hatch joined the family.

The 2000 Touring was produced from 1971 to 1974. Some 30,206 units left the factory, all for European consumption. As with the sedan, four engine variations were offered for the three-door hatchback, including the 1.6, a 1.8-liter and a 2.0-liter, which in the 2000tii model sported Kugelfischer mechanical fuel-injection, good for 128 horsepower. All wore the Touring nameplate by the right taillight.

The Touring’s windshield is larger and laid back farther than its counterpart, with the remainder of its greenhouse differing substantially as well. The hatchback measures eight inches longer and about a half-inch lower than the sedan. Inside, everything is as in the sedan, except for the folding rear seats.

Pennsylvania BMW dealer Edwin Ullom first saw a 2000 Touring while living in France. When he returned to Harrisburg, Ullom ran across one at a gas station. A soldier had brought the car back from Europe, and Ullom asked if he was interested in selling it. He was not. A year later, Ullom found the Bimmer in a junkyard where it had landed after the soldier totaled it.

Ullom bought the wreck for $500 and began restoring the Atlantic Blue Touring in 1978, making several trips to Europe to obtain the parts. Two years later, the car was finished in a very attractive factory black. Ullom’s superbly restored 1972 2000 Touring has the standard four-speed manual (a three-speed automatic tranny was available) and single Solex carbureted 2.0-liter, good for 98 horsepower and 107 mph according to contemporary reports. The running gear is identical to any other 2000/2002, right down to the 13-inch wheels.

Keep your eyes on the road ahead and you would never know you were driving something other than the sedan. However, pop the hatch and fold the seats down and you have got one capacious little wagon. Unfortunately, the concept did not take for BMW in the early ’70s, and the Touring never really caught on. Several hundred of them still motor about in Europe and in the United Kingdom, and there may be as many as four Tourings here in the States.

The Mercedes-Benz C230 and upcoming BMW 1 Series may yet inspire us to equate the words “German performance hatchback” with a manufacturer other than Volkswagen. Give BMW credit though. It had hatchbacks when hatchbacks were not cool.