The BMW 1600 Convertible bodied by coachbuilder Baur enabled BMW to gain a loyal group of open-top drivers. As a consequence, the coachwork company was commissioned to produce 200 full convertibles based on the more feisty BMW 2002. However, stricter safety regulations for full convertibles became an increasing problem also in Germany after crash tests were carried out in the USA. Plans for a BMW 2002 full convertible were ultimately abandoned but Bauer's Chief Designer, Hermann Wenzelburger, was already waiting in the wings. At the start of 1971, he presented a new design for a convertible with a roll-over bar. This brought the brief history of the BMW 2002 Convertible to an end, although it still remains a particular rarity today.