BMW 6 Series Enthusiast’s Companion: 1977-1989

• 6 Series Engine Development
• 6 Series Racing History
• How to Spot Year-by-Year E24 Models Sold in the U.S.
• Official Performance Numbers and Specs by Production Year
• Official U.S. and European Sales Records
• ... and more!

AMERICAN MARKET STRENGTH, AS WELL AS FRENCH STYLIST, SHAPED THE EMBRYONIC 6 SERIES

As the seventies began, a number of widely differing influences within BMW molded the final form of the 6 Series coupes. The most obvious inputs for a vehicle that many saw as BMW's flagship were those of Parisian design and styling chief Paul Bracq, and the practical engineering output of BMW's top technocrat in 1965-75, Bernard Osswald. However, there were some more subtle market forces to take into account as well.

We must also acknowledge the disruption to neatly laid marketing plans of the 1973-74 fuel crisis in Europe (and the later seventies fuel queues in the US) and the politics surrounding importation of BMWs into the US.

Austrian Max Hoffman, the vigorous US importer, had always attracted controversy. What no auto enthusiast could take away from Hoffman was that he encouraged sporty specials such as the 1800 TI/SA in the unique American street and sports worlds of the early sixties. Then Hoffman sparked the mating of 2-liters and the 02 shell to create the apparently immportal appeal of the 2002 in the later sixties.

However, it was not a surprise when BMW took control of their American outlet, because there had been vociferous criticism of the way the marque was handled in the US, and the after-sales treatment of customers. After legal battles with the voluble Hoffman, BMW took over in 1975 and renamed the import operation BMW North America.

Since 1950 Hoffman had imported increasing numbers of BMWs into America (some 13,700 in 1973), but there was always room to sell more in the land of opportunity. In less than three years, BMW NA sold close to 30,000 units to double sales and they exceeded 52,000 in 1982. Today BMW sales regularly exceed 150,000 units annually.

The 6 Series was the sum of many parts, usually taken from other BMW model ranges and given an new sporting twist. We detail the components, and the engineering behind their coupe applications.

Any 6 Series coupe owed much to the 5 Series saloons. As direct replacements for the 4-door Neue Klasse 1800/2000 line of the sixties, they put BMW back on the road to prosperity. The 520 and its succession of multiple engine choice descendants also pioneered the logical cockpit layout, one that has been such a key element to making so many drivers feel right at home in any BMW.

And the 5 Series also allowed the rebirth of the company's late thirties logic in the numbering system that badges each model.


WHAT'S IN A NAME?

To take the 520 as an example, the "5" prefix denotes the model series: at press time BMW had four major lines: 3, 5, 7, and 8 Series, plus specialist X, Z, and M-prefixed models.

Usually, the secondary figures refer to the capacity in liters, so a 520 is a 2 liter (122.1 cubic inches) and the 6 Series we discuss ascended from 628 to 635, some 2.8 to 3.5 liters (170.9 ci to 213.6 ci). In the case of the Z and M sub-species, number information is confined simply to the model line on which Z (sports 2-seaters) or M (for Motorsport) variants have been based.

• BMW: Masters of Multiple Re-Invention
• The big BMW Coupes
• The Conception of a Coupe Classic
• Hardware: Origins and Redevelopment
• "A Legitimate Successor"
• The Evolution of the Sizer Species
• Brave Heart
• M-Powerhouse
• Racing the 635: Some You Win...
• Tips for Today
• German Production and US Sales
• 6 Series Performance Statistics
• Factory-Backed 6 Series Achievements
• Collectible 6 Series Specifications
• Racing Chassis: Numbers and Clients
• Spotter's Guide to Each Model Year