1972 BMW 3.0CSi 5-Speed
The 3.0 CSi is the sportier version of the BMW 3.0 model produced by BMW. The 3.0 CS and 3.0 CSi were produced in the same model years between 1971 and 1974. The BMW 3.0 CS was essentially similar to the 2800 CS, however, a little more bored out than the 2800 CS model. The BMW 3.0 CS has a 3.0-liter engine produced a total of 180 horsepower, whereas in the fall of 1971, BMW released the BMW 3.0 CSi.
The BMW 3.0 CSi was a fuel-injected version of the BMW 3.0 CS originally released. This fuel injection system coupled with a slightly higher compression ratio raised the potential horsepower to 200 instead of 180 with the 3.0 CS version of the car. All other specs of the vehicle remained otherwise the same. BMW produced about 8,200 of these 3.0 CSi vehicles throughout the years of production.
This 1972 BMW 3.0CSi is a European-market example that was imported to North America with refurbishment that included rust remediation, a repaint in Polaris silver, an interior refresh, and the installation of a replacement five-speed manual transmission. Power is provided by a 3.0-liter M30 inline-six equipped with fuel-injection and tubular exhaust headers.
The interior looks wonderful and it has maintained its Euro spec VDO gauges. The look and clarity of these VDO units make it no surprise that they were seen on many German cars, like Mercedes.
The cabin features seats reupholstered in red leather with matching door cards, gray carpeting, a black dashboard, and replacement wood trim. A Blaupunkt AM radio is housed within the center stack, and the car is equipped with air conditioning and power-operated windows.
Metric VDO instrumentation is fronted by a 38cm Petri steering wheel and consists of a 240-km/h speedometer, an 8k-rpm tachometer, a clock, and auxiliary gauges.
Staggered 16″ Alpina-style wheels are wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires. Braking is provided by four-wheel disc brakes. The suspension features McPherson struts at the front with semi-trailing arms at the rear, and Bilstein dampers have been installed along with replacement tie rods and rear subframe bushings.
This BMW 3.0CSi is a sophisticated grand tourer, and a fine example of the marque’s iconic ‘New Class’ styling. Beautifully restored and sumptuously retrimmed, and fresh from a tune-up service following a period of dry storage, this 3.0CSi would make a desirable addition to any collection as well as a stylish weekend cruiser.
