BMW 700 CS

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Widely known as “the car that saved BMW” this 700cc wonder certainly was a sales success – 25,000 orders for the car within days of its first appearance at the 1959 Frankfurt Motor Show, and over 188,000 cars produced in its six-year life. It was a success on the race track too, with Hans Stuck winning the 1960 German Hillclimb Championship in one!

The 700 weighed little – around 659kgs – and the motorcycle-derived twin-cylinder engine produced 30bhp in original form and 40bhp in Sport mode. The car was offered in saloon, coupé, and even cabriolet format, along with a longer wheelbase Luxus version.

This coupé is a Sport version, or CS model as they were re-named in 1963. It has the 9:1 high compression engine, twin Solex carburettors, ribbed sump and rear anti-roll bar. It is especially rare and appealing in that it is a right-hand drive car – one of perhaps 400 or so made in coupé and convertible form.

The car was imported only recently from South Africa and is not yet UK registered, but it does have a NOVA reference which will make registration straightforward. The mild climate over there has kept the rust down to a minimum and the car is in remarkably sound condition (it even has the rare rubber mats still intact). Unusually, the car also has the rare demister option, which can hardly have been needed in South Africa but will come in handy over here.

This is a lovely little car which would not need much to make it a very tidy example. It could be subjected to a rebuild, not that difficult considering how simple it all is, or, for ultimate fun, it could be turned into an out-and-out racing car. Don’t laugh, as well as Hans Stuck, Jacky Ickx, Hubert Hahne and Alpina-founder Burkard Bovensiepen raced them in period. There was even a 70bhp overhead cam option for the racing brigade. Now that would be fun. If you want to know more about racing them, have a look at this link:

https://www.goodwood.com/grrc/race/historic/2017/10/This-700-is-the-little-St-Marys-racer-that-saved-BMW/