Rare Rides: A Pristine BMW 2000C From 1967
Last time on Rare Rides, we surveyed a little Fiat 124 Sport Coupe. A family car underneath, it aimed to be affordable fun for the middle-market. Today, we have a look at some not-so-affordable fun for the well-heeled. Come along for the New Class coupe experience.
The genesis for the New Class of BMWs started back in the 1950s. A divergent lineup filled BMW’s showrooms: There were luxury cars with older V8 engines, economy cars with motorcycle engines, and motorcycles with those same engines. An improving global economy meant the average customer had more money to spend and, naturally, was less interested in an economy car or motorcycle. This was an issue for BMW.
At the time, the company’s focus leaned more toward its economy car (like the Isetta) and motorcycle offerings. By the middle and late 1950s, BMW’s luxury offerings were dated and noncompetitive. The balance sheets weren’t looking too healthy, and the company started discussing a merger with Daimler. In 1960, wealthy industrialist brothers Herbert and Herald Quandt purchased a controlling stake in BMW (descendant Stefan Quandt is still the largest shareholder, with a 29 percent stake). Almost immediately, the Quandts started the “Neue Klasse” project to revitalize the brand’s offerings.
In 1962, the first New Class BMW was ready for production — the 1500 executive sedan. It featured all-new styling and a brand new overhead cam inline-four. BMW needed a new coupe as well, already in the works. 1965 saw the debut of the 2000C and 2000CS, the first BMW vehicles to implement the Hofmeister kink design cue that’s still in use today.
The New Class cars brought BMW away from the financial brink, while simultaneously establishing the brand as a source for sporty luxury cars. Another important development on the New Class happened in 1966, when BMW shortened the platform a bit to create the 02 Series of compact cars. That development would lead to the still-famous 2002 model, a sporty and powerful version aimed squarely at the American market.
Today’s Rare Ride, a 1967 2000C, is from the middle of the coupe’s production timeline (1965-1969). The difference between the C and CS versions was the number of carburetors, and thus the power available. A standard C version carried a single carb and made 100 horsepower, while CS versions had an additional carb, and 20 more horsepower. Both coupes were available with a four-speed manual, and the C additionally offered a three-speed automatic for more luxurious motoring.
This white over blue automatic beauty has traveled just 27,000 miles and was the subject of constant care, plus an interior restoration. I reached out to the seller (a first-ever) for some more photos of the no doubt beautiful interior, but did not receive any response.
She’s yours for $45,000.
[Images: seller]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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Being a long-time BMW fan (well, at least for anything offered up until around the E36), I frequently found myself visiting whatever local BMW dealership happened to be in the area I lived in at the time. Around 1998, we were living in Bristol, VA. On a whim one day, I drove over to gaze longingly at the metal on the lot. In the far corner of the used lot sat a dark green coupe, turning out to be a 1970 2800CS. I'm not sure if they just didn't care, or didn't know...but I made a rather ridiculously lowball offer (I think it was something like $2500) which they somehow accepted. I drove it home, amazed at the fact that I'd have the chance at another classic Bimmer (my first being my one true love, my 1974 2002). It sat in my garage for about a year, never having run again for me. We were getting ready to move away for another position I had accepted, and I couldn't justify taking along the 2800CS, so I advertised it and it wound up being bought by a gentleman somewhere in the Northeast. The day the car hauler came to pick it up, I couldn't get it started. For whatever reason, I placed a brand-new battery in it, and it fired right up. So, I sold the car rather disgusted that I *could* potentially have driven it some, at least enough to figure out what was truly wrong with the car, and then maybe could have enjoyed that gorgeous coupe. Not as clean as this 1967, but with some work, I wonder what it could have been worth. Ironically, while in college, my parents returned to live and work in Germany. One Saturday morning, my dad called and said he had looked at some sort of "white, two-door coupe...something with CS" for sale on base. Knowing my absolute love of the marque, he went home to call me to discuss it. It was, it turns out, a '67 2000CS. I told him to hang up the phone, run to the car and drive like heck back to base to call the guy. By the time he got back on base, the 2800CS was gone, and my dream of my father owning a classic (and my being able to drive it on visits to Germany) was over!
I think I might be the only one, but I actually really like the whole car. I'm not a fan of BMWs or their styling, though I've owned 2, a 318 conv't and an X5. Even weirder, I prefer the American headlights. If I had eff you money, I would 100% pick this up. Then again, I was just checking out a silver 85 Fifth Ave so I could have something floaty to drive to car shows in the area and to work on days I don't need my truck. Zero rust, 70k mi but $6k is a bit rich for my blood for a fleet queen.