Big, luxurious coupes used to be very popular. Designed to cross continents in one sitting, they combined performance with style – and the BMW we have here was very much at the sharp end of things. Fast closing in on its half century, the 6 Series (or E24 in BMW-speak) was a replacement for the E9 model, with its looks coming from the pen of Paul Bracq. Purposeful yet sleek, it was just what the market wanted as the ’80s approached.
The E24 first went on sale in 1976, with UK buyers offered the 633CSi (we never got the 630CS) featuring BMW’s M30 straight-six engine. The more powerful 218bhp 635CSi appeared two years later, followed shortly afterwards by the entry-level 628CSi. Then by 1982 it was time for an update, and quite a major one at that; along with a switch of platform (from
