In the course of the middle Eighties, well-heeled American automobile shoppers wishing to drive a flashy, powerful coupe had loads of tempting options. Detroit would sell you an Eldorado or Mark VII, for instance, while Mercedes-Benz offered a two-door version of the mighty W126 proto-S-Class and Jaguar had the XJS with two doors and a V12 under the hood. In case you wanted the evilest-looking recent coupe of all of them in 1985, the one which looked like its trunk was filled with kilos of white powder and possibly a deceased business rival or two, you had but one alternative: the BMW E24 6 Series. Today’s Junkyard Gem is considered one of those cars, a first-year 635CSI now residing in a Northern California self-service automobile graveyard.
BMW sold the E24 here from the 1977 through 1989 model years, and it shared much of its chassis design with that of the E12 and E28 5 Series. In truth, the cheaper 5 Series generally proved to be quicker than its 6 Series cousin, as a result of the E24’s heavier weight, however the E24 looked faster.
For 1985, U.S.-market BMWs with the “Big Six” engine got a displacement upgrade over the previous 12 months, from a nominal 3.3 liters to a nominal 3.5 liters. This meant that the 533i, 633CSi and 733i became the 535i, 635CSi and 735i here. This engine was rated at 182 horsepower and 214 pound-feet.
BMW cheated a bit on engine designations during this era, with the “3.3” engine displacing an actual 3.21 liters and the “3.5” displacing a mere 3.43 liters. On the opposite side of the Atlantic, the turbocharged version of the 7 Series was called the 745i, despite its 3.2-liter engine, presumably because turbocharging was considered magical at the moment. In any case, the 1985 635CSi was respectably quick for its era, though noticeably slower than its European-market counterparts and their dirtier-running engines.
Americans had been falling out of affection with manual transmissions for many years by the point this automobile was sold, and so it has a ZF four-speed automatic. Later in the last decade, U.S.-market 6 Series buyers were charged the identical for 2 pedals or three, but in 1985 the automated cost an additional $750, or $2,319 in 2023 money.
Junkyard shoppers stripped every thing from the inside of this automobile before I arrived, so it should have been in nice shape.
How much did it cost when recent? The MSRP for this automobile was $41,315, which involves about $120,534 after inflation. The 7 Series was cheaper than the 6 series that 12 months, with a $36,880 list price ($107,595 today). The Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC cost $57,100 in 1985, or a formidable $166,585 in 2023 dollars. Put one other way, you could possibly buy seven recent ’85 Chevy Sprints for the value of a single 635CSi, with enough left over to put in aftermarket audio system within the Suzuki-built Chevrolet.
As for those proletariat worms willing to be seen in public in a Sprint, BMW had this to say: “So long as there are individuals who can afford perfection, BMW will proceed to pursue it.”
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
