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The last of the line-up - BMW LS Coupé in a historic test

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Created on May 7, 1965

Text:

Jürgen Stockmar

Photos:

Archiv

12

Archiv

12

BMW LS Coupé (1965) - rapid proportions with an overlong rear end

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BMW LS Coupé (1965) - without wheel covers at a motor show

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BMW LS Coupé (1965) - Luxury version with 16 cm longer wheelbase and longer rear end

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BMW LS Coupé (1965) - Illustration giving an idea of the limited space available in the rear seat

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - Test, Fittings

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - Steering wheel and dashboard of the test car

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - Driver and passenger seat in the test car

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - View into the engine compartment of the short coupé, where things are even more cramped

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BMW 700 (1961) - Comparison of normal and sports transmission

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BMW LS (1963) - above-average space and amazing driving performance

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BMW LS (1963) - stylish, timelessly elegant large body - original caption of this picture

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BMW 700 Sport (1961) - short coupé for comparison: the wheelbase is shorter, the rear bumper reaches right up to the wheel arch

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Summary

Two months after the LS saloon, BMW also launched an extended version of the 700 coupé. Although less sporty than before, the two-door model with the extra-long rear end still impressed with its lively engine and lively handling. If this historical test report is to be believed, nothing showed as clearly as the gearbox that it was nevertheless a compromise.

This article contains the following chapters

Chassis known to be good
Lots of horsepower from little displacement
Space and good equipment for two
Goodbye sport!
Technical data & measurements

Estimated reading time: 15min

Preview (beginning of the article)

When the LS version of the 700 sedan was presented by BMW some time ago, the professional motoring experts had a field day. Their speculations about the forthcoming engine, which was to fill the enlarged rear compartment, ranged all the way up to the water-cooled four-cylinder in-line engine with a displacement of 1.2 liters. All the high expectations were disappointed, as the rear of the LS saloons still only had 700 boxing cc. The discontinuation of production of the sports coupé and its replacement by the LS coupé with better equipment and more dead space is not a sign of a forthcoming upgrade of the small BMWs, but has a very simple reason: the production of the 1800 TI coupé is a done deal, and presses are needed for its body, which are simply saved by attaching the rear parts of the LS saloon to the LS coupé. The resulting model is practically a hybrid, as it is equipped with the sports engine, but with the normal gearbox due to the higher weight, and the rear anti-roll bar of the sports coupé has been dropped, which noticeably hardens the suspension under one-sided load.

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