BMW 3.0 CSi (E9) 1973 — 88,500 KM

The BMW 3.0 CSi (E9) arrived in 1971 as the fuel‑injected flagship of BMW’s elegant Karmann‑built coupé line. Under its long bonnet sat the M30 straight‑six with Bosch D‑Jetronic, good for a crisp 200 PS, which transformed the already quick 3.0 CS into a genuinely rapid grand tourer. The CSi’s mission was clear: take the svelte E9 shell and give it Autobahn authority—refinement, speed and long‑legged stamina—right as BMW was cementing its post‑’60s sporting identity.

Although the CSi itself wasn’t the homologation special—that was the lighter, wilder CSL—the two are inseparable in the E9 story. BMW Motorsport’s CSL dominated the European Touring Car Championship through the mid‑1970s, and that halo bathed the showroom CSi in credibility. Period testers praised the CSi’s creamy six, high‑speed stability and precise (if slightly light) steering. Criticism focused on corrosion: Karmann’s steel and rustproofing were its Achilles’ heel, something owners and restorers still battle today.

The CSi evolved subtly during its 1971–1975 run. Trim, mirrors and interior details were updated, safety kit improved, and options expanded—air‑conditioning, electric windows, sunroof and a limited‑slip differential were popular. Mechanically it kept the same charismatic formula: a free‑revving injected six, a four‑speed manual (with a smooth ZF three‑speed automatic optional), four‑wheel discs and a compliant chassis with MacPherson struts up front and semi‑trailing arms at the rear. A little over 8,000 CSis were built before production ended in 1975, making it rarer than the carburetted CS.

Competition on the road spanned from the Mercedes‑Benz 280 CE to Alfa’s GTV and even the Jaguar XJ‑C in the CSi’s final year. Yet the BMW felt more modern to drive—lighter on its feet, with a turbine‑like engine note that turned late‑night autobahn runs into theatre. Tuning houses like Alpina and Schnitzer happily turned up the wick on CSis: hotter cams, freer exhausts and their signature 14‑inch alloys made for discreetly devastating GTs and helped seed BMW’s performance‑parts culture long before "M" badges became mainstream.

Fun facts? The E9’s pillarless hardtop body gives a vast, airy greenhouse with all four side windows dropped—pure 1970s glam. The family also birthed BMW’s first Art Cars: the CSLs painted by Alexander Calder (1975) and later Frank Stella, which put the E9 silhouette on museum walls as well as podiums. On European TV in the 1970s, sleek E9s were frequent guest stars in crime dramas, a visual shorthand for taste and success. Above all, the 3.0 CSi cemented BMW’s reputation for fast, refined grand touring—an ethos you can trace directly to today’s big‑six coupés.