Estooooo, el M me parece que pedigrí deportivo poco.
ssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhcccchhhhhhhhhh !
no digas esooooooooooooo, a ver si les va a dar una apoplejía,...
p.d., era en modo ironico ON, como el e9 no gano naaaaada en los setenta, pffffff...
algunos apuntes:
Nothing props up the perceived value of a sporty car like an authentic competition pedigree, so BMW decided to take the E9 coupe racing. The early efforts, run mainly by independent tuner Alpina, were none too successful, but they got a shot in the arm in May 1972 with the advent of the lightweight 3.0 CSL, which used thinner-gauge steel, plastic windows, and many aluminum parts to trim more than 300 pounds (140 kg) from the E9’s curb weight. Once down to fighting weight, the coupe became far more competitive, though still not a world-beater.
That changed in 1973, when BMW and Alpina developed a wild-looking array of wings and spoilers for the CSL, aimed at reducing drag and eliminating the aerodynamic lift that had previously compromised the E9’s handling. The aero kit, which soon earned the CSL the nickname “Batmobile,” looked outré, but it worked, vastly improving the coupe’s high-speed handling.
With its Batmobile wings and a new 3,453 cc (211 cu. in.) version of the big six, the CSL suddenly became a fearsome contender. It won its class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1973 and went on to dominate European racing until 1979, four years after it went out of production. It won a total of five European Touring Car championships and was highly successful in various U.S. events as well, seriously challenging Porsche’s previously unassailable IMSA domination.
All this
sturm und drang did not make the production BMW E9 a hot seller. Like the contemporary
Citroën SM, its sales were hit hard by the OPEC oil embargo of 1973-74. By the time production ended in December 1975, BMW had built a grand total of 30,546 six-cylinder E9s and 13,696 four-cylinder coupes (which had ended production in early 1970). Only 1,096 of those were CSLs, which were offered to the public only to homologate them for racing. If the coupes had been the company’s sole product, BMW probably would have ended up in receivership, especially if the expense of the factory’s racing efforts were added to the tab.
THE 6-SERIES IN COMPETITION
BMW racing teams were slow to adopt the E24, since the old 3.0 CSL remained competitive in European Touring Car (ETC) competition as late as 1979. Group 2 versions of the 6-Series made their first foray onto the racetrack in 1980. In 1981, Helmutt Kelleners and Umberto Grano used 360 hp (264 KW) racing versions of the 635CSi, prepared by Ruedi Eggenberger, to tie for first in the ETC driver’s championship.
In 1982, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) switched the ETC from Group 2 to Group A rules, which greatly restricted the number of allowable modifications. BMW Motorsport and Ruedi Eggenberger decided to switch to the smaller 528i sedan, which Umberto Grano used to win the 1982 ETC driver’s cup. The following year, however, Eggenberger switched back to the 635CSi, which Dieter Quester used to win the 1983 driver’s cup. The 6-Series didn’t fare as well in 1984 and 1985, but Axel Feder won the 24 Hours Nürburgring both years, driving a Schnitzer-built 635CSi. Finally, in 1986, Robert Ravaglia drove another 635CSi to the type’s third and final ETC championship.
The 6-Series also fared well in Australian competition. Driver Jim Richards won both the 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship and the 1985 AMSCAR series in a 635CSi, and became Australian Endurance Champion in both 1985 and 1986.
While the racing 6-Series never quite equaled the record of the 3.0 CSL, its competition pedigree was nonetheless impressive. It also cemented the 6-Series’ role as BMW’s image leader, a role it arguably fulfilled better than the company’s intended flagship, the decidedly Mercedes-like 7-Series sedan.
The bigger news came in September 1983 with the announcement of the M635CSi. This used a new 3.5 L (211 cu. in.), 24-valve DOHC engine called M88/3, another derivative of the M88 engine from the M1 supercar. Developed by Horst Rech and Rainer Bratenstein, the M88/3 was the most powerful engine ever offered in a regular-production BMW, making 286 hp DIN (210 kW) at 6,500 rpm. The new engine was accompanied by a lowered and stiffened suspension and wider Michelin TRX tires. The sole transmission was a Getrag five-speed gearbox, linked to a limited-slip differential with a shorter final drive ratio than the standard 635CSi. Performance was appropriately ferocious: BMW claimed 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 6.4 seconds and a top speed of 158 mph (254 km/h). Those figures made the M635CSi quicker than a Lotus Esprit Turbo and a close match with the substantially more expensive
Porsche 928S2. The M635CSi’s starting price in Germany was 89,500 DM (around $31,500), although BMW inevitably soaked export buyers for much more than that; in the UK, for instance, the M635CSi started at £32,194, about $42,800 at contemporary exchange rates. Some critics found the M635CSi a little too hard edged, but it was arguably the ultimate BMW of its era.
(While we assume the M635CSi was added to capitalize on BMW’s racing success, it was not an homologation special; the competition cars were based on the standard 635CSi, not the M coupe.)
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