An E24 BMW 635 CSi Is The Coolest Thing You Can Spend £5000 On

We love seeing your rides being uploaded to the CT Garage, and one car that’s had us swooning is this beautiful E24 BMW 635 CSi, running on Alpina wheels. We thought we’d see how much it’d set us back to get in on the classic 6-series action, so promptly went on a hunt through the classifieds.

Production of the E24 ran from 1976–1989. It was one of the last BMWs to have the classic ‘shark nose’ slanted front grille, and is, in our view, one of the prettiest cars ever made by Bavarian Motor Works. The most powerful version is the 286bhp M635, which has the same M88 straight-six found in the M1 supercar and the E28 M5. M635s are rare and very pricey, so we’re looking instead at the 635CSi, which sported a more modest 215bhp from its M30 3.5-litre six.

Manual 635s are incredibly difficult to come by, and when one does come up for sale, you can expect to pay through the nose for it. As such, you’ll most likely end up with an automatic. This being an old-school auto ‘box, and because the E24 has a fair bit of weight to move about, 0-62mph takes a leisurely eight or so seconds. Not exactly blistering, but you shouldn’t care; it’ll be superb to drive, and is achingly cool.

This 1988 example could be worth a look. Mileage is fairly high at 149,000, but so long as it’s been well cared for, that shouldn’t be too much of an issue. It’s had a recent respray, which should mean much of the nasty rust you’d normally expect from an 80s Beemer has been taken care of.

Go on, pick up the phone.