After the end of the 50 BMW was on the brink of bankruptcy, the Bavarian firm faced the 60 with more enthusiasm than ever. In Frankfurt in 1961, the brand came with two new proposals. The newest and generated more impact was the new saloon 1500, the first car of the so-called 'Neue Klasse'. On the other hand, was the one who would be the last old-school model, the final evolution of the old platform and V8 engine, the 3200 CS. In 1960, the BMW marketing chief, Helmut Werner Bönsch, proposed to build a coupe based on the BMW 503, whose production model ended a year earlier, by attaching a body of Lancia Flaminia Coupé Pininfarina and placing a front for BMW but the idea did not come to fruition and brand management refused.
Finally, management commissioned the work to develop a replacement for the 503 the chief engineer Fritz Fiedler, who hoped that the Italian designer Bertone was responsible for drawing a coupe body to a chassis that already had 10 years ago. Similarly, for the mechanics was used ancient BMW V8 OHV 3.2-liter displacement and 160 horsepower with a new dual carburetor. The gearbox was a four-speed manual and disc brakes were front and rear drum.
In three years of production BMW sold only 538 units of this exclusive and expensive coupe that was in its design and look your best asset, since technically, I was completely obsolete. It is anticipated that the 3200 CS lines of the new BMW that were to come, highlighting a particularly low waistline and an element that has always been present in the design of BMW since then, the Hofmeister Kink, which is the name given to the peculiar shape of the C-pillar , designed by the then head of BMW design, Wilhelm Hofmeister. Of the 538 units produced, only one was performed with a body discovered for one of the largest shareholders in the Bavarian manufacturer, Herbert Quandt. The greatest legacy left by the 3200 CS was his influence on the design of the new generation of coupes for the brand, E9.
The first model manufactured in Neo Scale Models Scale 1 / 18 was the BMW 3200 CS, both in body coupe and convertible, and a year later we have a beautiful replica of this great car in 1 / 43. The model characterized by a mold pretty well made and decorated with many photogravures. The chosen color scheme is very typical and creates a nice contrast in the set, although you can choose one in blue and beige. Now we just wait and see if Neo brings the cabriolet.
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