BMW’s gorgeous E9 coupé was an exceptionally difficult act to follow – beautiful, quick, yet also a practical 4-seater (I know from my own ownership of one 25 years ago – and yes, I wish I’d kept it!). Nevertheless, follow it up they had to do – safety and technology advances meant rivals such as the Jaguar XJS and Porsche 928 had raised the bar for modern Grand Tourers, and the Munich company did so, with a car deemed by many to be almost, if not quite, as iconic as the E9.
BMW launched the E24 in August 1976, using a modified version of the 5-series platform. One carry-over from the E9 was the aggressive shark-nosed styling, but the E24 was a bigger and heavier car than the E9, and the styling from the A-post backwards – although retaining the Hofmeister kink – was quite different.
From this…………..to this
To begin with, the E24 was available with engines of 3.0 and 3.3 litres, with a 3.5 litre engine added in 1978 and a 2.8 replacing the 3.0 in 1979. Model numbers were quite logical – the first digit – a 6 – representing the model series, followed by the engine capacity (a 630 had the 3.0 litre engine) and either CS (Coupé Sport) or CSi, the I for (fuel) injection, which all 6-series had after the demise of the 630CS. How things have changed, and for the more confusing…
Gearboxes were either 4-or-5 speed Gertrag manuals, or 3-speed ZF automatics. All 6’s were fast, powerful machines – engine outputs from the straight-six cylinder units ranged from 176bhp up to 286bhp for the mighty M635CSi. The cars were originally assembled by Karmann – as for the E9 – but in 1977 this was transferred to Dingolfing, although the pressed steel bodies continued to be manufactured by Karmann.
The E24 was a significant success for the Munich company, with 86,216 examples built between 1976 and 1989, with the basic shape of the car remaining unaltered – and why would you change the styling of a car that looked so good right from the beginning?
Unsurprisingly, the 6-Series followed the E9 into motorsport, with considerable success, including winning the European Touring Car Championship in 1981, 1983 and 1986 as well as the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft in 1984, and notable race wins included three victories at the Spa 24 Hours as well as two at each of the RAC Tourist Trophy and 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
The press loved the 6-Series – Motor Sport’s Bill Boddy had described the 633CSi as “near perfection” back in 1977, although he – and others, including BMW’s customers – felt that compared to the E9, the E24 was a little “soft”. A couple of years later, Clive Richardson, for the same magazine, drove the car that was intended to answer those criticism, the 635CSi, one of which just happens to be our Prime Find this week.
Visually, the changes were limited to a deeper chin spoiler and rubber spoiler across the bootlid, but while these might seem minor, they certainly added to the car’s aggressive demeanour, but these were certainly not just for show. The 635CSi’s 3.5litre motor pumped out 218bhp, enough to take a pretty big and heavy full four-seater to a top speed of 225km/h and swallowed the 0-100kmh sprint in a claimed 7.6 seconds. Richardson was impressed with most aspects of the car, although expressed disappointment with the headlights and rear headroom, considering the 6 to be more a 2+2 than full four-seater. He reserved his biggest gripe for the price – even before adding extras such as headlamp wash/wipe, electric sunroof and windows, and air-con, the 635CSi started at £17,199 in 1979.
Contemporary alternatives to the E24 – both then and now – included the 1978 Car of the Year, Porsche’s bullet-shaped 928, Jaguar’s XJS and XJC coupés and the Mercedes-Benz SLC so competition was and is tough, as all these are still available in broadly the same price bracket, especially since, in today’s classic car market, E9’s – in particular, 3.0CSL’s – have long left the realms of affordability for most classic enthusiasts. The E24, however, remains within realistic reach for many, with good examples available for £20,000 or less, although prices are rising and the best are now into the £30k and up bracket, especially the M635CSi, of which one is currently for sale in the UK for no less than £57,995.
The competition, then and now
It’s this affordability that squeezes a 635CSi into our Prime Find slot this week, although I am stretching our “rule” a little. Our car was built very late in the model’s production run, having been registered in the UK in June 1988. One of the things I particularly like about it, is that it isn’t red – I’m not generally averse to red; my 280CE is red – it’s just that every other E24 I see seems to be red. This one is a lovely shade of dark Royal Blue and is all the better for it – I think it makes the car look lighter, less bulky, without compromising the impression of speed its forward-leaning stance gives it.
The interior – since this is a Highline model – is finished in a sumptuous grey leather, and the car is equipped with a full set of options including limited-slip differential, sports seats, heated mirrors, electric sunroof, air conditioning, M-Tech steering wheel and rear window blind. It sits on the original TRX alloys and tyres, and has covered just 67,484 warranted miles, nothing for a car born to clock up the miles on the autobahn. Most of the drop-down tool-kit is present, as is a comprehensive history file which backs up the claimed mileage, and with an estimate of £18,000 to £23,000 this very handsome car straddles our self-imposed budget. Claimed to be in “fabulous order”, I have a feeling it might well go for more, but if it does stay within this range, I would argue it’s a bargain. Indeed, if I didn’t already have one BMW in the garage, I’d be sorely tempted by this one. If it has a drawback, it is that it’s not a manual, but I understand most of these come with a slush-box and having got quite used to automatic motoring in an admittedly less powerful car – my 280CE – this would bother me less than it might once have done. There aren’t a huge number of 635CSi’s on the road in the UK – 38 at last count, and I’d be surprised if many were better than this one, so this represents a good opportunity to acquire a high-end classic for the price of a new Ford Fiesta.
Interested parties can bid for this excellent BMW at Historics’ Ascot sale on April 17th, and you can see the full lot listing here, from which we have borrowed a few photographs. As always, we recommend arranging inspection before you buy.
With our Saturday instalment of Prime Find of the Week, we’re offering our services to the classic car community, by passing on our favourite classic car for sale from the week that passed. This top-tip might help a first-time-buyer to own his first classic, or it could even be the perfect motivation for a multiple-classic-car-owner to expand his garage with something different. We’ll let us inspire by anything from a cheap project to a stunning concours exotic, and hope that you will do the same. Just remember – Any Classic is Better than No Classic! We obviously invite our readers to help prospective buyers with your views and maybe even experiences of any given model we feature. Further to that, if you stumble across a classic which you feel we ought to feature as Prime Find of the Week, then please send us a link to primefindoftheweek@viaretro.co.uk