This Euro-market 1966 BMW 2000C here on craigslist is a rarely-seen example of BMW’s “New Class” coupe lineup. While the later 2.8 and 3.0CS E9 platform cars are more widely recognized and available, its predecessor remains hard to find in any condition. This example looks to have a straight body with minimal corrosion, and even the vulnerable wood dash is reportedly in good shape. The seller is located in Chicago and is looking for $13K or best offer.
One of the most obvious ways to recognize this coupe as a European-market car is by the glassed-in headlights, which are a valuable commodity when un-cracked like these. The American-market cars made do with less attractive sealed-beam units. Despite the seller referring to this as a 2000CS, I suspect it is the single-carb 2000C model, as the automatic transmission was not typically paired with the sportier dual-carb equipped 2000CS. That, and the barely visible badge on the trunk seems to spell out “2000C”, meaning this example makes do with about 20 fewer horsepower.
The seller claims the insides are still in good condition, but there are no photos to verify this. The outside, however, appears to be free from major dents and the paint looks consistent (admittedly, white can be very forgiving). The chrome presents nicely, but there’s not much in the way of adornments on the body of a New Class coupe. Enjoy it for what it is: a comfortable cruiser with distinctive good looks courtesy of Karmann that are rarely seen today. While the 2002 and E9 may be more widely known, the 2000C is the choice of BMW enthusiasts who march to the beat of a different drummer.
Looks a little like the custom corvair
Wow nice one looks a lot like the short corvair.
http://barnfinds.com/1960-chevrolet-corvair/
dont ya just hate it when the seller posts the photos when its on the trailer, like he is so anxious to sell it fast and is too lazy to post more that 3 photos. excuse me, but for 13k, i would expect to see alot more , like at least the engine and interior. what is it with sellers these days. ? maybe someone can explain the poor salesmanship these days?
He only has one to sell…….lhe has probably posted enough information to find one buyer. These are very popular high quality cars. Not many left.
Agreed it’s annoying when a rare car is advertised with few photos. I guess you have to be a serious party in order to see them. One can only assume no photos of the interior or motor because they’re probably rough. The seats need “caressing” LOL.
Also agreed he’ll probably have no problems selling, they are rare. Some BMW fanatic will prolly scoop it up.
I like the 3.0 much better – better looking to me. That’s all. I have a friend who used to collect the 3.0 coupes. I got to drive them helping him move them around fropm place to place. Beautiful cars, even though they do resemble the custom corvair…
BMW also made an eight cylinder which was actually two four cylinders mated together. I helped the owner of it to pull the engine to rebuild it when I was in the Army stationed in Nuremberg Germany
BMW did not make that car, they just stuck their emblem on it after acquiring the Glas GmbH in 1967 and kept it in their line-up one more year.
By far a better car than they had, the Glas 2600 GT , later offered as the BMW 3000GT.
suspension looks clapped out.
CHECK for RUST.
If the car ran in Germany (or other place in Europe) and now is in Chicago, you WILL find it.
It’s just a question of how much !
I believe this has been offered before. The unorthodox front end made them, in the past, relatively unloved compared to the 3.0 CS cars, which explains why there aren’t many left. I’ve always admired them for their quirky looks, and had one for a couple of years. I thought the US cars had the same headlight treatment, and have never seen one without the covers. I would also argue, having owned one, that they are not “high quality” cars – I found the build quality nowhere near Mercedes or even Opel period standards. The key issue with these cars (just like with the E9s) is rust – remember, “Karmann” means “rust” in German.
I recall when these came out and they looked positively space age with that front end. I still like it and thought BMW sold out when they mainstreamed it. That put me in the minority I suppose, but who cares now. I hope this one goes to a good place. I’d rather have the manual gearbox, but someone lucky will love this, even the rust that they’ll have to lovingly fix. As far as its similarity to the Corvair, everyone was aping the Corvair back then, which goes to show what an iconic design the little Chevy was. It’s fascinating how many good-looking ripoffs there are, and to my mind this tops them all or at least ties with the Panhard 24.