New Six (1968 to 1977)

Introduced in 1968, BMW’s New Six range marked a turning point for the brand, re-establishing BMW as a serious manufacturer of luxury performance cars and laying the foundation for its modern identity. Built around the robust M30 straight-six, the New Six was offered as the E3 four-door sedan (1968–1977) and the E9 two-door grand tourer (1968–1975), blending refinement, performance, and understated sporting character. These cars also debuted BMW’s now-iconic twin round headlight front-end design, a styling cue that would define the marque for decades. Total production is estimated at approximately 221,000 E3 sedans and around 30,500 E9 coupes, making the E9 significantly rarer and more collectible today. In the Australian market, New Six models were sold in limited numbers and remain uncommon, with E9 variants—particularly the 2800 CS, 3.0 CS, and CSi—highly sought after for their elegant design, motorsport links, and historical importance as the spiritual predecessors to BMW’s later coupe icons.