A New Six: ’72 BMW Bavaria
The BMW New Six is a line of six cylinders produced by BMW from 1968 to 1977. The series was introduced as a response to Mercedes Benz’s domination of the large luxury car segment. The New Sixes were very important in establishing BMW’s reputation as a maker of sporting, luxury sedans. A Coupe version was produced alongside and it too has a loyal following. The sedans had the internal name E3, while the coupés are E9. The 6-cylinder engine designation is M30 and a sweet engine it is. The two initial models, introduced in 1968 and sold through 1977, were the 2.5 L 2500 and 2.8 L 2800. In 1971, the Bavaria, made exclusively for America, replaced the 2500/2800 models, but used the 2.8 L engine with some interior features stripped out to give a more attractive price. Guess who absolutely loved this model? Just about every car magazine road test editor. And why not? Less stuff means less weight and weight in cars, as in people, is a bad thing. We don’t see many nice examples offered but we were sent this one by Stuart J. and it looks like a nice one. The seller’s own rating scale puts the Bavaria at an 8/10. It has a recent paint in the original color and the interior looks hospitable. There has been about $5,000 in documented service work done recently. It has 2 niceties – a sunroof and what looks to be a full tool kit. The asking price is $11,800. Contact the seller by clicking through to the Craigslist listing.
Beautiful looking car! This is perhaps the best looking BMW of its vintage I’ve ever seen. Better looking, I think, than the 2002.