One of the most beautiful cars BMW ever made has to be the E9-generation BMW 2800CS, a car that will always be beautiful. But the predecessor to that car, a car that not as many people are familiar with, is the BMW 2000C, a car that just so happens to be featured in this latest episode of Petrolicious.
The BMW 2000 was a later part of the Neue Klasse coupes back in the late ’60s and was a sort of middle ground between the “02” cars of the “New Class” and the E9-generation cars. You can certainly see aspects of both design languages in the 2000 and it’s a very pretty car.
However, it needs to rely on those looks, because it doesn’t have the goods to thrill underneath the skin. Packing the same 2.0 liter carbureted four-cylinder engine as the BMW 2002, the 2000C only developed 100 hp. In BMW 2000CA spec, which this car is, it comes with a three-speed automatic gearbox. This means it isn’t very quick but it sure is pretty and it sure is charming. This owner, Emin Kureghian, got his at auction and has been a big fan ever since.
“You picture, back in ’69, the guy that got in here, I mean, he had the coat and tie, thin cigarette in his mouth and driving this luxurious thing. To him, it was a Bentley of the time,” says Kureghian in the film. “Today, I get in, slam the door shut, turn it on, step on the gas — it’s not going anywhere and I have a laugh.”
And that’s the entire point of a car like the BMW 2000 CA. It’s a charming car that isn’t particularly quick, as a slow and uninspiring automatic gearbox and doesn’t handle particularly well. But it looks sensational, is incredibly comfortable and elegant and has a lovely interior. It’s a car that makes you happy and feel like you’re in a different time. That alone is worth the price tag, as a car that can transport you to a different time, a different place and into a different state of mind is a car that will make you happy for many, many years.
