One to Buy: ex-Racing Corporation Vienna ETCC race-winning 1980 BMW E24 635 CSi Gr.2
To replace the long-running E9 CSL which had soldiered on well beyond its expected lifespan, BMW homologated the E24 635 CSi for the 1980 Group 2 Touring Car category.
That season, Racing Corporation Vienna backed by BMW Italia campaigned a wide-bodied 635 CSi with nigh on 400bhp in the premier Division 5 category of the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC). Austrian drivers Harald Neger and Heribert Werginz were joined in the car by Italian Umberto Grano.
Chief opposition would sporadically come from an AMG Mercedes 450 SLC and a second RCV 635 that arrived towards the end of the year.
In a clear demonstration that the 635 was the fastest car on the grid, Neger, Werginz and Grano started from pole at six of the nine races that made up the 1980 ETCC.
They went on to win the opening two rounds (the Monza 4 Hours and Vallelunga 500km), however, a trio of failures at the next three events dented the team’s title challenge.
At Brands Hatch Neger stormed through the field after a troubled qualifying session but then over-revved the engine which prompted an early retirement. A crankshaft failure then ruled the car out of the Salzburg Trophy and a late coming together while lapping a slower car forced the BMW out of the Brno Grand Prix having led nearly the entire race.
The last four races of the year yielded two wins (at the Pergusa 500km and Silverstone Tourist Trophy), one retirement (the result of a rear axle failure at the Nurburgring) and a disappointing sixth place finish at the season-ending Zolder Trophy after a rocker arm broke in practice and the car had to run the majority of the race on five cylinders owing to a lack of spare parts.
Today, this multiple race-wining car is on offer at the Springbok Sportwagen showroom in Isernhagen. Completely rebuilt and presented in race ready condition, chassis 635180 is arguably one of the most important E24 6-series ever and would make a superb addition to any BMW collection or historic racing fleet.
Reprinted below is Springbok Sportwagen’s description for this outstanding Group 2 BMW:
Brand new engine straight from the dyno with 385 bhp / 283 kW
4 wins and 2nd overall in 1980 ETCC
over EUR 200.000,00 invested to bring it back to orig. spec
The BMW E24 is a four-seater coupé in the luxury class from BMW and the first model in the 6 series. Its production began in October 1975 as the successor to the E9 series, while the market launch took place in March 1976.
Stability, endurance and good handling - these were the virtues of the BMW 635 CSi touring car, a successful endurance athlete both in Group A and Group 2. The British competition in the form of Rover and Jaguar had more powerful V8 and V12 engines, the Swedish Volvo engines were equipped with turbochargers, but nevertheless the BMW 6 Series was able to celebrate numerous successes in motor sports. This was no doubt also due to several famous racing drivers who took the steering wheel of the 6-series. The unique thing about the Group 2 cars is that there was only a handful of them, whereas there were nearly a hundred of the Group A cars.
This particiular car with VIN 635180 is the one of the most sucessfull 6 Series touring cars of it´s time. It won almost every race of the 1980 ETCC season in which the 6 series made it to the finish line. Sadly, even though it won every race where it reached the finish line it wasn´t consistent enough over the season to win the ETCC Title, resulting in an overall second place.
The first race, 4 Hours Monza was a great sucess for BMW Italia as they came in 1st place with a lead of over 20 seconds to the Mercedes of Schinkentanz/Denzel. The next round at Vallelunga went just as smooth as Monza, 1st place again. The thrid race in Brands hatch was no glory for the team as Neger over-reved the engine as he went on attack in the first lap.
Due to a crankshaft failure, the car did not finish at Salzburgring. Brno went of good for BMW Italia until the car got tangled up with an Audi it was lapping at the time. The third win of the season happend at Enna, where the car was out of reach for the other competitors. But the next setback for the Team was not far, as the rear axle broke at Nordschleife. The fourth win of the 1980 season happened shortly after at Silverstone.
The final race at Zolder was a tough one for the Team as well as the BMW. Due to the fact that the team was short on spares, they had to make an engine out of two. But the team was out of luck as a rocker arm broke on the warm up lap that day. They drove behind on five cylinders and finished 6th.
Brand new engine straight from the dyno with 385 bhp (283 kW).
There are two sets of brand new BBS rims as well as some spares available. Furthermore, the current owner has invested a total of over 200,000.00 € in the complete restoration of the 635 CSI to original specification. The restoration was carried out by none other than Rudi Walch, owner of RWS Motorsport. For all the work done on the BMW, there are invoices available.
After the restoration was completed, the car was only raced at the Dix Milles Tours du Castellet and at the Spa Classics.
Technical Specification:
Engine: 6 Cylinder Alpina engine 3498 ccm
385 bhp (283 kW) on the dyno
Kugelfischer Injection with sliding throttle from Alpin
Gearbox: Getrag 265
Wheels: 3-piece BBS rims
Brakes: Front: Lockheed / Rear: ATE
