Yahoo Autos The BMW 635 CSi Group A Is a Rad, Forgotten Touring Car
Think "BMW touring car" and likely one of two vehicles come to mind—the 3.0 CSL or the E30 M3. Both dominated touring-car racing in their respective eras, and helped cement BMW's reputation as a motorsport powerhouse. Between them is a car a lot of people don't know about, the Group A 635 CSi, a car that never reached the spectacular heights of the CSL or M3, but is still very cool. This 1983 example is up for sale at RM Sotheby's with an asking price of €275,000 (roughly $276,000 at today's exchange rate).
The E24-chassis 6-Series was the successor to the E9 coupe, upon which the 3.0 CSL was built. Around 50 examples of the top-of-the-line 635 CSi were prepared for Group A competition by BMW tuning/racing legends AC Schnitzer and Alpina for entry into the European Touring Car Championship. The 635 CSi used BMW's famous 3.5-liter "Big Six," which according to Silodrome, was modified for around 300 hp.
This particular chassis, E24-RA1-30, was run in 11 ETCC events in period, its best result an 8th place at Monza in 1985, and was entered into the 1986 Spa 24 Hours, but failed to qualifiy. It was prepared for historic competition in 2014, restored in 2019, and not driven since. RM Sotheby's notes that it's eligible for a couple of major historic racing series in Europe, making it a very tempting proposition for the well-heeled club racer.
It seems like a very compelling car, even compared with its more famous BMW touring-car counterparts. After all, it's gorgeous, and given that it's got a big straight-six, probably sounds glorious too.
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