Review Build: Hasegawa 21123 BMW 2002 tii

Vehicle History

The 1971 BMW 2002 tii was the high-performance evolution of BMW’s legendary 2002 series, a model that helped establish BMW’s reputation for building sporty, driver-focused cars. The 2002 tii (Touring International Injection) was an upgrade over the standard 2002 and 2002 ti, featuring a fuel-injected 2.0L M10 inline-four engine that produced 130 horsepower - a significant bump over the 2002 ti’s 120-hp carbureted engine. This was thanks to the adoption of the Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection system, which provided more precise fuel delivery, improved throttle response and better overall efficiency. The 2002 series itself was an evolution of the BMW 1600-2, introduced in 1966, but the larger-displacement 2.0L engine in the 2002 models gave it the extra power needed to become a true enthusiast’s car.

On the road, the 2002 tii was widely praised for its nimble handling, sharp steering and excellent power-to-weight ratio. With a top speed of around 118 mph and a 0-60 mph time of about 8 seconds, it was quick for its time and made BMW a serious contender in performance car circles. While the 2002 tii wasn’t a factory-built race car, it became highly competitive in motorsports, particularly in Group 2 touring car racing and European hill climbs. Various privateer teams and BMW factory-supported efforts raced the 2002 series in events like the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC), where it often went head-to-head with Ford Escorts, Alfa Romeos and Porsches. Though it didn’t dominate outright, the 2002 tii’s light weight, solid chassis and tunable engine made it a formidable competitor. Today, it remains one of BMW’s most beloved classics, known for its pure driving experience and role in shaping BMW’s future M cars.

Kit Overview

As you all know, most of the model kits I get come with a back story - Hasegawa's BMW 2002 tii is no different. Back in the mid-2000s, I had a real 1971 BMW 2002 on my radar - it's just a classic that looks really good when it's all done up. I had found one in the San Diego area for a good price and decided to go give it a look. This particular one, however, was set up for track use - no bumpers, slightly modified suspension, engine and exhaust and a stripped interior that was revamped with aluminum and a single seat. It also had a roll cage and some fancy go-fast electronics mounted in the passenger area.

Long story short, it didn't turn out to be the ride for me (for one, it wouldn't start!), but I do remember it well and thought I'd turn this kit into a spitting image of what could have been.

:: Chassis, Suspension and Engine
The suspension on the Hasegawa kit consists of separate front and rear clips, both fitting multiple pieces together to form a very nice replication of the original car. The front has turnable wheels, nice shocks and a disc brake setup - all of which I kept (however added a little paint for detail). My dream 2002 actually had larger front brakes on it, so I upgraded the discs to a slightly larger size, pulled from my box-o'-spares.

The rear got a similar treatment - I moved the front discs to the rear in place of the stock drum setup. I also 'upgraded' the rear anti-roll bar with some paint, giving it the look of a performance bar. Other than that, it's all kit parts.

Since this is a curbside kit, no engine is included other than what is peeking out of the bottom. Some silver and aluminum paint was followed by a splash of Tamiya's Panel Liner to give the lower engine and transmission that used, grubby look. Finally, a bright yellow exhaust system was added to replicate custom piping. The 1:1 2002 didn't have this (although it did have a custom exhaust), but I had painted the aftermarket exhaust on my real '72 240Z this color and it got a lot of compliments. So, there ya go.

:: Interior
The stock interior on the Hasegawa kit is so-so in terms of detail. The dashboard is nice, seats and pedals are good, but I have to give a big thumbs down in regards to the door panels. The detail is there but incredibly light, so if you're building this as a box-stocker, you're going to be hard pressed to make those look decent. Since this was going to be a track car replica, I didn't make any attempts to rectify that - they almost look like solid aluminum panels now.

My modifications did include an 'aluminum panel' passenger floor (to cover up all the seat ribbing I had to cut out), new steering wheel, racing seat and electronics and fire bottle in the passenger area. I really really really wanted to attempt a roll cage (like the race car had) but that was a bit out of my comfort zone. I tried mocking different versions up using cages from other kits but, ya, it wasn't going to happen. So, for this project, that's the one piece of the puzzle this kit is missing.

:: Exterior
Hasegawa has included quite a bit of detail in the 2002 tii kit. A nice shell, upper and lower guarding rails and separate lighting buckets, bumpers, mirrors and door handles - most of which comes on the chrome tree. The window trim is molded to the car as well, so you'll need to figure out a way to color that if you choose too (see below for the option I used). If you're going for a stock build, this would be an easy wrap up to the exterior of the car.

However, I was replicating a real car, so all of the chrome trim got a quick spray of flat black before installing - trim, light buckets, mirrors and door handles. After painting the body with Tamiya's TS-46 (Light Sand), everything was attached using white glue.

Now, I wanted the window trim to be black, like the real car, but have never really had 100% success with paint. So, I decided to give Bare-Metal Foil a try - the black edition. I'll have to say, the idea behind this is stellar, however the execution, not so much. While this stuff is black on one side, it's still chrome on the other. Incorrect installation, over-rubbing or just some unlucky application can cause the chrome to peek through the black, basically ruining your install. After a third attempt (it was getting better but I'm just super impatient), I decided to leave it alone and touch it up with paint. And, since the Bare-Metal Foil is glossy, I added a flat clear top coat to the entire car. The final result is actually not bad and does look very close to the car I was about to buy!

To finish up the exterior, a full set of flat black Minilite wheels were installed and wrapped with some BFGoodrich racing rubber. These match what the real car had on them and, of course, you get a chance to see the disc brakes peeking through. Bonus.

Although this kit was based on an actual (but modified) 2002, I left out a lot of parts that would normally be assembled in a stock build. Unfortunately, that doesn't really give a solid review on the entire kit. That being said, what I did build I thoroughly enjoyed and, had it been a box stock assembly, my minor mishaps would probably be a mute point.